Drugs and female corpses are found in the River Thames by the marine police. Frogman David Cade usually passes the bodies on but his new colleague Naomi Harding wants to pursue the deaths. He is convinced to listen to her when his own daughter goes missing…
Dive is a murder mystery and detective novel set in London.
Naomi Harding has been sidelined from her usual work following a disasterous case. Now she is attempting to rescue her career with a drugs case that may also link to murder. David Cade is a hardened frogman but his personal involvement in the case lead him to work with Naomi. His daughter has gone missing and every time a body is found, he panics that it is Lex.
There is a lot of technical detail and jargon about the marine police which added an authenticity but went over my head a bit. I focussed on the main threads which for me was a dad searching for his teenaged daughter and a woman fighting for her career. The personal side to the case delivers a powerful emotional impact.
The book is written in the third person throughout so we see the police perspectives as well as the criminals. This raises the tension as we fear for Lex’s safety and understand the danger she could be facing. Naomi and David are unsure of who to trust and senior officers are acting suspiciously. This inspires them to work together and break the rules.
Dive is a fast paced and tense detective novel which creates an emotional hold on the reader.
DIVE by Jon Barton
Dive into London’s most dangerous crime scene — the River Thames.
A police diver whose obsession with the job has made his home life implode.
A high-flying detective recently thrown out of the CID.
A case that could get them both killed.
Police diver David Cade lives by a simple rule: pull out the bodies and move on. Naomi can’t abide that. Her whole career, she’s wanted to fight the good fight. But circumstances have sent Naomi to the Marine Police.
Then they discover a dead girl, bloated and broken on the surface of the Thames. And then another.
Each time David pulls a new body out of the water, he fears it’s his estranged fifteen-year-old daughter Lex. She’s gone missing after they had a fierce argument and hasn’t been in touch since.
The dead girls all have the same nightclub stamp on the backs of their hands — the same one David’s daughter had the day she disappeared.
A briefcase is discovered in the same stretch of water, and suddenly the higher-ups at CID, including Naomi’s rival, Detective Chief Inspector Shannon Baines, start showing an interest.
Clearly something big is happening.
David and Naomi must work together if they’re going to solve the dead girls’ murders and find Lex. Then they uncover something that will threaten to blow the case apart — if it doesn’t get them killed first . . .
MEET THE DETECTIVES
David Cade is an experienced frogman, satisfied to lose himself in diving in the river. But his obsession with the job has caused his home life to implode. He wants to be part of his daughter’s life, if only he could figure out how.
Naomi Harding is held accountable after three of her colleagues are killed during a raid she was leading. Her punishment is to be side-lined to the Marine Policing Unit, or ‘frogmen’, whose main aim is to dredge up dead bodies from the Thames and pass them on to the ‘real’ police.
JON BARTON
Jon Barton is a London-based screenwriter with ten years’ experience as a dramatist, writing continuing drama for the BBC, and new work for young people. His theatre work has been produced onstage at major London venues, including The Old Vic and The Almeida, with screen work under option at Northern Ireland Screen and Netflix UK. An experienced creative writing tutor and freelance editor, Jon works as a copywriter, edits for The Literary Consultancy, and teaches for City Academy and Iconic Steps. When he’s not writing crime fiction, he’s running, walking, and bingeing podcasts.
BOOKS BY JON BARTON
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It’s the lead up of Christmas 1934, but more importantly… Kitty and Matt’s wedding! Kitty’s father Edgar has come over from New York and they reunite at a charity ball. Later that evening the host is found dead and Edgar is the main suspect for murder…
Murder at the Charity Ball is the 11th book in the cosy murder mystery series featuring Kitty Underhay and her private investigator beau Matthew Bryant. It can be read as a stand alone book but there are personal plotlines about their romance and her mother’s death which have weaved through the series.
Kitty and Matt are looking forward to tying the knot. Lady Eliza Foxley struck up a friendship with Kitty’s father on the boat from America and invited him to stay at her home. Now she is dead, strangled with one of her own stockings, and Edgar is discovered standing over the body. Kitty is convinced of her father’s innocence but needs to persuade the police that other suspects had motive and opportunity.
There are plenty of twists as other characters are in danger and the police scramble to catch the killer. Meanwhile, Kitty is suspicious of her father’s behaviour but doesn’t believe it relates to murder. The peripheral characters in the series continue to add some light relief. Kitty’s grandmother and her formidable friends Mrs Craven provide some gentle humour due to their old fashioned attitudes. Kitty is thoroughly modern with fresh ideas about gender and class for the 1930s.
Murder at the Charity Ball is an enjoyable addition to the series especially as we celebrate a wedding!
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Book: Murder at the Charity Ball
Author: Helena Dixon
Pub Day: January 20th 2023
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About the Book:
Kitty Underhay is dancing… with death.
Winter 1934. Kitty Underhay is enjoying a night off from wedding planning as she attends a charity ball at the home of Lady Eliza Foxley. She’s excited to see her father, roguish Edgar Underhay, who is also a guest in the house. But the evening of cocktails and waltzing turns into a dance macabre when Edgar finds their lively, fun-loving hostess dead, strangled by her own silk stocking.
Who has made this uncharitable donation to the evening’s entertainments? When suspicion falls on Edgar and he is arrested for murder, Kitty has to act fast if she doesn’t want her father walking her down the aisle in shackles. Together with her fiancé Matthew, they vow to clear Edgar’s name and discover who used hosiery to commit homicide.
Lady Eliza’s widowed sister is the main beneficiary of her will, but before Kitty and Matt can question her, she is struck down by a severe case of poisoning. Time is running out for Kitty to solve this case and make it to the church on time. But with a devious killer on the loose, will she end up leaving as a newlywed, or newly dead…?
An absolutely addictive and unputdownable Golden Age cosy murder mystery full of twists! Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey and Lee Strauss.
Author Bio
Helena Dixon splits her time between the Black Country and Devon. Married to the same man for over thirty-five years she has three daughters, a cactus called Spike, and a crazy cockapoo. She is allergic to adhesives, apples, tinsel and housework. She was winner of The Romance Prize in 2007 and Love Story of the Year 2010 as Nell Dixon. Helena now writes historical 1930s set cozy crime.
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TRIGGER WARNING: suicide, mental health
Maggie and Len are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. But as Maggie pops into the loft to grab a surprise for her husband, she discovers a woman’s scarf. Initially she suspects he may have had an affair, but then she sees a photo of a murdered woman wearing the same scarf…
The Lie In Our Marriage is a murder mystery (the 6th book to feature DI Dan Riley), as well as a domestic drama and psychological thriller, set in the UK. I have previously reviewed The Night Of The Party from the series but each works as a standalone novel.
Maggie and Len’s love has grown and strengthened over the last 25 years and now they are looking forward to becoming grandparents. I was surprised at how quickly Maggie jumped to believing the worst about Len but her fears and doubts felt authentic. After so many years together, I thought she should have been braver about speaking to him although I feel that she was more afraid of the truth than of him harming her.
Meanwhile we see some chapters from Dan Riley’s perspective as he attempts to solve the murder case. He has a good working relationship with his colleagues and in his home life is expecting his second child.
Dan’s easy to like personality makes the reader want him to solve the crime. However, this contrasts with our sympathy for Maggie. She has frantic thoughts due to her mental trauma from her mother’s suicide when she was a child, as well as her fears about her own and her son’s mental health.
There are some great twists in the book which I was expecting but still enjoyed. I loved the satirical look at modern social media ‘celebrities’ and Dan’s scathing opinions. The character of Maggie is wonderfuly written and her emotions were easy to understand and relate to. The final lines almost had me in tears!
The Lie In Our Marriage is a gripping thriller and mystery.
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The Lie in Our Marriage: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist (Detective Dan Riley Book 6) by Anna-Lou Weatherley
On a warm spring evening, guests gather in a perfectly manicured garden to celebrate Maggie and Len’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Maggie leans against the apple tree, watching her fun-loving husband and darling children as her heart swells with pride. As the joyful party atmosphere disappears into the night, close by, the lifeless body of a young woman is pulled from a river.
Slipping upstairs to find the special gift for her adoring husband, Maggie stumbles across something else hidden amongst the dusty boxes of family keepsakes…
A printed pink silky scarf that doesn’t belong to her. She holds it up to her face, breaths in the sweet sickly perfume, it’s scent familiar, and tendrils of fear snake through her body. The scarf is stained with blood.
As Maggie rejoins the party and tries to ignore her churning stomach, she pours herself a glass of champagne to toast the man she’s enjoyed decades of happy marriage with. Then she catches a news flash of the local girl’s murder. She stares at the girl with the beautiful face, long ice-blonde hair and, draped loosely around her neck, Maggie recognises it instantly. She’s wearing the scarf.
An utterly addictive and twisty read about the complex web of secrets within a family that will have you racing through to the mind-blowing end. If you love Lisa Jewell, Gillian Flynn and Behind Closed Doors, you won’t be able to put this down!
About the author
I was born in Hampshire but grew up in London where I still live today with my two children. I was originally a dancer who re-trained after a ‘disco accident’ in Ibiza to become a journalist – I’ve even won some awards, though I don’t like to talk about them – ha! I’ve been a women’s lifestyle writer for over fifteen years and am the former editor and acting editor of the fabulous J-17 magazine and Smash Hits respectively and have written for all the major glossies including Grazia, Company, Marie Claire and More, where I was their resident tell-it-like-it-is advice columnist – loads of fun! I’ve also written for NME, Loaded and Front magazine (I can be down with the lads too!).
During my journalistic career I’ve seen and done some amazing stuff, highlights include becoming a nun (for a day), rally racing with the late, great Colin McRae, bunjee jumping off a 350 ft bridge in designer heels, whiskey tasting for a week in Kentucky (don’t remember much of that) and hanging out with all manor of A-list celebrities (er, Take That and Jordan, anyone?).
After I had my son I started to write novels (having children does strange things to a person) and had my first young adult novel, Ibiza Summer, published in 2004. My first adult novel (it is a little racy) Chelsea Wives was published in 2012, followed by Wicked Wives in 2013.
When I’m not writing, which isn’t often, I like to hang upside down on a pole – I’m a qualified pole fitness instructor, and drink fancy wine (though not necessarily at the same time, that would be dangerous). I adore creating exciting, three dimensional, glamorous and flawed characters against a backdrop of exotic locations. Revenge, sex, sin, glamour, excess, crime and intrigue is my speciality. My next novel, title to come, promises all the above and more!
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Shelly and her daughter Lauren move to a new home with their dog Teddy. Most of their neighbours are friendly but one is suffering from dementia and her behaviour is a little scary. Added to this, Shelly discovers that the previous tenant and her dog disappeared…
The Neighbour is a psychological thriller set in the south of England.
Shelly’s first experience in her new home is a slightly scary one. Then she is welcomed by the other residents but feels uncomfortable, as if she’ll never fit in. Things seem more sinister when she finds out that a young woman and her dog lived in the house previously but both vanished. Shelly starts to question her neighbours about Dannielle but is she just stirring up danger for herself?
The book is written from Shelly’s first person perspective so we experience her niggling doubts and suspicions. We also get clues about her own past and the trauma she suffered during her childhood and in the recent past with her mother’s violent outbursts, caused by dementia. As readers, we want Shelly to find happiness and share her fear as current events hint at a threat to her and her daughter.
There is plenty of tension and drama, especially towards the ending. Shelly’s friendship with Josh offers some light relief and lets us see her at her best. When reflecting, Shelly describes her experiences in the street as far-fetched and I would agree that they are extreme but gripping. The mystery is sustained until the end and I enjoyed watching events unfold.
The Neighbour has emotion, drama, and an intriguing mystery of Dannielle’s disappearance.
The Neighbour
Love thy neighbour or fear thy neighbour?
For myself and Lauren, my 10-year-old daughter No3 Beech Close was to be our refuge after two years of hell nursing my sick mother.
In need of a fresh start and wanting to distance ourselves from the bad memories of my mother’s house we moved to Beech Close, a small cul-de-sac of six houses situated around a picture-perfect green.
It seemed perfect but I had underestimated the secrets that this tightknit community shared.
Within hours of moving in my next-door neighbour Valerie made it abundantly clear we were not welcome.
I soon discovered that Valerie hadn’t welcomed the previous occupant either and she’d since disappeared without a trace.
Had I put myself and my daughter in danger moving to Beech Close?
Which neighbours, if any could I trust?
And how far would they go to keep their secret?
Author Bio –
Gemma Rogers was inspired to write gritty thrillers by a traumatic event in her own life nearly twenty years ago. Her debut novel Stalker was published in September 2019 and marked the beginning of a new writing career. Gemma lives in West Sussex with her husband and two daughters.
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A convicted killer languishes in prison, thinking of revenge on the cop who caught him. Drugs related deaths, arson, bent police officers, undercover operations. Roscoe and Roy have their hands full!
Out For Revenge is the 4th book to feature DCI Gavin Roscoe and DS Sunita Roy. I have previously read and enjoyed the first book in the series, Murder on Oxford Lane, and there are references to those crimes in this book, as well in events in the intervening books.
I enjoyed the multiple plot threads involved in the book, some of which overlap as the story develops. Sunita’s personal life takes a back seat compared to the first book whilst Gavin’s steady family situation is thrown into peril by the end of the book. The danger creates a taut plot and fast pace.
The main murder mystery has the detectives confused as the murder timeline doesn’t add up with the house being set alight. The connection with unscrupulous police officers adds a tension as Roscue assesses the links between the drugs ring and corruption of his fellow detectives. There are high speed chases and undercover scenarios as well as modern technology and dogged police work.
Alongside the main plot is the prisoner with revenge on his mind. I felt that I wanted more information about his self proclaimed innocence. His behaviour is sinister and outright dangerous as he seeks ways to redress the wrongs he feels he has endured. There is high drama as this plotline interweaves with the other, leading to a thrilling ending.
Out For Revenge is an enjoyable detective thriller with strong lead characters.
Out For Revenge
When notorious gangland boss Tadeusz Filipowski is released from prison, several people start looking over their shoulder.
A volatile character, not shy of picking fights, Filipowski plans to expand his drugs empire and put his competitors on a backfoot. That’s until he turns up dead. Very dead.
DS Sunita Roy of the Heart of England police is handed the case but it’s a challenge to find the killer of a man with so many enemies.
DCI Gavin Roscoe would lend more support but he is busy nailing down suspicions of corruption plaguing the force.
Soon, however, the investigations will bump into one another. And unless Roy and Roscoe can get to the bottom of the mystery, they could well become the next victims.
OUT FOR REVENGE is the fourth gripping standalone mystery in the Detectives Roy and Roscoe crime fiction series by Tony Bassett.
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Author Bio –
I am a semi-retired journalist who was born in West Kent. While growing up, I spent hours reading and writing, and, from an early age, nursed an ambition to become first a journalist and then novelist. My theory was that, in order to write novels, one had to have life experiences to colour one’s writing and one could obtain those experiences through journalism.
I was fortunate enough to be named Time-Life Magazine Student Journalist of the Year in 1971 in a competition organised by the National Union of Students. At the time, I was editing the student newspaper at Hull University, where I gained a BA Honours degree in History and Political Studies.
After six years working on provincial newspapers in Sidcup, Worcester and Cardiff, I became a freelance journalist in London. For 24 years, I was a reporter on the staff of the Sunday People (now part of Reach plc, formerly Trinity Mirror). Over the years, I sold tens of thousands of stories to the national newspapers, including the Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, The Sun, Daily Star, Daily Telegraph and London Evening Standard.
My speciality was tracking people down. For instance, I found evidence about Rod Stewart’s secret love child Sarah Streeter by tracing a retired adoption agent through a library ticket. On one occasion, I took an escaped gangster back to prison. Some of my stories can be read on my website (see below); others are generally available online. For thirty years, I was also employed as a birth and marriage researcher mainly for the Mail on Sunday, Sunday Mirror, Sunday People and The Sun.
I have a grown-up son and four grown-up daughters who all live in South Wales.
