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Miranda is queen bee in her village. A newcomer herself, but she has fitted in quickly with the other women in the community, in particular with her best friend Evie. But Miranda is keeping secrets and a new arrival makes her feel threatened…

Queen Bee is a psychological suspense and domestic thriller set in an English village.

Miranda is quick to jealousy and suspicion and it is clear that her past makes her feel vulnerable. Her behaviour is a little extreme but this is tempered by the obvious insecurities due to her history. She is not a particularly easy character to like but readers will understand her fears. There are hints and clues about things that have happened connected with social media but the truth is not revealed until later in the book.

New arrival Verity acts suspiciously and the two women have very awkward exchanges. Both women are desperate to belong but find their position in the village is threatened by the other. Evie finds herself stuck in the middle but is also keeping things hidden… Friendships and the juxtaposition of real life versus the image we project are key themes for the book.

The majority of the book is written in the present day but this is interspersed with police interviews with a variety of characters (which creates suspense as we await what has led to the police involvement) as well as a plotline of a little girl in a difficult family situation. This creates tension and anticipation of the big reveal about the truth.

Queen Bee is full of suspense and twists, and is an enjoyable book overall.

Queen Bee book blurb

In the quiet village of Helesbury, Miranda Wallace prides herself on being the most popular member of her small social circle; the perfect friend, the best mum – the queen bee.

Until one day, Verity arrives. Cool and indifferent, Verity is everything Miranda isn’t, but she threatens to shatter Miranda’s picture-perfect life.

Suddenly plagued with insecurities, Miranda is certain Verity is hiding something. And Miranda knows all about secrets and the damage they can cause, because she’s hiding some of her own.

So when Verity threatens to reveal the truth about Miranda and destroy the perfect life she’s built, Miranda knows she has to act to protect the people she loves – even if the results are deadly.

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/3bvUdh1

Author Bio –

Nina Manning studied psychology and was a restaurant-owner and private chef (including to members of the royal family). She is the founder and co-host of Sniffing The Pages, a book review podcast. Her debut psychological thriller, The Daughter in Law, was a bestseller in the UK, US, Australia and Canada. She lives in Dorset.

Social Media Links –

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Lucy Callaghan suffers a head injury and wakes from a coma with amnesia. Over a decade of memories have completely vanished. Her sisters, family and friends attempt to help her redicover her past and her identity…

Am I Allergic To Men? is a funny novel about the pitfalls of modern life. It is the fifth and final book to feature the Callaghan sisters. I have previously reviewed two other books in the series: How Much Wine Will Fix My Broken Heart? and Did My Love Life Shrink In The Wash?

Lucy is a fun lead character. Heavily flawed and often naive due to her amnesia, shocked but impressed as she discovers her past sexual behaviour. The other sisters feature prominently throughout the book and it is nice to catch up with them after knowing them intimately in the last books. I loved the sibling banter and the fierce protectiveness they have for each other.

Author Kristen Bailey uses wonderful expression and turns of phrase in her writing. I found the sexual antics and revelations a little relentless and felt that the book lacked the nuances of emotion which had been present in the earlier sisters’ stories. However, Lucy is very self aware which makes her very human, and the whole family are genuinely nice and loving people.

Am I Allergic To Men? is a high energy and fun novel with really strong characters, but not for the faint hearted due to the sexual detail.

Am I Allergic To Men? book description:

You think you’ve got it bad? I lost my memory, I’m so single I’ve basically got an allergy to men, and my own cat despises me.

‘Lucy! If you can hear me, squeeze my hand!’

That’s the first thing I hear when I wake up in hospital. Then my sister drops a bombshell: I’ve been in a coma.

It gets worse. In my head, it’s 2009 and I’m seventeen. Somehow, I need to remember the last decade…

Plan A: Track down my exes. Highlights include a one-night stand with someone in a Batman costume, and balcony sex that gave the neighbours a nervous breakdown.

Plan B: Get flirty. Lowlights include a fling with someone hairier than a yeti.

Plan C: Figure out why I have more exes than underwear. Am I allergic to men?

As I piece together my past, I find a mysterious note: Oscar, 9th February. Determined to work out what it means, I uncover a secret I’ve been hiding from everyone.

When the truth comes out, will my memory return? Will I get my life back? And will I ever find the cure to my singledom?

You’ll laugh so much your abs ache! The perfect page-turner for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and TV shows like Schitt’s Creek.

Author Bio:

Mother-of-four, gin-drinker, binge-watcher, receipt hoarder, enthusiastic but terrible cook. Kristen also writes. She has had short fiction published in several publications including Mslexia & Riptide. Her first two novels, Souper Mum and Second Helpings were published in 2016. In 2019, she was long listed in the Comedy Women in Print Prize and has since joined the Bookouture family. She writes women’s fiction and she hopes her novels have fresh and funny things to say about modern life, love and family.

You can find out more about her at her website: www.kristenbaileywrites.com.

https://www.facebook.com/kristenbaileywrites/

https://www.instagram.com/kristenbaileywrites/

https://twitter.com/mrsbaileywrites

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B09MKNR2T8social

Apple: http://ow.ly/5GJY50HFsQW Kobo: http://ow.ly/pMpW50HFsQZ Google: http://ow.ly/iqV350HFsQX

Audio:

UK: zpr.io/CzcBPPT2SZrt
US: zpr.io/XvPzMPwtp6xP

Hear a sample here:

https://soundcloud.com/bookouture/am-i-allergic-to-men-by-kiersten-bailey-narrated-by-sarah-durham

Retired detective Jack Lunn discovers a body floating in the river when he goes fishing. The murder case is quickly closed but Jack has doubts about the lead officer (who just happens to be in a relationship with Jack’s ex wife). He is convinced that the police have the wrong man and is determined to find out the truth for himself…

Dead Drift is the first book in a new series to feature Jack Lunn. He is a detective who was forced to retire on medical grounds but his mind works as fast as ever. Jack frequently quotes philosophers and wordsmiths, and even Yoda from Star Wars!

The murder victim is a cantankerous old lady who had disputes with family and others in the local community. Jack identifies several suspects but the officer in charge of the case just won’t listen to him. Luckily Jack has friends in the police force who take his concerns seriously and ensure a thorough investigation.

There are several personal strands to the plot as well. Jack is in a relationship with Sarah but she isn’t happy about his involvement in the cases especially as he drags her daughter into it. Meanwhile Jack’s ex lives with Geoff Cooke who is leading the murder investigation and sees Jack’s input as threatening.

Jack is trying to set up a fishing tackle business and this slows the pace of the book but adds a realism. He is a great lead character and has strong personal and professional relationships because he gets on with a whole range of people, except Cooke!

Dead Drift was a very enjoyable introduction to a new crime and police thriller series. I Iook forward to seeing what happens to Jack next (bit of a cliffhanger ending!)

Buy Links

Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Drift-gripping-thriller-Introducing-ebook/dp/B09PYXBQVM

Amazon US https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Drift-gripping-thriller-Introducing-ebook/dp/B09PYXBQVM

Dead Drift book blurb

Former Detective Inspector Jack Lunn is enjoying the quiet life.

Twenty years on from being medically retired from the job with Hampshire Police, he’s earned his quiet routine of long walks in the New Forest.

However, Jack’s peace is shattered when he discovers the body of a friend and local landowner while on a fishing trip.

Drawn into the investigation, he comes face to face with an old colleague, and the police investigation machine he thought he had left behind.

As family secrets are exposed and a reporter takes an interest, Jack and his partner’s eldest daughter Gemma, a former military intelligence officer set to work to uncover who killed his friend.

As the body count rises, can they both unravel the mystery before it’s too late, or will Jack’s life be sacrificed as just so much dead drift…?

Author Bio

Born in West London, the middle of three boys, Andy won a scholarship to Lord Wandsworth College. He represented the school at most sports and also played rugby for Hampshire at Under 18 level.

After university, working life began with H. M. Customs & Excise, mostly on Mobile Task Force Units and Rummage Crews out of Southampton. He then moved to the Police as a beat bobby in Dorset.

He now works in property and lives in the South Downs, West Sussex. Often found at crime writing festivals and an avid reader, Andy regularly files reviews with the renowned crime fiction eZine Shotsmag.

You can see Andy chatting about writing and Dead Drift with renowned crime writing interviewer, Jacky Gramosi Collins (Dr Noir) for Noir At The Bar – Edinburgh via the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1yjeTDVD5c

Follow him at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whillandy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andy28dec/

1933 Hannelore sees the fanaticism of the Nazi regime as it sweeps to power. Her father ranks highly in the SS and she sees for herself the devastation within her beloved Germany. 1945: the war has ended and Hanni has reinvented herself to distance her life from that of her Nazi father. But his darkness continues to overshadow her life…

The Commandant’s Daughter is an historical novel set in the 1930s and 40s in Germany. I have read other books by Catherine Hokin, all surrounding the war years, including What Only We Know, The Lost Mother and The Secretary.

The book features a series of murders of Germans who were active Nazis but who were rehabilitated into society due to their skills. The killer wants revenge and justice for the millions of victims of Nazi atrocities. Hanni is hiding her true identity, ashamed of not speaking out against her father. Now she helps Jewish police officer Freddy but both understand the motive of the killer.

I liked the crime element of the book and the moral dilemma it poses for the main characters as well as us as readers. The book does give some information about the Holocaust cruelties but it is distanced by being referred to as past events. However the continued devastation for the characters left behind is hugely emotive.

Hanni has to contend with her own guilt as well as her revulsion and fear for her father. Her fledgling friendship with Freddy is overshadowed by both their pasts as he deals with survivor guilt and grief at the loss of his family.

The Commandant’s Daughter was an emotional book and I loved the murder aspect to the historical plot.

A heartbreaking novel about the incredible courage of ordinary people during the Second World War. Fans of The Alice Network, The Nightingale and The Tattooist of Auschwitz will never forget this powerful story of hope found in the darkest days.

1933, Berlin. Ten-year-old Hanni Foss stands by her father watching the celebrations marking Adolf Hitler as Germany’s new leader. As the torchlights fade, her safe and happy childhood changes forever as Reiner, the father she adores, is corrupted by his new position as commandant of an infamous concentration camp…

Twelve years later. As the Nazi regime crumbles, Hanni hides from her father on the outskirts of Berlin. In stolen moments, she develops the photographs she took to record the horrors of the camp – the empty food bowls and desperate faces – and vows to get justice for the innocent people she couldn’t help as a child.

But her carefully constructed new life is threatened when Hanni discovers a body hidden in a bombed-out building, and meets Freddy, the tortured young detective in charge of the case. Could the fierce emotion in his brown eyes distract Hanni from her quest for atonement?

Or will Reiner stop her himself? Because on the day she plans to deliver her damning photographs to the Allies, Hanni comes face to face with her father again. Reiner Foss has a powerful new identity and he makes it clear just how dangerous it will be to expose him. Now she faces a devastating choice, between the past which haunts her, and the chance of a future with Freddy…

Author Bio:

I seem to have followed a rather meandering career, including marketing and teaching and politics (don’t try and join the dots), to get where I have always wanted to be, which is writing historical fiction. I am a story lover as well as a story writer and nothing fascinates me more than a strong female protagonist and a quest. Hopefully those are what you will encounter when you pick up my books.

I am from the North of England but now live very happily in Glasgow with my American husband. Both my children have left home (one to London and one to Berlin) which may explain why I am finally writing. If I’m not at my desk you’ll most probably find me in the cinema, or just follow the sound of very loud music.

I’d love to hear from you and there are lots of ways you can find me, so jump in via my website https://www.catherinehokin.com/ or on my Cat Hokin FB page or on twitter @cathokin

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3mcGSz8

TRIGGER WARNING: this book deals with a child murder

A dismembered child’s body is discovered in a suitcase along the Thames and at the next low tide a skeleton is found. Could the two bodies be connected and is it the same killer? DI Jack MacIntosh and his team investigate the murders.

Hangman’s End is the fifth book in the Jack MackIntosh series but it is the first that I have read. There are references to events in the recent past as well as old cases which may contain spoilers from the previous books.

The plot itself is gruesome and grisly, hence the warnng at the start of this review. I felt very uncomfortable about reading about the dead child especially as we all see sections by the killer that are deeply upleasant. This shows the power of the writing for generating such a visceral response in the reader.

Jack MacIntosh is a great lead detective. He is haunted by an old case as well as his own mother’s murder. This adds to his determination to find justice for his current victims. We may not always agree with his actions and he has some non police-like behaviour in his background that could threaten his career.

The book clearly defines the time and place for each section of each chapter and I liked this for creating a clear timeline of events and location. There are subplots that unfold and it was interesting to see how the author wove the plot strands together. The ending was dramatic as the case concludes and a personal issue comes to the fore.

Hangman’s End was a grisly but good police procedural and crime novel.

Pre Order Links

Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hangmans-End-Jack-MacIntosh-Book-ebook/dp/B09N1XXD4W

Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/Hangmans-End-Jack-MacIntosh-Book-ebook/dp/B09N1XXD4W

Book Blurb :-

Two bodies.

One bridge.

Twenty years apart.

The discovery of two bodies beneath London Bridge plunges DI Jack MacIntosh and his team at the Metropolitan Police into two of the most complex investigations they’ve ever had to deal with.

With two decades separating them, can the cases really be linked?

Having an intense dislike for coincidences, Jack can’t let it go.

And when evidence then emerges pointing to a 1989 cold case, Jack is transported back in time to a miscarriage of justice that has haunted him for quarter of a century – and back to a little girl he vowed never to forget.

As two cases turn into three, becoming more and more entwined, will the river finally give up its secrets?

Maybe.

Because sometimes the dead can speak.

Hangman’s End is the fifth book in the DI Jack MacIntosh series.

Michelle Kidd is a self-published author best known for the Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh series of novels set in London. She has also recently begun a new series which is set in her home town of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk – starring Detective Inspector Nicki Hardcastle.

Michelle qualified as a lawyer in the early 1990s and spent the best part of ten years practising civil and criminal litigation.

But the dream to write books was never far from her mind and in 2008 she began writing the manuscript that would become the first DI Jack MacIntosh novel – The Phoenix Project. The book took eighteen months to write, but spent the next eight years gathering dust underneath the bed.

In 2018 Michelle self-published The Phoenix Project and has not looked back since. There are currently five DI Jack MacIntosh novel and the first DI Nicki Hardcastle novel is due for release in August 2021.

Michelle now works full time for the NHS and lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. She enjoys reading, wine and cats – not necessarily in that order

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Facebook: www.facebook.com/michellekiddauthor
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorKidd

Website : www.michellekiddauthor.com