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TRIGGER WARNING: gang violence, sexual violence

Lydia sees her whole family killed by a drugs gang except for her eight year old son Luca. Their only hope for survival is to travel to the United States where she has an uncle. But the drugs cartel boss won’t rest until she is found and she faces a momentous and possibly deadly journey across the border…

American Dirt is a gritty and tragic book about a woman’s journey across Mexico to escape a drugs cartel boss.

This book was my bookclub’s choice for October last year but I really didn’t fancy it from the blurb. However, everyone was overwhelmingly positive so I decided to give it a try and I’m glad I did.

The majority of the book is written to show Lydia and Luca’s journey but also includes some flashback or reflections about the past. The characters are vividly portrayed and their emotion is raw. Danger looms constantly and the fear was palpable. This was particularly effective in conveying the mother’s love and determination to save her son at any cost.

Initially I found the book very powerful and was immersed in Lydia’s journey. However, I felt the middle of the book was a little dull and repetitive. The misery and danger were quite unrelenting which was not enjoyable. I would have liked more from the epilogue, to know how the pair fared (no spoilers!)

American Dirt is a vivid portrayal of a desperate journey. I am glad I changed my mind and read it.

Book blurb

An extraordinary story of the lengths a mother will go to to save her son, AMERICAN DIRT has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. It’s time to read what you’ve been missing.

Lydia Perez owns a bookshop in Acapulco, Mexico, and is married to a fearless journalist. Luca, their eight-year-old son, completes the picture. But it only takes a bullet to rip them apart.

In a city in the grip of a drug cartel, friends become enemies overnight, and Lydia has no choice but to flee with Luca at her side. North for the border… whatever it takes to stay alive. The journey is dangerous – not only for them, but for those they encounter along the way. Who can be trusted? And what sacrifices is Lydia prepared to make?

A school bully is found dead. Did he deliberately take aspirin that would kill him, was it given accidentally, or did someone swap the medications on purpose to kill?

The Murders at Fleat House is a police procedural centred around a boarding school. I wonder if it could have been the first book in a new series for this detective but unfortunately the author died before publication. The audiobook was narrated by Gemma Whelan who is a wonderful actor and has a fabulous voice which fully immersed me in the story.

Charlie was a popular and lively boy but also prone to bullying others. His sudden death is a shock: everyone knew of his life threatening allergy to aspirin so the police are called when it is unknown if the death is an accident, murder or suicide. Another character is then found dead and the police need to consider if there is a link between the two deaths.

The main detective is Jazz. She has resigned from the police force but her superior officer only put her on sabbatical. Now he calls on her to try to solve one last case before quitting. She is reeling from a messy divorce with a colleague but is determined to face the future so accepts leading the case.

There are a lot of characters as we explore the relationships and lives of the boys, the teachers, the police, and their families. A surprise confession is swiftly discounted and there are other red herrings to keep the reader guessing. I liked how the threads of the plot and subplots were woven together and was keen for Jazz to succeed and prove her ex wrong.

The Murders at Fleat House is an enjoyable police procedural novel with a great female lead detective.

Book blurb:

The Murders at Fleat House is a suspenseful and utterly compelling crime novel from the multi-million copy global bestseller, Lucinda Riley.

The sudden death of a pupil in Fleat House at St Stephen’s – a small private boarding school in deepest Norfolk – is a shocking event that the headmaster is very keen to call a tragic accident.

But the local police cannot rule out foul play and the case prompts the return of high-flying Detective Inspector Jazmine ‘Jazz’ Hunter to the force. Jazz has her own private reasons for stepping away from her police career in London, but reluctantly agrees to front the investigation as a favour to her old boss. Reunited with her loyal sergeant Alastair Miles, she enters the closed world of the school, and as Jazz begins to probe the circumstances surrounding Charlie Cavendish’s tragic death, events are soon to take another troubling turn.

Charlie is exposed as an arrogant bully, and those around him had both motive and opportunity to switch the drugs he took daily to control his epilepsy. As staff at the school close ranks, the disappearance of young pupil Rory Millar and the death of an elderly Classics master provide Jazz with important leads, but are destined to complicate the investigation further. As snow covers the landscape and another suspect goes missing, Jazz must also confront her personal demons . . .

Then, a particularly grim discovery at the school makes this the most challenging murder investigation of her career. Because Fleat House hides secrets darker than even Jazz could ever have imagined . . .

TRIGGER WARNING: drug use

Bryan Webb comes home from a bike ride to find the police on his doorstep. His wife’s car has been found crashed in the woods and she has vanished. Has she had another blackout or has someone taken her…?

The Wreckage of Us is a mix of crime, mystery and psychological thriller.

Bryan used to be a police officer and is devoted to his sick wife who has been traumatised by a stalker. Her medication leaves her weak and recently she went missing briefly, with no memory of what happened when she stumbled home. But this time she doesn’t come home and the police are searching the woods when they find a body.

The book is written from multiple perspectives. These show Bryan’s frustration with the officer in charge of the case and the lack of progress being made, Astrid in the lead up to the crash, and the experience of Celine which is fuelled by drugs. The connection between Celine and the Webbs is not revealed until the end, adding to the mystery and clues about the plot development.

Tension builds as Bryan Webb clashes horns with DI Ronson over the case, and Astrid and Celine’s stories unfold. I found it difficult to like any of the main characters as their own personal agendas gain prominence. Celine and Astrid did inspire some sympathy but I wanted them to have more spark and not be passive in their own lives, letting men dictate their choices.

I thought the pacing was well aligned with the nature of the plot and characters. There are clues to link the strands of the plot together and I was able to guess some of the connections but there were secrets revealed right up until the end.

The Wreckage of Us is a tense and intriguing crime and mystery novel.

Book blurb

It’s always the husband… Isn’t it?

Astrid Webb is missing. The police have found her car crashed near the woods, the driver’s door open, the seat spotted with blood. But there’s no sign of Astrid herself. Her husband Bryan is sure that she’s alive – after all, this isn’t the first time she’s vanished, only to reappear without explanation.

As the days pass, Bryan starts to look like a suspect in his wife’s disappearance, perhaps in her murder. But Bryan isn’t telling the police the whole truth. Not about Astrid’s stalker, their broken-in back door, or the threatening messages. Then a woman’s body is found in the woods. By staying silent, is Bryan protecting Astrid, or protecting himself?

From the bestselling author of The Regret and The Box , this heart-pounding thriller is perfect for readers of Harlan Coben, Mark Billingham and Alex North.