DI Liam O’Reilly gets a brick thrown his window with a note attached from a killer he sent to prison fifteen years earlier. Now Patrick Finney, remorseless and relentless, is on the run and looking for revenge…
Revenge On The Island is the fifth book to feature Liam and his police team on the island of Guernsey. There are a few mentions of events in the last book but I don’t think there are any spoilers.
Once again the pace is at breakneck speed as Liam’s life is turned upside down. He goes through a whole host of emotions, with fear and anger being the most prominent. The murders that Finney committed culminated in a victim with a personal link to Liam and now Finney wants to destroy Liam’s career.
I was completely hooked. The majority of the book is dialogue based as the characters interact. Reationships within the team are well established as well as rivalry with other agencies which come to the fore with devastating consequences for Liam as he attempts to prove his innocence. There are lovely little details that bring the characters to life, for example Liam’s reaction to his obstinate cat.
It is always a sign of a good book when you feel for the characters. I found myself wanting to shout at Liam for some of his choices which you know will come back to haunt him. He has a staunchly loyal team but feels isolated as his rival besmirches his reputation and the killer is set to ruin him.
Revenge On The Island is a quick read but thoroughly entertaining and gripping.
Revenge on the Island book blurb:
A compelling mystery with a dark twist (DI Liam O’Reilly mysteries Book 5)
REVENGE IS SWEET.
How do you solve a murder when you’re the number one suspect?
Fifteen years ago Patrick Finney was sentenced to life for the brutal murders of four women. It was one of the most high-profile cases in Irish history and one that defined Detective Inspector Liam O’Reilly’s career. O’Reilly was instrumental in bringing Finney down.
Now Finney has escaped from a high-security prison and he’s not content to stay on the run.
He wants revenge and he’s prepared to stop at nothing to get it.
Abandoned by the very people he’s employed by O’Reilly finds himself in a predicament that leaves him running out of options. There is only one man who can help him. But it’s a man he vowed he would never contact again, and the consequences of his association with this phantom could be far worse than O’Reilly could ever imagine.
When the hunter becomes the hunted the rules of the game have to change.
This is a chilling mystery that O’Reilly will never forget.
BOOKS BY STEWART GILES
DS JASON SMITH SERIES
0.5 – Phobia
1 – Smith
2 – Boomerang
3 – Ladybird
4 – Occam’s Razor
5 – Harlequin
6 – Selene
7 – Horsemen
8 – Unworthy
9 – Venom
10 – Severed
11 – Demons
12 – Deadeye
13 – Motive
14 – Australia
DI O’REILLY MYSTERIES
1 – Blood on the Island
2 – Lies on the Island
3 – Fear on the Island
5 – Revenge on the Island
DC HARRIET TAYLOR SERIES
1-The Beekeeper
2-The Perfect Murder
3-The Backpacker
Trotterdown a box set of DC Harriet Taylor books 1-3
DS JASON SMITH &DC HARRIET TAYLOR SERIES
1 – The Enigma
2 – Dropzone
3 – The Raven Girl
Trilogy: The DS Smith & Harriet Taylor box set
THE MIRANDA TRILOGY (psychological thrillers)
Miranda
Mistress
Medusa
STANDALONE HORROR
The Divide
Stewart Giles – Author Bio
After reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live.
In 2014 Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head and I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later.
3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor: Cornwall series.
The Beekeeper was published and soon hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well.
I continued to self-publish the Smith series and Unworthy hit the shelves in 2018 with amazing results. I therefore made the decision to self-publish The Backpacker which is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series which was published in July 2018.
After The Backpacker I had an idea for a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers and The Enigma was born. It brought together the broody, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor.
The Miranda trilogy is something totally different. A psychological thriller trilogy. It is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before.
The Detective Jason Smith series continues to grow with book 16 recently published. The first 5 books in the Detective Liam O’Reilly series are now available.
Twitter: @stewartgiles
ER nurse Jessie Novak who works alongside the police on investigations is thrown into a disturbing new case when a woman falls from a building. Suicide is ruled out as the woman was dead before she left the roof…
Her Mother’s Cry is the third book to feature Jessie and I have previously read and reviewed the second book in the series The Frozen Girl. There are mentions about some aspects of Jessie’s personal and family life but no plot spoilers from the previous books.
Jessie’s character is staunchly determined to care, support and find the truth. Her relationship with Sam is strained at times as she heads off in her own direction with little thought for her own safety. She acts from the heart and often on impulse which frustrates Sam as he plays by the rules and is worried about compromising the investigation.
The book is written mostly from Jessie’s perspective but we also see some chapters from the killer’s viewpoint. This allows us insight into his motivation and increases the tension as we anticipate his next grisly move.
I felt that there was a slightly political side to the plot as the first victim is identified as an illegal immigrant. Yet Jessie treats the woman’s friends as equals and respects their choices and background. This shows her natural humanity as well as makes a wider statement about respecting others regardless of their circumstances. In contrast the killer has no respect for human life.
I enjoyed the forensic detail and the police procedural elements of the book. Neither seemed too gruesome or graphic yet they conveyed the medical and investigation sides to the plot with appropriate depth.
Her Mother’s Cry is an entertaining crime thriller with a very strong female lead character who is unusual due to her nursing background.
MEDIA PACK
Book: Her Mother’s Cry
Author: Roberta Gately
Pub Day: Nov 1st 2021
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About the Book:
The girl in the photo was laughing, her head thrown back, her lips painted a bright red. Jessie could feel the simple joy reflected in that moment. And as she looked closer, she saw the same gold cross and chain that had adorned the first victim’s neck.
When a young woman falls to her death from a parking garage, the Boston police department rule it as a suicide. But when Jessie Novak examines the scene, she isn’t so sure… The girl’s delicate hands are bruised and her fingernails torn: evidence of a struggle. Did someone push her from the roof?
Then a second young woman is found dead, this time at the foot of her dorm building, her hands injured in the same way as the first victim’s with a gold cross and chain clutched in her fist. Jessie is convinced there is a connection and that a twisted killer is on the loose.
Just as Jessie thinks she is closing in on the culprit, her worst fears are realized: a third girl is found dead. The gap between murders is closing: the killer is getting more confident. He will never stop until he is caught.
But little does Jessie know that, while she works to pick up the trail of her suspect, he is already on hers. She is the only one who can stop this monster before he kills again—but to save the next innocent life, is she prepared to risk her own?
A thrilling and totally gripping crime thriller that will grab you from the start and not let go until the final, heart-stopping page. Utterly addictive reading for fans of Lisa Regan, Robert Dugoni and Melinda Leigh.
Author Bio and Social Media
Roberta Gately, lives in Boston where she works as a nurse at the Boston Medical Center. It was in the ER where she developed an interest in the investigations behind the crimes and the victims she encountered. Working in a busy ER is much like being a detective—the search for answers is a methodical process, not unlike the work required to solve a murder!
Her crime series with Bookouture stars the brave and brilliant ER nurse Jessie Novak who teams up with her detective friend to solve tricky Boston murder cases. Expect addictive mysteries, breathtaking suspense and a gutsy heroine you’ll never forget. When she’s not writing or working at the hospital, Roberta enjoys reading, working out and spending time with friends and family.
She has also worked in humanitarian aid, providing medical care in some of the world’s bleakest spots ranging from Africa to Afghanistan. Her two previous novels, Lipstick in Afghanistan and The Bracelet were based upon her experiences of nursing abroad. Her memoir—Footprints in the Dust tells the true stories of some of the extraordinary people she met.
Roberta loves hearing from readers and you can get in touch with her using the links below.
Former military police officer Georgia Fell returns to her hometown where she was abandoned at birth. She finds the body of her foster sister dead outside a bar but her lover, the sheriff Alex, rules out murder. Incensed, Georgia turns to the man she has been avoiding since her return: Lincoln…
The Darkwater Girls is a crime thriller and the first book in a new series.
Georgia is an intriguing lead character. She has been through a lot since birth and has a cynical opinion on human nature. This makes her feisty and determined to seek justice for those that are vulnerable like her younger self. She left Angel Bay a decade earlier and has returned to claim an inheritance she feels is not hers. She needs to confront the past and protect her heart as she meets Lincoln again.
The book is mainly written from the two first person perspectives of Georgia and Lincoln. I liked that we can see the internal emotional upheaval and mental wrangling that they endure as they tentatively develop a new friendship.
Georgia has a strong emotional tie to the plot. She was fostered and is keen to help other children in the same situation. A text message from one foster sister leads her to discover the body of another. There appears to be a cover up as the sheriff denies any signs of foulplay and again this has a personal edge as the sheriff is her boyfriend.
The Darkwater Girls is an entertaining crime thriller with a sparky and unique lead character. I enjoyed the introduction to Georgia and her back story and look forward to seeing what happens next.
MEDIA PACK
Book: The Darkwater Girls
Author: Maegan Beaumont
Pub Day: Nov 4th 2021
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About the Book:
Recognition hits me as I look at the woman lying in the long grass. It’s my sister. Her hot-pink nails are chipped and caked with dirt, her blue eyes are cold and vacant. I desperately shake her, even though I know. She’s gone.
Fresh out of the Military Police, Georgia Fell has returned to her Michigan island hometown a decade after she ran away. Late to meet her younger sister at a bar on the isolated tip of the isle, she arrives to her worst nightmare: Rachel dead, purple bruises around her slim, beautiful neck.
When the police rule out murder, Georgia knows it can’t be true. Reluctantly, she must turn to the person she’s been avoiding since she came home. Georgia can’t forgive single dad Lincoln McNamara for his betrayal the night she left, but he has an in with the dangerous crew operating out of the roadhouse where Rachel was killed. The question is, can she trust him?
But before she can convince Lincoln to help her, another local girl goes missing. How deep into the darkness of island life must Georgia go to find out the truth? And with an innocent girl’s life on the line, does she even have a choice?
An absolutely unputdownable suspense thriller. Readers who adore Tami Hoag, Mary Burton and J.D. Robb will be hooked on this jaw-dropping new crime series.
Author Bio and Social Media
Maegan Beaumont is the award-winning author of the Sabrina Vaughn thriller series. Her debut novel, CARVED IN DARKNESS was awarded the 2014 gold medal from Independent Publishers for outstanding thriller as well as being named a Foreword Book of the Year finalist and Debut Novel of the Year by Suspense Magazine. When she isn’t locked in her office, torturing her protagonists, she’s busy chasing chickens (and kids), hanging laundry and burning dinner. Either way, she is almost always in the company of her seven and a half dogs—her truest and most faithful companions—and her almost as faithful husband, Joe. She also writes hot contemporary romance as USA TODAY best-selling author, Megyn Ward.
Nat’s life seems pretty perfect but she can never escape the bullies who tormented her in the past. They are now her friends but her insecurities are bubbling below the surface. Especially when the queen bully returns…
The Girl She Was Before is a psychological novel with added elements of a crime thriller. It is the first book I have read from this author as it is her debut novel!
Nat is a successful painter and influencer. She has a close group of friends but they all were complicit or active in bullying her at school. Two of the friends are involved in a devastating car crash and is it coinicidence that Chrissy Summers has just arrived in town? Her snide comments undermine Nat’s confidence and her insidious nastiness begins to take control of the former bullies once more…
The book is written in the present with occasional chapters from the past. In the present we have the mystery of the car accident and the uncomfortable reality that the crash may have been deliberate. Nat feels threatened by Chrissy’s arrival as the pain of the past comes to the fore. Chrissy begins to unravel the perfect world that Nat has created and the panic and sense of loss is compellingly authentic.
I felt truly upset by the bullying scenes of the past. The pain of the bullied child on top of the neglect and fear she suffers at home is very upsetting to read. My anger was sparked as the bullies continue to get away with their cruelty and my sympathy for the poor girl really made my heart ache.
The Girl She Was Before is often uncomfortable if not unpleasant, as it deals with difficult topics. Nat is a great lead character and hugely likable so we hope for a positive outcome for her throughout.
The Girl She Was Before
A crime thriller with a brilliant twist you won’t see coming!!
Powerful, packed full of gruelling details that will linger with you long after the book has finished.
Nat lives a picture-perfect life, but it wasn’t always this way. A victim of horrific bullying when she was a teenager, Nat will do anything to keep distance between the girl she was before and the woman she is now.
But when her best friend is murdered and people begin to point their finger at her, Nat’s new life quickly begins to unravel.
To Nat, it’s no surprise that the crime happened at the same time as the return of her biggest tormentor, Chrissy Summers. A woman with a violent streak who destroyed lives when she was younger and isn’t afraid to do it again.
Face to face with the past she so firmly keeps behind her, Nat’s sanity wavers as her determination to reveal Chrissy as the monster she knows her as rises to dangerous heights.
The question is, can Nat prove Chrissy is a killer, or will Chrissy get to Nat and her family before she has the chance?
You can’t outrun the past…
Author Bio –
Jess Kitching is an avid reader, writer and binge-watcher. Originally from Bradford, England, she currently lives in Sydney with her fiancé Jack. Her two goals in life were to move to Australia and have a book published. To be able to say she has done both is something she still can’t wrap her head around.
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PUBLISHER:
A murder victim found in the snow but she has been frozen for over a decade. A killer looks for his next love and a detective determined to thwart him…
Frozen Souls is the fourth book in the Ellie Reeves series from Rita Herron. I have previously reviewed books 2 and 3: Wildflower Graves and The Burning Girls. There are spoilers about outcomes from previous books and the effect they have had on the police characters.
Detective Ellie Reeves has been significantly affected by recent events. She is still clashing with the sheriff as well as having major ongoing family issues. This latest case has a political edge as the missing woman is a governor’s daughter.
The weather and landscape play a vital role in this book as the terrain and snow hamper searches and mask evidence. However, Ellie is a fab lead character who is willing to overcome any challenge even the physical obstacles!
The book is written from various third person perspectives. We see the killer’s twisted logic as he searches for a perfect bride. A missing woman’s panic as she desperately attempts to free herself. Ellie’s fierce and dogged determination to find the missing woman before another body is found. The pace, with short chapters, is fast and furious as Ellie tries to find the killer.
Frozen Souls is an enjoyable crime thriller with a strong lead detective who we can cheer along in the case and empathise with her personal circumstances.
MEDIA PACK
Book: Frozen Souls
Author: Rita Herron
Pub Day: Oct 28th 2021
Buy Links:
About the Book:
She looked like an angel. She lay perfectly still, silky blonde hair falling to her pale shoulders. Icicles clung to her eyelashes as snowflakes fluttered to the frozen ground, burying her body.
As a snowstorm wreaks havoc in the mountain town of Crooked Creek, a woman is found buried in ice. Detective Ellie Reeves is first on the scene. Examining the body, she finds frozen blonde hair, pink nail polish and a silver heart necklace engraved with Mine Forever.
Ellie has first-hand experience of the monsters that lurk in the mountains––her childhood is testament to that. She vows to catch this one, but she’s up against the brutal weather, with snow covering footprints and making forensics impossible.
Frantically trawling through missing-person’s reports, Ellie identifies the victim. Nadine Houser disappeared eleven years ago. Where has she been all this time? Why was she only murdered now?
As storm clouds roll in, another girl is reported missing. Ellie retraces the steps of Ginger Weston who was renting a cabin in the mountains. She discovers a gold chain in the snow, spotted with blood. The killer is accelerating, and it’s just a matter of time before more innocent lives are robbed.
With the town blaming Ellie for the missing girl on her watch, and everyone fearing for their safety of their daughters, it’s down to Ellie to solve the toughest case of her career. But when the killer comes after her, will she live to save Crooked Creek from its ruthless monster?
A totally gripping read that will get your pulse pounding as you flip through the pages! Perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot who love a roller-coaster, twist-packed page-turner!
Author Bio
USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author Rita Herron fell in love with books at the ripe age of eight when she read her first Trixie Belden mystery. But she didn’t think real people grew up to be writers, so she became a teacher instead. Now she writes so she doesn’t have to get a real job.
With over ninety books to her credit, she’s penned romantic suspense, romantic comedy, and YA novels, but she especially likes writing dark romantic suspense and crime fiction set in small southern towns.
For more on Rita and her titles, visit her at www.ritaherron.com. You can also find her on Facebook/ritaherron.com and Twitter @ritaherron.
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