TRIGGER WARNING: child murder and abuse
A little girl is missing so when a body is found in the grounds of the cathedral DI Lottie Parker fears the worst. But it is a different little girl so is even worse than she had believed possible…
The Altar Girls is the 13th book in the DI Lottie Parker series but would work as a standalone book as there are no spoilers about old cases. Lottie’s private life has developed over the series but it is easy to catch up.
8 year old Willow is missing but it is her classmate and fellow chorister Naomi instead. Thankfully they are able to identify the body quickly but this still means a child is dead for an unknown reason and the other is still missing. Deaths of young children are naturally abhorrent but it becomes clear they also suffered neglect which is also repugnant.
The chapters are short and this drives the plot along quickly. There are plenty of suspects with potential motives to be investigated. Some of the details about the maltreatment of children is difficult to read but the tone is softened by Lottie’s personal and emotional response.
As well as the police investigation, the book also features elements from Lottie’s personal life. They significantly threaten her focus on the case: her mother has dementia and there is still no progress on finding Boyd’s son who has been spirited away by his ex. These serve to make her more human by revealing her softer side.
The Altar Girls is a gripping police procedural with sensitive content.
Book Description:
The little girl looked like an angel in her thin white robe, her long black hair spread around her head like a dark halo on the snow. Her hands rested on her chest, fingers interlaced as if she had fallen asleep while praying. But she would never wake up again…
When Detective Lottie Parker receives news that a child’s body has been found in the frozen grounds of the cathedral, a shiver runs down her spine. She’s terrified it will be eight-year-old Willow Devine, reported missing that morning.
But when she arrives at the cathedral, holding a photo of Willow with her blonde ponytail and gap-toothed smile, she gets a terrible shock. The body is a young girl, wrapped in a white shroud, a rosary clutched in her frozen fingers. But her hair is dark, not fair. This girl isn’t Willow but another eight-year-old, Naomi.
Desperate to find a connection between the two girls and to find Willow before it is too late, Lottie speaks to the girls’ families and discovers that both girls were altar servers at the cathedral. The charismatic priest Father Maguire has a watertight alibi for the time the girls went missing, but Lottie suspects the confused old lady traumatised by the discovery of Naomi’s body is hiding something…
A day later, Willow’s little body is found wrapped in a white robe in the snowy grounds of a church across town. Lottie is devastated, convinced now that she can’t trust anyone, least of all the girls’ parents. Why did Willow’s mother claim the girls didn’t know each other? And why are there no photos of Naomi in her mother’s shabby house?
But when a little boy from the choir goes missing too, Lottie realises she must spread her net wider. Can she stop this twisted killer before another precious life is stolen?
A completely compelling page-turner from bestselling author Patricia Gibney. If you like Rachel Caine, Kendra Elliott and Robert Dugoni, The Altar Girls will have you hooked.
Author Bio:
Patricia is the million-copy bestselling author of the DI Lottie Parker series. She yearned to be a writer after reading Enid Blyton and Carolyn Keene and even wanted to be Nancy Drew when she grew up. She has now grown up (she thinks) but the closest she’s come to Nancy Drew is writing crime!
In 2009, after her husband died, she retired from her job and started writing seriously. Fascinated by people and their quirky characteristics, she always carries a notebook to scribble down observations.
Patricia also loves to paint in watercolour and lives in the Irish midlands with her children.
Buy Link:
You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you’ll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo
The manager of a vineyard arrives at work and checks over the premises as he does every morning. But on this day he hears a baby crying and his search finds a woman’s body with a distraught toddler beside her. Both are wearing angel wings. DI Lexi Bennett is called to the scene and a murder investigation begins…
The Innocent Angels is the third book in the Lexi Bennett series. I have previously read and reviewed the first two books, The Girls on Chalk Hill and The Girl’s Last Cry.
Lexi and her team are instantly under pressure as the vineyard owner complains about the financial cost of loss of production. The same man states he doesn’t recognise the victim but the following day declares the baby is his own. But another man also claims the baby is his so Lexi thinks there is a personal motive for the murder. Until another woman is discovered dead with her child beside her…
The writing has such a natural feel that the characters and plot felt authentic and I was instantly drawn into the scenario. The suspects were easy to dislike especially as further secrets are revealed. Drama and pace develop quite rapidly with plenty of twists as the case progresses. The involvement of young children has a strong emotional pull which engages us with the plot and makes us root for the police’s success in ending the killer’s activities.
The Innocent Angels is another engaging book in this police thriller series and I’m definitely loking forward to the next book.
MEDIA PACK
Book: THE INNOCENT ANGELS
Author: ALISON BELSHAM
Pub Day: NOVEMBER 7th 2023
About the Book:
A body in a cave. A family full of secrets. And time running out before the killer strikes again…
The case is one of the strangest Detective Lexi Bennett has ever seen. In a cave beneath a vineyard, ayoung woman wearing angel wings lies dead, her baby daughter crawling nearby.
Among the green vines and the rolling hills, Lexi finds no shortage of motives. The owner of the vineyard claims to be the father of the victim’s child, and his wife was clearly furious with her rival.
But when another woman is found dead in angel wings, her baby abandoned beside her, Lexi is certain the killer is following a strange and personal ritual.
Under pressure to arrest the obvious suspect and out on a limb, Lexi ignores her boss and follows her gut, deep into the past. When she’s attacked, she knows she’s on the right track. But the killer already has his next victim in his sights… and Lexi will have to risk everything to stop him.
For fans of Angela Marsons, Karin Slaughter and Val McDermid, The Innocent Angels will keep you hooked from the first page to the final shocking reveal.
Author Bio
In 2016, I entered and won Bloody Scotland’s Pitch Perfect competition. This secured me an agent and a three-book publishing deal with Orion for my police procedural series set in the world of tattoos and tattooing. My first novel, The Tattoo Thief, was translated into 15 languages, was a No 1 bestseller in Italy and is the first instalment of the internationally acclaimed Tattoo Thief trilogy. I also write in collaboration with my brother Nick Higgins – Canelo has published our action thriller series set in Afghanistan, Death In Kabul and Death in Helmand. Now I’m embarking on a fresh crime series with Bookouture. It’s set in Canterbury, featuring DI Lexi Bennett, newly appointed to lead the Major Incident Team after a spell working with the FBI’s specialist serial killer unit.
I divide my time between London and Edinburgh, where I am a co-founder of the Edinburgh Writers’ Forum, providing professional development and networking for writers.
To learn more about me and the books I write, visit my website at www.alisonbelsham.com
Social Media
Eve’s friend Simon is in desperate financial straits and needs his latest venture to be a success. He has launched a new arts centre in Saltwater Cottages and arranged a high profile artist to give classes. But Nena has enemies and is soon found dead. Can Eve catch the killer and save her friend’s business…?
Mystery at Saltwater Cottages is the 11th book to feature Eve Mallow who combines obituary writing with amateur sleuthing.
Eve is trying to support her friend Simon and organises to write an article for the magazine she works for. She is usually an obituary writer and her skills for that genre of news is soon required. Nena Field is a famous artist who grew up in the local area and has now returned. She is having an affair with a married man and causing upset wherever she goes. No one expected her to be murdered though!
There are a host of suspects established in the opening chapters as Nena puts noses out of joint and upsets others. This also means there are several potential motives as well for Eve to uncover. She is ably assisted by her beloved dog Gus as always, but her boyfriend Robin is away in London so she can only phone him for support.
I was kept guessing about the culprit and their motive, and enjoyed watching the case unfold. Eve is a great character and I like the way she has developed her investigating skills over the series of books.
Mystery at Saltwater Cottages is an enjoyable cosy murder mystery.
MEDIA PACK
Book: Mystery at Saltwater Cottages
Author: Clare Chase
Pub Day: Nov 6th 2023
About the Book:
Saltwater Cottages, Saxford’s new arts and crafts centre, is as pretty as a picture. But when murder makes a blot on the landscape, Eve Mallow must draw on all her detective skills to solve the case!
When beautiful Saltwater Cottages opens, offering art courses in charming surroundings, Eve Mallow and best friend Viv sign up straight away. Viv’s brother Simon is in charge, and they all want him to succeed.
But from the start, Eve finds herself in a sticky situation. Famous guest artist Nena Field is a complete nightmare, painting everyone in a bad light. So when Eve finds her body in Blind-Eye Wood, there’s no shortage of suspects. But who could have hated her enough to take her life? Was it the curiously over-qualified cook, the secretive manager, or the chatty receptionist, mysteriously missing at the time of the murder?
Determined to find the killer and save Simon’s business, Eve sets to work sketching out a theory of the crime. Nena was working on a secret painting when she died, which has now vanished without a trace, and Eve is convinced it holds the answers she needs. But when all her best suspects seem to have alibis, Eve is forced back to the drawing board.
Then Eve has her own brush with death, and realises she must be on the right track. But what did she see or hear at Saltwater Cottages, and can she find the killer before they paint her out of the picture?
An utterly delightful and page-turning English cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Faith Martin, J.R. Ellis, and Agatha Christie.
Author Bio
Clare Chase writes classic mysteries. Her aim is to take readers away from it all via some armchair sleuthing in atmospheric locations.
Her debut novel was shortlisted for Novelicious’s Undiscovered Award, as well as an EPIC award post-publication, and was chosen as a Debut of the Month by LoveReading. Murder on the Marshes (Tara Thorpe 1) was shortlisted for an International Thriller Writers award.
Like her heroines, Clare is fascinated by people and what makes them tick. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in settings as diverse as Littlehey Prison and the University of Cambridge, in her home city. She’s lived everywhere from the house of a lord to a slug-infested flat and finds the mid-terrace she currently occupies a good happy medium.
As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s books.
You can find Clare’s website and blog at www.clarechase.com
Social Media
Detective Jo Fournier is contacted by her family when her cousin and young daughter go missing while Christmas shopping. Can she find them before they are hurt?
Angels in the Snow is the 8th book in the Jo Fournier series of detective thrillers set in America.
Paxton and her 5 year old daughter Alexia headed off to the mall for some shopping and to see Santa. But someone prevented them arriving home as planned. Jo is contacted and finds the car unlocked and with the boot open in the car park.
Most of the book shows the perspective of the police investigation as Jo tries to investigate the kidnapping. She worries that her family connection will get her removed from the case. The most engaging parts of the book are those which show Paxton’s experience and the first person kidnapper’s perspective. This ramps up the tension as we fear for Paxton’s safety whilst also allowing us to discover more about the motive.
Poor Jo and her family face turmoil once again, surely one of the unluckiest families in fiction! The kidnapping of a child is hugely emotive and increases the panic of the family as well as the determination of the police. I also felt a huge sadness for the kidnapper as we gain a greater insight into their past, being mindful that terrible experiences do not excuse treating others badly.
Angels in the Snow is a gripping and emotive detective thriller.
Her fingers numb with cold, Jo rushes to search for footprints in the empty parking lot before they are covered in snow. Her cousin and her little daughter never came home tonight and she is desperate to find them. With temperatures dropping, no-one can survive outside for long…
When Detective Jo Fournier’s cousin goes missing with her sweet five-year-old Alexia, Jo heads straight to where they were last seen. Her heart stops when she finds their unlocked car—one door has been left open and Alexia’s beloved teddy is lying in the snow. Jo’s blood runs cold as she realizes her family have been kidnapped…
Even as she swears to bring them home, Jo makes a discovery that chills her to the bone: other young, single mothers have vanished with their little daughters just before Christmas.
As Jo’s team re-open the cold cases, they make a terrible discovery. Buried deep under the snow in the forest near Oakhurst are the bones of a mother and daughter who disappeared. The snowy grave contains a little angel, the kind you would hang on a Christmas tree.
With no sign of her cousin and little Alexia, Jo is sure that they are in the hands of a twisted serial killer and running out of time. Discovering suspicious activity in the security footage from the day her cousins were taken gives Jo the clue she’s been desperately searching for. Can Jo bring her family home safe, or has the killer lured her into a terrifying trap?
From USA Today bestseller M.M. Chouinard, Angels in the Snow is a totally nail-biting serial killer thriller, the perfect read for a cold winter night! Addictive reading for fans of Lisa Regan, Melinda Leigh and Gregg Olsen.
Links:
Author bio
M.M. Chouinard’s first fiction story was published in her local paper when she was eight, and she fell in love with Agatha Christie novels not long after. While pursuing a Ph.D in psychology and helping to found the first U.S. research university of the new millenium, the stories kept rattling around inside her skull, demanding to come out. For sanity’s sake, she released them. She’s currently at work on her seventh novel.
Author social media
Website
Facebook URL
Instagram URL
Twitter URL
Newsletter URL
TRIGGER WARNING: suicide, infidelity
Claudia’s life in turned upside down when she believes her husband has cheated on her and her best friend kills herself. But what led to Jaz’s death and can Claudia save her marriage…?
My Best Friend’s Secret is a psychological thriller set in the UK.
The book centres around a group of friends who reunite at the funeral of one of their number. Jaz was closest to Claudia but something happened on that final night that lead to the women not speaking. Meanwhile Claudia is also dealing with her suspicion that her husband cheated on her and this leads to her angry response which threatens their whole relationship.
It is difficult to review without giving away spoilers but I will say that the plot sets up Claudia as our main character and she is struggling emotionally. This initially leads to an emotional pull towards her but her ensuing actions do not endear her to the reader.
There is significant emotion and turmoil in this book as well as the mystery about what led Jaz to her death. Claudia feels guilt and regret over messages she left for her best friend and another of their friends is acting oddly. The blurb reveals a major shift in the direction of the book as the pace intensifies.
My Best Friend’s Secret is a tense and emotional charged puschological thriller.
My Best Friend’s Secret
Five women; pretty, privileged, perfect, and ultimately protected… but not for long…
It was ‘their’ dark secret. For twenty-two-years ‘they’ kept it buried. Time hasn’t healed my wounds. Instead, they’ve festered. Their actions went unpunished. Until now…
Shamed, scarred, and shunned, I watched, waited and plotted how to shatter ‘their’ enviable lives. Now, finally, they will suffer as I did in ‘their’ cruel hands that fateful night.
Time’s up. I am here for you, Dr Claudia Harper. But first, you’ll witness your childhood friends, one by one, beg for mercy.
And I’ve saved the best ‘til last, so watch your back; I’m closer than you think. I’m here to expose your best friend’s secret. The one you’ve all kept hidden…until now.
A tale of betrayal, dark, twisted lies and long-awaited retribution. Perfect for the fans of Claire McGowan, Shalini Boland and S. E. Lynes
Author Bio –
Danielle Ramsay is a Scot living in a small seaside town in the North-East of England. Always a storyteller, it was only after completing a First Class (Hons) Degree in Media Production that she then went on to follow an academic career in literature. She was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger in 2009 and 2010, and appointed a New Writing North Read Regional author in 2011.
She is the author of five DI Jack Brady crime novels and The Last Cut, a dark thriller with DS Harri (Harriet) Jacobs. Danielle fills her days with horse-riding, running and murder by proxy. She is also the proud Patron of the charity SomeOne Cares, which counsels survivors of domestic violence, rape and child abuse.
Social Media Links –
