Kate and her dog Barney find a body in their garden one morning. Her husband Woody automatically becomes the prime suspect as he knew the victim Frank. This was a man who served 20 years in prison for murdering his wife and Woody was the cop who caught him. But Woody always thought Frank was innocent…
A Body At Lavender Cottage is the 6th book to feature nurse Kate Palmer and her husband, former detective Woody Forrest.
This is a personal case for Kate as she strives to clear her husband’s name. The victim wanted to connect with Woody to discuss the murder of his wife and possibly reveal the secret of who really killed her. Frank’s family travelled to Cornwall but one could be a killer whilst another becomes another victim…
Kate once more infuriates the local police, her husband and her sister as she forges ahead and sometimes puts herself in danger. She investigates the various family members and we see her trying to interview them subtly. There is little violence or graphic forensic information and the focus is on the questioning of the suspects.
A Body At Lavender Cottage is an enjoyable cosy murder mystery and a good addition to the series.
Book Description:
Nurse Kate Palmer is Cornwall’s answer to Miss Marple! But when a body turns up in her own garden can Kate solve the crime? Or is the murder a bit too close to home?
Kate Palmer is stunned when she wakes up one morning to discover the body of a man in the beautiful garden of Lavender Cottage. She’s spent the last few years renovating her cozy, clifftop cottage with its gorgeous views of the sparkling Cornish sea. And a death right under her nose is more than a little unsettling…
When Woody Forrest, Kate’s new husband and the village’s retired detective inspector, takes a closer look he realises the victim is none other than Frank Ford – Woody’s old nemesis. Now, Frank is lying dead amongst the daisies… strangled with Woody’s blue police tie.
Kate is certain the man she loves is not a murderer and is determined to prove his innocence. But who would want to kill Frank and frame Woody? As Kate investigates, Frank’s family seem to be the obvious suspects. Could it be Jason Ford, the youngest son, who has an odd obsession with birdwatching? Sid Kinsella, the angry father-in-law? Or Sharon Mason, the troublesome daughter?
When another member of the Ford family bites the dust while Woody is tending his allotment, it’s clear the killer is determined to bury Woody’s reputation. But when a chance conversation on Bluebell Road provides Kate with a clue, she must find a woman named Rose, who could hold the answers Kate is looking for.
But Kate needs to dig up the truth – and fast! – before poor Woody is thrown behind bars. Can she solve the case and save her husband before it’s too late?
If you love murder mysteries with a brilliant cast of characters, twisty plots and plenty of red herrings, A Body at Lavender Cottage will have you hooked until the very last page! Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Joy Ellis.
Author Bio:
Aged 18, Dee arrived in London from Scotland and typed her way round the West End for a couple of years before joining BOAC (forerunner of British Airways) in Passenger Services for 2 years and then as a stewardess for 8 years.
She has worked in Market Research, Sales and at the Thames TV Studios when they had the franchise.
Dee has since relocated to Cornwall, where she spent 10 years running B&Bs, and only began writing when she was over 70!
Married twice, she has one son and two grandsons.
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DS Cooke recognises the dead body: it is a former school friend. It looks like suicide but Jackie quickly spots clues that it is murder and is determined to find the killer. It soon becomes clear that other single mothers have been murdered…
The Silent Dead is the second police procedural to feature DS Jackson Cooke as the lead detective. I have previously read (and LOVED) the first book in the series: The Lost Ones. There are mentions of personal events from the last book but no spoilers about the case.
Jackie has had her baby, is divorcing her husband, and is desperately trying to juggle work and home. This book was just as good as the last one. Full of drama and action, a heinous killer who eludes our dedicated detectives, a tense plot delivered at a fast pace.
Jackie’s character continues to be the highlight of the series as she negotiates the pressure of work with the guilt of leaving her family. I felt her emotions really clearly: her dedication to her bring the killer to justice and avenge her friend, her frustration and contempt for her superior officer as well as her feckless husband.
There are plenty of clues and suspects for Jackie and her partner Dave to eliminate. I enjoyed the way that the pair interact and banter, obviously caring for each other but also completely focused on the case. There are plenty of twists as they investigate so I was kept guessing until the conclusion.
The Silent Dead is a gripping police procedural with plenty of danger and drama and a fab lead detective.
Book Description:
She was lying as if asleep on the wooden kitchen floor, beneath the fridge covered with a child’s colourful crayon drawings. But her frozen expression showed she would never wake again…
When Detective Jackie Cooke is called out to the scene, she’s expecting a routine check. The bottle of pills on the kitchen table, next to the note with the single word SORRY written in a shaky hand, make it seem obvious what’s happened. But Jackie is shocked when she recognises her old schoolfriend Claire – and she is convinced Claire would never take her own life.
Determined to dig deeper, Jackie soon discovers evidence that proves her right: a roll of notes has been thrust down the victim’s throat. And when she finds another woman killed in the same way, she realises someone may be targeting lonely single mothers. As Jackie talks to Claire’s distraught children, one of them too young to understand his mummy is never coming home, she vows to find answers.
Both victims were in touch with someone calling himself Nice Guy – could he be the killer? Pursuing every clue, Jackie is sure she’s found a match in dead-eyed Tyler, part of a dark world of men intent on silencing women for daring to reject them. But just as she makes the arrest, another single mother is found dead – a woman who never dated at all.
Forced to re-evaluate every lead she has, with her boss pressuring her to make a case against the obvious suspect, Jackie knows she is running out of time before another innocent woman is murdered. And, as a single mother herself, she cannot help but wonder if she is in the killer’s sights. Can she uncover his true motivation and put an end to his deadly game… or will he find her first?
A completely unputdownable crime thriller that will have you reading long into the night. Perfect for fans of Kendra Elliott, Rachel McLean and Val McDermid.
Author Bio:
Marnie Riches grew up on a rough estate in north Manchester. Exchanging the spires of nearby Strangeways prison for those of Cambridge University, she gained a Masters in German & Dutch. She has been a punk, a trainee rock star, a pretend artist and professional fundraiser.
Her best-selling, award-winning George McKenzie crime thrillers were inspired by her own time spent in The Netherlands. Dubbed the Martina Cole of the North, she has also authored a series about Manchester’s notorious gangland as well as two books in a mini-series featuring quirky northern PI Bev Saunders.
Detective Jackson Cooke is Marnie’s latest heroine to root for, as she hunts down one of the most brutal killers the north west has ever seen at devastating personal cost.
When she isn’t writing gritty, twisty crime thrillers, Marnie also regularly appears on BBC Radio Manchester, commenting on social media trends and discussing the world of crime fiction. She is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Salford University’s Doctoral School and a tutor for the Faber Novel Writing Course.
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You get a link from a friend but once you download the app you are enrolled in a deadly chase. Could you kill a stranger to save your family?
The App is a horror thriller set in the UK.
Remember chain letters when you were a kid? I never completed them but a little bit of me was always a little scared about binning them. This book brings the premise bang up to date. Marty receives a link from a friend and downloads an app. His family are threatened if he doesn’t comply with the rules. He has the chance to win £100,000 every week if he hunts down and kills a random person.
The hunters need to narrate their attacks and this was a great device for showing us the moral dilemma that the hunters feel. Their desire to protect their family and prevent their own deaths is a powerful incentive but the app videos show that some cannot face the challenge and are killed. This in turn encourages others to abide by the rules out of fear.
The plot is not delivered in a linear way and the timeline jumps around a bit to show us various perspectives. We see the victims’ viewpoint too and this increased the tension as they are confused about the multiple attempts on their lives.
I really found this book chilling. The idea is so credible that it makes me fear it could come true. The emotions of the characters are well described and easy to relate to which brought them to life.
The App is a chilling modern horror novel.
Book Blurb
The App…
Once you’re in, they’ll never let you leave.
Whatever happens, don’t download The App.
It will come in the form of a link. Maybe in your DM’s on a social media account, the junk folder of your emails or a WhatsApp message from a friend.
You’ll be enticed by the chance of winning one hundred thousand pounds on offer every Friday, wired straight into the winner’s bank account.
It’s not a joke.
This part is genuine.
Someone can and will win the money.
But at what cost?
Marty Benson gets the link sent to him by a friend. So what is the harm in looking?
He clicks it, downloads the app and enters a few basic details.
A message prompts him to wait while he’s loaded onto the system.
An hour later, another message.
• Do not delete the app.
-
Do not tell anyone outside of your family about the app.
-
Send the link to one person who is close to you.
* Do not throw your phone away.
* Always narrate while streaming.
-
If you break any of the rules, we’ll kill a member of your family. Then we’ll kill you.
Marty is sent a picture of his wife, who is shopping with her mother in Oxford Street.
As Marty struggles to breathe, he clicks the links and watches the most recent streams, realising what happens within the
app.
Every Friday morning, a person is randomly picked from social media.
They now have a bounty on their head—a death warrant. But they don’t know it.
Their profile appears on the app’s main page; all their details are displayed.
Every app member must play the game at least once a month or face the consequences.
Kill the person randomly selected from social media.
Win one hundred thousand pounds.
As Marty watches the terror unfold and everyone streaming the hunt within the app, he realises he has to do something.
But how do you stop a murder, when everyone could be the killer?
Author Bio
I have always loved scary stories, especially ones that shocked me, left me terrified, looking under my bed or in the wardrobe before going to sleep.
There was just a fantastic buzz whenever I watched or read something that took my breathe away.
I remember going to my nan’s house in Ireland as a youngster with my mother and sister, on the West Coast, staying in a cottage, surrounded by miles of fields and my family sitting around the table in the kitchen at night telling ghost stories. Going out and exploring derelict farmhouses in the middle of nowhere. I remember clearly the field at the end of the road was supposed to be haunted by headless nuns. My cousins often remind me of the great times we had, frightening each other and running for our lives whenever we’d see something that didn’t look right.
This is why I love nothing more than to tell a story.
I’m so grateful when people not only read my thrillers but also take the time to get in touch and leave a review. To me, that is the greatest feeling, hearing from people that have enjoyed my work. I know then that I’m doing something right.
I’m 49, married and have two beautiful children. Currently, I’m a full-time plumber but would love nothing more than to make a living from my writing. I hope I write stories and people continue to enjoy them for years to come. That would be completely amazing and a dream come true.
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Megan’s best friend and business partner has just died and her relationship has reached crisis point. She packs the car and runs away with no money and no idea what to do. She is invited to work for famous film star Ross Huston to investigate the ghostly happenings at his home. But Megan keeps seeing a spectral black dog: could she be the next to die…?
Blind House is a spooky ghost story set in the UK.
Megan is at her lowest, grieving for her best friend, scared of her abusive boyfriend, no work and nowhere to live. She had planned to go into ghost hunting with Christina but is not sure she can go it alone. When Ross Huston asks her to advise on strange events, she can’t turn down the opportunity. Moving objects, odd noises, terrifying nightmares, a black dog that she has seen since the accident that killed her friend. It is spooky!
The book is mostly written in the present day but there are some chapters that show Megan’s recent past and others from 1878 which show a victim being tortured by a doctor. The physical and emotional torture is very unpleasant to read due to the graphic descriptions. However, this is in keeping with the horror genre and relevant to the plot.
As readers, we are fully supportive and hopeful for Megan as she faces the future and tries to put the past behind her. She has had a lot of suffering and now she has a new threat from a supernatural source. Meanwhile, in the present day the police are investigating missing women and suspect a link to the current occupants of the house. I was eager to see how the two timelines would converge and enjoyed trying to predict the plot.
Blind House is very sinister and atmospheric. I’d advise reading in daylight!
Book Blurb
Fame is about to get deadly in this terrifying, fresh take on a haunted house thriller.
Set in an idyllic Cotswolds village, rookie paranormal investigator, Megan Forrest, is roped into investigating the strange goings-on at the home of Hollywood actor, Ross Huston.
Ross and his wife Deborah are convinced that their Victorian mansion is being haunted by the mentally ill patients who resided there in the late nineteenth century.
Patients who were brutally treated and murdered at the hands of a cruel doctor.
As Megan investigates ghosts from the past, two women from the present go missing- women who were last seen at the Huston’s property. Who was the doctor and how is everything connected?
When Megan finds herself swept up in a dangerous game, she can’t escape.
Who was the Doctor?
One thing she knows for sure, is that there is something watching her…
Author Bio
Jamie-Lee Brooke is the pen name of Brooke Venables who lives with her twin sons in the Worcestershire area. She is an author of both horror and thrillers and works as a dental nurse which gives her plenty of scope to imagine putting people in uncomfortable situations. She loves her job and takes great satisfaction in helping people to smile.
Jamie-Lee’s biggest achievement to date is graduating after studying with the Open University for six years, achieving a BA Honours in Humanities with classical studies and creative writing. It was no mean feat whilst working and being a mum to twins who both have autism and learning difficulties.
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