TRIGGER WARNING: this book deals with rape, suicide, phobias
Two couples, best friends since university. But their whole friendship teeters amid accusations of affairs and then Kiara commits suicide. The friends question whether they ever really knew their friend at all…
Do I Really Know You? is a psychological thriller which centres around two couples. It is set in the present day as well as having chapters from the recent past.
Maddie and Kiara, and their husbands Nathan and David, have been friends for years. They thought their bond was unbreakable but the suggestion of affairs has a severely detrimental effect on both couples. Suddenly they struggle to trust their best friends and well as their own spouses. The tension grows as the characters try to adjust to changes in their relationships.
The book is written from multiple third person perspectives. All of the main characters are unreliable narrators so we as readers are unsure who is telling the truth. Maddie’s senses are dulled by sleeping tablets, Kiara’s phobia of spiders in out of control, Nathan is acting suspiciously and keeping secrets, David’s blind devotion to his wife skews his viewpoint.
The plot develops quickly with the different perspectives and timelines giving hints at the twists that lay ahead. I liked that I really wasn’t sure what had happened to Kiara and which of the other characters had exacerbated the situation.
Do I Really Know You? was an entertaining psychological thriller with plenty of drama and the mystery was sustained until the end.
Book Description:
She’s the friend you trust with your life. But can she trust you with hers?
When the police knock on my door to tell me that my best friend Kiara has taken her life, my world shatters.
Ever since we met at university along with my husband, Nathan and her ex-husband David, the four of us have been inseparable. I can’t believe that, suddenly, she’s not here.
The police say that Kiara fell from the balcony of her small, pristine apartment. But I refuse to accept that she jumped.
I thought I knew Kiara better than anyone. But I soon find out my friend was keeping some big secrets.
Talking to her ex-husband, David, I’m shocked. Was she really having an affair, like he claims?
Searching for evidence, I let myself into her apartment. My heart races as I find her diary and I read the name of her last appointment – Nathan. Why would she be meeting with my husband? And why didn’t he tell me?
It soon becomes clear that everyone around me has been hiding the truth, and when the police call again and ask me to look at security camera footage from the night Kiara died, fear floods through me as I recognise her final visitor. Can I trust anyone in my life? And if someone did push Kiara that night, could I be next?
Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl and The Wife, Do I Really Know You? is a gripping new psychological thriller from bestselling author Sheryl Browne. Once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop!
Author Bio:
Bestselling Author, Sheryl Browne, writes taut, twisty psychological thriller. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association and the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Sheryl has several books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies where she completed her MA in Creative Writing. Sheryl has also obtained a Certificate of Achievement in Forensic Science and – according to readers – she makes an excellent psychopath. Sheryl’s latest psychological thriller DO I REALLY KNOW YOU? comes to you from BOOKOUTURE. Her previous works include the DI Matthew Adams Crime Thriller series, along with contemporary fiction novels, The Rest of My Life and Learning to Love.
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TRIGGER WARNING: this books centres around a child’s death in a car accident caused by drink driving
Carl and Jo are having an affair and he is finally going to leave his wife. He decides to have a couple of extra drinks to give him courage. Jo begs him not to drive… Anni is on the phone arguing with her ex when her son lets go of his balloon and chases it straight into the road…
The Accident is an extremely tense psychological thriller. It is also hugely emotional as it deals with the aftermath of a child’s death. The grief feels authentic and devastating whilst the effect on the perpetrators is handled sympathetically.
A variety of first person perspectives are used to show the experiences of the main characters. This was really effective for showing the emotional states and actions of the characters. Anni and Jo meet by coincidence but their friendship is based on secrets and lies. Meanwhile Carl’s situation is prison becomes increasingly dangerous.
The pace of the book is quite fast and the changing perspectives adds an urgency to the plot as we anticipate what will happen next. There is a danger as the lies mount up, leading to a dramatic conclusion. I felt a little underwhelmed by the ending as I’m not sure how credible it was. However to be fair, I’m not sure how the situation could have been resolved. The whole book is thought provoking as it makes you question what is ‘right’.
I was completely hooked by The Accident from start to finish.
I have previously reviewed The Break, and The New Friends by Daniel Hurst.
Book Blurb
One moment. Three lives changed forever.
Single mum Anni would do anything for her little boy, Tobi, he is the center of her world. So she is utterly devastated when Tobi is run over and killed by drunk driver, Carl.
Anni hates Carl for what he’s done and takes some comfort from the lengthy prison sentence he is serving. But she can’t live on hate and after a time spent grieving for her son, Anni returns to work and tries to move on with her life. She is lonely without Tobi and glad to make a new friend, Jo.
But Jo has a secret. She is connected to the fatal accident in a way that Anni never suspects. And Jo is determined that Anni will never discover the awful truth about what really happened that day.
As the two women grow closer, Anni begins to feel that her new friend is keeping something from her.
A terrible suspicion begins to dawn and Anni starts to dig deeper into Jo’s past. Will she discover the horrifying truth? Or will she find out just how far some people go to cover up their mistakes…
Three people. One accident. And several shocking twists…
Author Bio
Daniel Hurst writes psychological thrillers and loves to tell tales about unusual things happening to normal people. He has written all his life, making the progression from handing scribbled stories to his parents as a boy to writing full length novels in his thirties. He lives in the North West of England and when he isn’t writing, he is usually watching a game of football in a pub where his wife can’t find him.
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TRIGGER WARNING: this book deals with suicide, self harm and teen death
In the lead up to Christmas 1988 a teen’s body is found in the church graveyard. The evidence indicates suicide but WDC Miller and WDC Hines are not convinced…
From Sorrow’s Hold is the second book to feature Louise Miller and Elizabeth Hines, police officers in the 1980s. I have previously read and reviewed the first book Dirty Little Secret, however the books can be read as stand alone novels.
Wendy finds her boyfriend James dead in the graveyard and flees inside the church to seek help. She finds Louise who is attending the service and the investigation begins. The death is declared a suicide but Louise and Elizabeth think that there is something suspicious.
I thought that the tension and pace were well maintained as the plot twists and turns. There are some upsetting scenes involving grief and self harm. The crime and drama is counterbalanced against the lead detectives who have light hearted banter with each other.
There is a great rapport between Louise and Elizabeth. Both are fighting to be valued in their relationships and careers. Being the 1980s, they defy the social norms of the time in their personal and professional choices. The descriptions of the era felt authentic and brought the plot and characters to life. How did we survive with so little technology?!
From Sorrow’s Hold is an enjoyable police procedural and I look forward to the next book in the series.
From Sorrow’s Hold book blurb
December 1988 and Christmas beckons. But what should be a time of excitement and joy is forever tainted when a teenager’s body is found in the graveyard of Ossett’s Holy Trinity Church, a suspected suicide.
As they respond to the devastating event, WDC’s Louise Miller and Elizabeth Hines, together with psychologist Karla Hayes each use their own experiences of suicide to help the wider community as it struggles to understand the terrible choice that was made.
But when another teenager goes missing, Louise starts to believe there is something even more sinister behind the events …
Jonathan Peace is a husband, cat-dad and author of the WDC Louise Miller novels.
A Yorkshire lad at heart, Jonathan sets his novels in a fictionalised version of his hometown of Ossett during the late ’80’s and ’90’s. His first crime novel, DIRTY LITTLE SECRET, book one of the WDC Louise Miller series, landed him the Peter James Bursary from the Crime Writers’ Association, resulting in a full membership to the CWA.
He is currently writing the second in the series.
A WI meeting ends in murder. The victim does not seem to be popular but who wanted her dead? DCI Jude Satterthwaite is called in to investigate but it means confronting a figure from his past…
Death on a Monday Night is the 8th book in the Jude Satterthwaite series but would work as a standalone novel.
Jude’s personal life and relationships are once again important to the plot as he is dating a fellow officer, has an ex who finds the body, and an old enemy is a suspect. He needs to carefully negotiate these relationships and not let his feelings influence his investigation.
Grace is the victim. She has strained relationships with her family, even bordering on estrangement. Their opinions of her do not make us sympathetic towards her. But as Jude investigates, he finds that Grace had a confrontation with the former drug dealer Adam. His own history with Adam creates a conflict of interest and mixed emotions which felt realistic and made him more human.
The book is written in the third person to allow us to see various perspectives. I found the pace to be carefully balanced: fast enough to move the plot along but slow enough to engage with the characters.
Death on a Monday Night is an enjoyable police procedural and I enjoyed the plotlines surrounding the personal life of the main detective.
Death on a Monday Night
An ex-convict. A dead body. A Women’s Institute meeting like no other…
It’s an unusually challenging meeting at the Wasby Women’s Institute, with local resident and former drug-dealer Adam Fleetwood talking about his crimes and subsequent rehabilitation…but events take a gruesome turn when prospective member Grace Thoresby is discovered murdered in the kitchen.
The case is particularly unwelcome for investigating officer DCI Jude Satterthwaite. Adam was once his close friend and now holds a bitter grudge, blaming Jude for landing him in jail in the first place. To complicate things further, the only thing keeping Adam from arrest is the testimony of Jude’s former girlfriend, Becca Reid, for whom he still cares deeply.
As Jude and his colleague and current partner, Ashleigh O’Halloran, try to pick apart the complicated tapestry of Grace’s life, they uncover a web of fantasy, bitterness and deceit. Adam is deeply implicated, but is he guilty or is someone determined to frame him for Grace’s murder? And as they close in on the truth, Jude falls foul of Adam’s desire for revenge, with near-fatal consequences…
A traditional detective mystery set in Cumbria.
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Author Bio –
Jo Allen was born in Wolverhampton and is a graduate of Edinburgh, Strathclyde and the Open University, with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in geography and Earth science. She’s been writing for pleasure and publication for as long as she can remember. After a career in economic consultancy she took up writing and was first published under the name Jennifer Young, in genres of short stories, romance and romantic suspense. She wrote online articles on travel and on her favourite academic subject, Earth science. In 2017 she took the plunge and began writing the genre she most likes to read — crime.
Jo lives in the English Lakes, where the DCI Satterthwaite series is set. In common with all her favourite characters, she loves football (she’s a season ticket holder with her beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers) and cats.
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1939, Amy Rollings is a machinist in a clothing factory. The owner’s son is found murdered and there are many suspects. Detective Sergeant Bodkin and Amy strike up an instant friendship and she helps him with the investigation even though she has a motive too…
Murder at the Mill is the first book in a new cosy murder mystery series which will feature amateur sleuth Amy.
I really enjoyed this book. The dynamic between Amy and Bodkin works well and I look forward to seeing how their relationship progresses. They have an instant spark which creates good opportunities for dialogue that had a realistic feel.
The murder itself is not described in detail. The victim has many enemies including Amy herself! Amy and Bodkin examine the evidence and question the suspects, finding motives but no opportunities to commit the crime. There are twists as characters reveal hidden secrets and reluctantly tell the truth.
The book is set in 1939 but the references to the looming war are minimal which was quite refreshing. I actually felt that the atmosphere seemed more like the 1950s because the style of writing and the characters’ behaviour had a more modern tone.
Murder at the Mill is a great start to a new series.
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Book Blurb
Introducing Twenty-one-year-old Amy Rowlings, a vivacious, quick-witted collector of imported American music, a movie buff and an avid reader of crime fiction.
January 1939 and the residents of the snow-covered streets of a small Kentish town awake to horrific news.
When young Amy Rowlings meets Detective Sergeant Bodkin at the scene of a robbery on the way to work at The Mill, one snowy, January morning, she is blissfully unaware of how much her life is about to change.
She is drawn into the murky world of murder when the body of Edward Handsley is found lying on the floor of the clothing factory. Edward, a libertine, philanderer, the son of George, the factory owner, a young man with many enemies, many of them female.
Bodkin is new to the area and accepts Amy’s offer to provide local knowledge but she soon becomes an invaluable source of information. When Adam Smethwick is arrested for the murder, Amy, a family friend, is convinced of his innocence and sets out to prove that the detective has arrested the wrong man.
Amy befriends Justine, the young, French fiancé of the elderly George, and soon discovers that it was not all sweetness and light in the Handsley family home. Meanwhile, back at the factory, Amy is sure that the foreman, Mr Pilling, has something to hide.
As the investigation proceeds, Amy finds that her burgeoning relationship with Bodkin is pushed to the limits as the detective becomes even more convinced that he has arrested the right man and while Bodkin relies heavily on the facts as they are presented, Amy has a more nuanced approach to solving the crime, born out of her beloved Agatha Christie books
Murder at the Mill is the first book in a gorgeous 1930’s cosy crime series .
AMY RETURNS ! – Death at Lychgate: the second Amy Rowlings book is out Christmas 2023
Author Bio
T A Belshaw is from Derbyshire in the United Kingdom where he shares a house with his chatty rescue cat, Mia. He writes for both children and adults. A former miner and computer technician, Trevor studied Advanced Creative Writing at the Open University. He is the author of Tracy’s Hot Mail, Tracy’s Celebrity Hot Mail and the noir, suspense novella, Out of Control. Following the sudden death of his wife in 2015 Trevor took a five-year break from writing, returning during lockdown in 2020, when an injury forced him to take time off work. The result of this new creative burst was the Dual Timeline, Family Saga, Unspoken and the Historical Cosy Crime Whodunnit, Murder at the Mill.
Trevor signed his first contract with Spellbound Books Ltd in April 2021. He signed a further mullti-book contract with them in the spring of 2022.
His short stories have been published in various anthologies including 100 Stories for Haiti, 50 Stories for Pakistan, Another Haircut, Shambelurkling and Other Stories, Deck the Halls, 100 Stories for Queensland and The Cafe Lit anthology 2011, 2012 and 2013. He also has two pieces in Shambelurklers Return. 2014
Trevor is also the author of 15 children’s adventure books written under the name of Trevor Forest.
His children’s poem, Clicking Gran, was long listed for the Plough prize (children’s section) in 2009 and his short poem, My Mistake, was rated Highly Commended and published in an anthology of the best entries in the Farringdon Poetry Competition.
Trevor’s articles have been published in magazines as diverse as Ireland’s Own, The Best of British and First Edition.
He is currently working on the sequel to Murder at the Mill, another cosy crime murder mystery set in 1939, Death at the Lychgate.
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