Mack gets the shock of her life when she opens the boot of her car to find a dead body. A sinister note makes it clear that the killer has deliberately chosen a personal link to Mack. Then another woman disappears, a person from her past, and Mack is forced to consider why the killer is focused on her…
Mack’s case is personal again this time. The first victim is dumped in her car and the next is an old school bully. The killer seems to be fixated on seeking Mack’s happiness so could it be someone she knows?
I love Mack’s character. She is strong but also has a vulnerable side due to her experiences in the past. Her dedication to seeking justice is relentless and in this book she has to carefully navigate her personal and professional lives once again.
The chapters are quite short which helps to keep the pace swiftly moving along. There are plenty of plot twists and the tension was maintained throughout the book. The book deals with some big and unpleasant issues including sexual exploitation which makes us will Mack on to successfully close the case.
The Lost Bones is an enjoyable crime thriller with a great lead character.
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Book: The Lost Bones
Author: Ruhi Choudhary
Pub Day: May 9th 2022
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About the Book:
The woman’s skin was almost transparent. Her light hair darkened at the tips. Her lips were blue and slightly parted. But all Mackenzie could focus on were the eyes. Those arctic eyes that looked glassy like glistening marbles. She could see her own reflection in them staring back at her. The woman looked almost like a carefully crafted doll.
Detective Mackenzie Price knows what makes a killer tick. But when she finds the body of a young woman dumped in the trunk of her car, she knows this case is going to be the most personal and twisted yet.
Looking down at the victim, Mack recognises her instantly: Sophie Fields, the fiancée of Mack’s co-worker who vanished months before. Reeling in shock, Mack keeps one crucial piece of evidence to herself, too horrified to share it: a crumpled piece of paper bearing the words “You’re welcome, Mackenzie.”
As Mack pieces together Sophie’s last known movements, another body is found with a note. This time the victim is Courtney Montenegro, Mack’s childhood bully. As Mack looks at the note it becomes clear that the killer has an unusual MO: they want to protect her at all costs. But why?
The only evidence connecting the victims are identical pieces of material left at both crime scenes. With no other leads, Mack unearths a cold case which may lead her to the killer. Sophie had a sister who disappeared years before. Did she get too close to the truth and pay the ultimate price?
With an obsessive killer still on the loose, Mack knows that she needs to get deep inside their mind to work out who is next on the hit list. Can she get to the killer in time before someone close to her loses their life?
A completely gripping read that will have you on the edge of your seat, this addictive crime thriller is perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh.
Author Bio
Ruhi Choudhary discovered her passion for writing when she was seven years old and wrote her first Star Trek episode. Being a fan of the dark and twisted, she found her calling in crime thrillers.
She likes to write stories that make you a little uncomfortable and characters that you struggle to make up your mind about but stay with you.
She lives in Toronto and spends her days training to be a scientist and wishing it rained more often!
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Lexi Jakes is keeping a secret from her husband. She is actually the daughter of an infamous serial killer. But now a copycat killer has tracked her down and she is desperate to protect herself and her daughter…
The Serial Killer’s Girl is a stand alone psychological thriller set in the UK. Geography plays a relevant role in the plot as Lexi flees to the island of Lindisfarne which has limited access depending on the tides.
Lexi’s father is a notorious killer and she hasn’t seen him or her mother for decades. Her mother is killed in the same manner as her father killed his victims and Lexi fears she or her own daughter are next. She flees to her foster mother but has to confront her past.
The majority of the book is written in the third person to show Lexi’s perspective. However, there are some chapters written in the first person to show the viewpoint of the person seeking revenge. I liked the dual perspective to show the motives of the killer as well as ramp up the anticipation as they get closer to Lexi.
The identity of the copycat killer is sustained well over the course of the book and I was kept guessing and had loads of different theories. I felt that the pace of the novel was good overall but there seemed to be several twists crammed in at the end so their impact was lessened in my opinion.
The Serial Killer’s Girl is an enjoyable thriller.
The Serial Killers Girl
Does a killer’s blood run in the family?
Lexi Jakes thought she could run from her past.
But when her biological mother is found dead, strangled with a red silk scarf and holding a chess piece, Lexi knows that her worst nightmare has come true. Because the murder has all the hallmarks of her own serial killer father, renown strangler Peter Graves.
Now with her own precious daughter’s life in danger, Lexi will do anything to keep her child safe…she is her father’s daughter after all.
Author Bio –
Lynda Stacey is the bestselling psychological suspense author of over five novels. Alongside her writing she is a fulltime sales director for an office furniture company and has been a nurse, an emergency first response instructor and a PADI Staff Instructor. She lives near Doncaster with her husband.
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TRIGGER WARNING: rape
FBI agent Nikki Hunt has a complicated crime scene with three dead bodies and someone seriously injured. One of the dead is a missing teenager who shouldn’t have been in the house and seemingly has no connection to the family that were also attacked. Nikki waits for the injured man Bryce to regain consciousness but is he an innocent victim?
The Trapped Ones is a crime thriller based in America. It is the fifth book in the Nikki Hunt series and I have previously read and reviewed books 2 and 4: One Perfect Grave and The Girl in the Ground.
Nikki’s character is the driving force for the book as her personal and professional life control the direction of the plot. She is utterly dedicated to her job but her personal life is still in turmoil as her in laws want custody of her daughter. Her latest case is a confusing one and, as she investigates, she finds an unpleasant connection between the victims.
The chapters are quite long so the pace of the plot developments did not feel fast. Nikki is thorough and methodical in her investigation, supported by her colleagues. There are big twists as the case progresses and secrets about the victims are revealed. I felt that the ending was quite abrupt but it definitely left me wanting to read the next book asap to find out what happens to Nikki next.
The Trapped Ones is an enjoyable crime thriller with an engaging lead character.
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Book: The Trapped Ones
Author: Stacy Green
Pub Day: May 3rd 2022
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Book Description:
She raced across the woods. Cold wind hit her face, and her heart pounded so fast she could almost feel the panic rushing through her veins.She knocked on the door knowing she didn’t have much time. Fear gripped her. “Please, help,” she whispered.
Rushing to the scene of a homicide at a farmhouse surrounded by thick, dark woodland, Special Agent Nikki Hunt is shocked to find four victims. A mother and father have been stabbed, their son, Bryce, is fighting for his life, and a young woman’s body is lying near the front door, her wrists bound with heart-shaped bunting. Nikki has never seen such a complex scene, but despite recovering from her own painful loss, she will do whatever it takes to bring this killer to justice.
Nikki soon identifies the woman as missing student Jessica Chandler and finds Bryce’s initials woven into the jumper she wore the night she died. It seems like they were a couple, and that the Webers were a happy family. So who would want them dead?
The murders have all the hallmarks of a serial killer: all the evidence suggests the murderer was watching them, turned the security cameras off as they entered and fled the scene from the front door. But then Jessica’s friends tell Nikki she was uncomfortable around Bryce, and when two of Bryce’s friends go missing along Stillwater river, and the girlfriend is found, she claims her boyfriend tried to kill her.
Are Bryce and his friends hiding a dark side? Nikki knows she must dig deeper to find out their secrets, but can she uncover the truth before the killer takes another life?
You won’t want to stop turning the pages of this unputdownable crime thriller. Fans of Lisa Regan, Robert Dugoni and Kendra Elliot will be reading The Trapped Ones late into the night.
Author Bio:
Stacy Green is a USA Today best-selling author of more than a dozen mysteries and thrillers. Her books include the award-winning Lucy Kendall series, the Cage Foster series, and the USA Today best-selling Nikki Hunt series. Stacy has bachelor’s degrees in Journalism/Mass Communication and Sociology from Drake University. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America.
Stacy lives in Iowa with her husband, daughter, and fur babies.
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Jamie Gray, head of the Blood Brothers which firmly controls the Gallowburn estate, is longing to give it up to be with the woman he loves. She is hiding abroad and her father is in prison for her murder. Jamie must face threats from other gangs and the police before they can be reunited…
Blood Pact is the 4th book in the Gallowburn series. I have previously read and reviewed book 2, Bad Blood. There are mentions of events in previous books but each could be read as a standalone.
The tension is high as Allegra’s father and Jamie’s other enemies attempt to bring him down. He has the support of the infamous Toni McVey but is fearful of her reaction when he has to tell her that Allegra is still alive and that he is leaving to be with her.
The plot develops swiftly and we see multiple third person perspectives so we know who Jamie’s enemies are and how they plan to destroy him. The Blood Brothers are easy to like and have a vulnerable side despite their lifestyle choices.
There is violence as you would expect from a book of this genre. However, this is countered by an emotional side. I really enjoy the family dynamics and banter as I feel they offer a more rounded understanding of the characters. The dialogue is written to show the Scottish accent which again adds a realism to their interactions.
Blood Pact is a gritty and gripping gang crime novel.
Blood Pact
To survive, they’ll need to stick together…
After the defeat of the rival Gordon and Thompson families, the Blood Brothers’ reputations as feared lieutenants of the McVay clan are firmly established. The Gallowburn has become an untouchable stronghold in their capable hands.
However, danger rears its head in another form – Jamie’s deadliest foe, Cameron Abernethy. Still fighting to be released from prison, Cameron decides to use the Lawson family, the Blood Brothers’ biggest rivals, to discover his daughter’s whereabouts.
With his enemies getting closer, and the police on his tail too, Jamie has some impossible choices to make. This is his last chance to live the life he’s dreamed of with the woman he loves, but first he’s got to make sure he’s not caught or killed…
Author Bio –
Heather Atkinson is the author of over fifty books – predominantly in the crime fiction genre. Although Lancashire born and bred she now lives with her family, including twin teenage daughters, on the beautiful west coast of Scotland. Her new gangland series for Boldwood, set on the fictional Gallowburn estate in Glasgow begins with the title Blood Brothers and was published in December 2020.
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1945: Miriam is released from a concentration camp. All of her family are dead except for her daughter Rosa who travelled to England before the war. Can the mother and daughter be reunited?
Searching For My Daughter is an historical novel set in the 1930s and 40s.
The book begins in 1945 when Miriam has travelled for weeks to reach the British for help in relocating. She is desperate to find her daughter Rosa, her only remaining family member after the Nazi genocide. She meets officer Jack Preston who knows Rosa and supports Miriam in her search.
We then travel back to 1938 to see Rosa’s experience before the war and during her relocation to England. It makes for emotional reading as she is abused sexually and physically by her employer and then her husband. She finds a glimmer of hope and love with Jack before being forcibly parted.
This book is not for the faint hearted. The sexual and physical abuse in tandem with the concentration camp descriptions make this an emotional read. The book is written in the third person with different perspectives taking centre stage. I found myself swept up in the plot and the lives of the characters, and the story develops at a reasonably swift pace. The style of writing is engaging and easy to read, making it easy to identify with the characters and their emotions.
Searching For My Daughter is a gripping and emotive historical novel.
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Searching for My Daughter: Absolutely heartbreaking and totally unputdownable WW2 historical fiction
The queue is long, but that barely matters. She is used to waiting. For the midnight knock at the door, for her number to be called, for the next meal of watery soup, the sound of a gunshot… Sustaining her through every moment of waiting, there has remained the tiniest flicker of hope: her daughter Rosa’s face, eyes bright and expectant, arms outstretched.
Germany 1945: Miriam has travelled for over two weeks to reach safety. Exhausted and hungry, she knows she is still one of the fortunate ones. One of the few to survive the camps. Having lost her darling husband and son, the only thing that has kept her walking is the hope of finding her daughter, Rosa.
As she arrives at the checkpoint, she is told it is closed for the day. But in her mind Miriam can hear her daughter’s voice: Be strong, stand up to them. Don’t let anyone bully you, Mum. Standing tall, she comes face to face with the guard and refuses to leave until they help her.
When Miriam is introduced to an English officer named Jack, she describes how, fearing the Nazis, she and her husband sent Rosa to England to marry. It was not a marriage of love but of survival. Now, Miriam needs the officer’s help: if she is to be reunited with her beloved daughter, he will need to help her travel to England.
But as Miriam begins to describe Rosa, there is a look of recognition in Jack’s eyes. As he listens to her story, he is transported back to an unforgettable English summer, to secret picnics in the long grass, and to a love that shaped the man he became. Will Jack now risk everything to help Miriam make the biggest journey of all, back to her daughter and her freedom?
An utterly gripping and emotional novel about bravery, enduring love and keeping hope alive in the darkest of times. Perfect for fans of The Nightingale, Beneath a Scarlet Sky and The Tattooist of Auschwitz.
About the author:
Liz Trenow is a former journalist who spent fifteen years on regional and national newspapers, and on BBC radio and television news, before turning her hand to fiction. Searching for My Daughter is her ninth novel. The Forgotten Seamstress reached the top twenty in the New York Times best seller list and The Last Telegram was nominated for a national award. Her books are published all over the world and translated into many languages.
She lives in Colchester with her artist husband, and they have two grown up daughters and three grandchildren. Find out more at www.liztrenow.com, or join her on Twitter @LizTrenow or Facebook at www.facebook.com/liztrenow/
Author social media
Twitter: @liztrenow
Instagram: @liztrenow
