Detective Casey White discovers two small children on an adrift boat on the ocean. They say little except that their parents have been killed. Soon after, Casey locates the parents’ boat and two dead bodies. The mother was a cop and was fleeing to save her family from her latest serial killer case…
Two Little Souls is the 9th detective and crime thriller book to feature Casey White, her team and family.
This case is hugely emotive due to the involvement of two small children. They witnessed their parents’ murders and were then almost killed themselves as they floated on a dangerous sea. Casey is also deeply affected by the case as it is a fellow detective who has been targeted. The forensic information is quite unpleasantly detailed and the characters also have a revulsion at what they experience.
Most of the book is written from Casey’s first person viewpoint but there are some chapters which show the victim and killer interacting. This increases the tension as we anticipate another murder. I had no idea on the identity of the killer and was anxiously waiting for Casey to piece together the clues and catch them. The writing is fast paced, with short chapters so you are tempted to read just one (or two!) more at each sitting!
On a personal level, Casey made a big decision in the last book and the team seem ready to split and move according to their hearts. But this is not without doubts and soul searching, especially as the team is so strong together.
Two Little Souls is a tense detective thriller.
Two Little Souls: An absolutely addictive mystery thriller (Detective Casey White Book 9)
Two children clutch each other tight, huddled together on a tiny raft and shivering in the ocean wind. Fear fills their matching hazel eyes. Slowly, little Tommy whispers: “We saw them kill Mommy and Daddy.”
Detective Casey White’s heart shatters when she finds Tabitha and Tommy Roth, just three and six years old, drifting alone on a raft off the coast of the Outer Banks. The children witnessed the murder of their own parents before escaping on a life raft. As Casey clutches them tight she promises to fight for justice.
Combing the coastline Casey finds an abandoned yacht, the broken bodies of a man and woman on board. Ransacking the boat for clues, when Casey sees Sara Roth’s police ID badge her blood runs cold. The children’s mother was a detective from another state. But who would want to tear apart this beautiful family?
Casey soon learns that Sara was tracking down a dangerous murderer who dressed their victims up like dolls. As Sara closed in on the killer, was she silenced forever?
When the body of a young woman perfectly arranged like a doll is found on a nearby beach—her lips and fingernails painted crimson, her hair perfectly combed—Casey is certain that whoever murdered the Roths is now stalking the Outer Banks.
With local women terrified and the whole community desperate for answers, Casey is on the trail of the most twisted killer of her career. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more danger little Tommy and Tabitha are in…
Fans of Lisa Jackson, Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh won’t be able to put down this pulse-pounding crime thriller that will have you racing through the pages late into the night.
About the author:
By day, B.R. Spangler pushes pixels, typing lines of code. When he’s not developing software, or elbows deep in hardware, he is writing stories, plotting thrillers, or reading.
B.R. Spangler lives in Virginia with his wife and kids, as well as five cats, a parrot, a finch, a lizard.
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Life isn’t going great for Jas as she loses her job and her home through no fault of her own. She is all set to move back in with her parents when her childhood friend invites her on a luxury holiday. She is reunited with her old friends and is confronted by the past. But could she also have a second chance at happiness?
Long Time No Sea is a light hearted, warm and often funny novel about fresh starts.
Jas feels terrible about moving back to her parents’ home but she has no choice. She is thrilled to be offered a free holiday and see her old school friends again. The love triangle from her past is still causing her heart to flutter despite the years apart. And something drove the friends apart 15 years ago, but what…?
Most of the book is written in the present day but some chapters show their teenage years to gradually reveal the past. I liked the way that the author built up the mystery about the past and the effect this may have had on the main characters.
My expectations were probably too high for this book as I absolutely loved Better Off Wed by this author. This book had the same warmth but I didn’t feel as attached to the characters and missed the laugh out loud comedy.
Long Time No Sea is an enjoyable book that would make a good beach read.
Long Time No Sea
There’s trouble in paradise…
Moving home in her 30s was not the life plan Jas had in mind. So when her best friend gets in touch to say she’s arranging a long overdue reunion with their high school friends, Jas is very much up for the escape. Oh, and it’s all expenses paid to Italy – so that’s a bonus!
But while being whisked away to the beautiful Italian coast may seem idyllic, Jas has to come face to face with not only her ex-boyfriend, but the one that got away too!
It’s a week of sun, sea and unravelling secrets, and as the love triangle from the past starts to develop once again, this trip is not panning out exactly as Jas imagines…
Should the past be left where it is, or could there be a second chance at love on the horizon..?
Join top 10 bestseller Portia MacIntosh for a sun-drenched, laugh-out-loud love triangle romantic comedy!
Author Bio –
Portia MacIntosh is the bestselling author of over 20 romantic comedy novels. From disastrous dates to destination weddings, Portia’s romcoms are the perfect way to escape from day to day life, visiting sunny beaches in the summer and snowy villages at Christmas time. Whether it’s southern Italy or the Yorkshire coast, Portia’s stories are the holiday you’re craving, conveniently packed in between the pages.
Formerly a journalist, Portia has left the city, swapping the music biz for the moors, to live the (not so) quiet life with her husband and her dog in Yorkshire.
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Two families ready to be officially joined together as Amy and William marry. But Amy’s daughter runs away before they can say ‘I do’…
The Wedding Night is a family drama full of secrets, set in the UK.
Amy and her daughter Tess are excited to move on with their lives as they move to Summerfield House to be with Amy’s new boyfriend William and his son Hal. On the first night, William proposes and Amy sis thrilled to start planning the wedding. But little niggles start to worry her as she fears he is keeping secrets, but is she hiding something too?
The book begins with Amy running away from her wedding when she realises her daughter Tess has gone. It is then written to show the recent past and Amy and William moving in together as well as another timeline in the 1990s.
I enjoyed the mystery surrounding the truth behind the characters. The pace of the plot develops quite quickly with little clues which unsettle the characters. Tess goes through a whole heap of teenage angst from fashion to crushes as well as negotiating a new family set up. I felt that the relationships between parents and children and the couple were realistic.
The Wedding Night is an enjoyable book, full of secrets, drama and authentic family relationships.
The Wedding Night: An absolutely unputdownable family drama packed with secrets and suspense
Whatever doubts I’ve had about my fiancé, I’m determined this will be the happiest day of my life. I smooth the expensive white silk of my perfect dress and retouch my make-up, trying to cover the dark circles under my eyes. But when I go to find my daughter, her room is empty. My beautiful girl has vanished.
My fiancé William is devastated as I force our guests to leave. My hands are shaking but as I stand amidst the wilting flowers and the discarded champagne glasses, I swear I’ll stop at nothing to find my daughter.
Crying in William’s arms, I try to remember that he just wants what is best for me. Even if Tess has been a difficult teenager, he’s loved her like his own, welcomed us into this beautiful home, the ivy-covered stone house nestled at the end of the tree-lined driveway.
Then my best friend tells me she saw Tess sobbing before the wedding. I thought I’d built a perfect new family for my little girl, but what if I’ve brought her into terrible danger? I remember the guest I only recognised from old photos. William swore it was all in the past. But was he lying?
I think about the unimaginable secret William told me and I swore to keep forever. Could Tess have found out? Will the truth help me find my daughter? Or will it break us all?
A totally unputdownable family drama about the secrets that lurk under the glossy surface of a perfect new life. Perfect for fans of Sally Hepworth, Liane Moriarty and Kerry Fisher.
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About the author
Clare writes all her books in a little green shed at the bottom of the garden. Before becoming a writer, she enjoyed a career in television, as a researcher in documentaries and then as a script editor in drama at the BBC and Channel Four, where her love of storytelling took hold
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1968, Irene Borgata goes missing, presumed dead. In the present day her husband (or widower) is accused of her murder by an investigative TV journalist. The family call in April Copain, an English detective, to prove Enzo’s innocence…
The Secret of Villa Alba is a dual timeline mystery, domestic drama, psychological thriller, all rolled into one!
April’s friend Maddi asks her to help the Borgata family against allegations of harbouring a murderer. She travels to Sicily to investigate the disappearance of Maddi’s stepmother decades earlier. I felt myself transported there too as the author brings the characters and setting to life through vivid descriptions.
The book is written in the past and present. Irene’s experience of being a new bride are written in the first person and we learn of her preoccupation with another man, Jack. The present day is written in the third person to show April’s investigation into Irene’s disappearance as she reels from the death of her own husband.
I was swept up in the plot and had no idea how the mystery would resolve. The family are close-knit in both the past and present and I was unsure what lies they would tell to protect each other. I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot developments which maintained my interest in the characters as I wanted them to find the truth.
The Secret of Villa Alba is an enjoyable mystery full of drama and family dynamics.
The Secret of Villa Alba
1968, Sicily. Just months after a terrible earthquake has destroyed the mountain town of Gibellina, Enzo and his wife Irene Borgata are making their way back to the family home, Villa Alba del Ciliegio, on roads overlooked by the eerie backdrop of the flattened ghost town. When their car breaks down, Enzo leaves his young wife to go and get help, but when he returns there is no trace of Irene. No body, no sign of a struggle, nothing.
Present Day. TV showman and true crime aficionado Milo Conti is Italy’s darling, uncovering and solving historic crimes for his legion of fans. When he turns his attention to the story of the missing Irene Borgata, accusing her husband of her murder, Enzo’s daughter Maddi asks her childhood friend, retired detective April Cobain, for help to prove her father’s innocence. But the tale April discovers is murky: mafia meetings, infidelity, mistaken identity, grief and unshakable love. As the world slowly closes in on the claustrophobic Villa Alba del Ciliegio, and the house begins to reveal its secrets, will the Borgata family wish they’d never asked April to investigate? And what did happen to Enzo’s missing wife Irene?
Bestselling author Louise Douglas returns with an irresistibly compelling, intriguing and captivating tale of betrayal, love, jealousy and the secrets buried in every family history..
Author Bio –
Louise Douglas is the bestselling and brilliantly reviewed author and an RNA award winner. The Secrets Between Us was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick. She lives in the West Country.
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Damon Kennedy is the victim of a hit and run. His wife, his lover and his therapist are all interviewed by police. Was it a terrible accident or a deliberate attempt to kill a serial adulterer?
The Truth About The Accident is a psychological thriller and domestic drama set in Australia.
The book begins with different reports to the emergency services of the accident. It was fascinating to see how different people viewed the same incident, what details they remembered and how they were distracted by their own circumstances.
Marla has always tried to be the perfect wife and has accepted Damon’s apologies after every affair. Sonya was Damon’s therapist but her behaviour was definitely unethical. Athena is Damon’s latest lover and pregnant with his child, refusing to have an abortion. Did one of these women seek to hurt Damon in revenge?
The book is written from 4 viewpoints. Marla, Sonya and Athena’s perspectives are all presented in the third person to show the minutiae of their relationships with Damon and their reactions to the accident and police investigation. The fourth viewpoint is written in the first person and the identity is not given. This person has a malevolent tone which creates a wonderful tension as we ponder who it could be.
I was kept guessing about who was responsible and felt that the mystery was well maintained. Damon became more unpleasant in my eyes as his personality is revealed through the women’s reflections. I was almost glad he’d been injured after the way he kept hurting the women he professed to love!
The Truth About The Accident is an entertaining book full of mystery.
The Truth about the Accident: A totally gripping family drama filled with secrets and lies
I gaze at my husband’s once-handsome face, so still and pale in the hospital bed. The doctors say I should keep talking. He might be able to hear me even after the terrible accident that left him fighting for his life. But all I have to whisper to my husband is this: I know what you did.
Every day I wave my husband Damon off with a kiss and a smile, drive our precious children to school, and make sure our house is pristine before preparing a delicious meal. I pretend I’m not filled with fury that he once nearly destroyed our perfect life. It’s important to carry on as normal.
That is, until the accident.
My husband was hit by a car. It was pouring with rain. Nobody saw what happened. But the police are asking questions…
Do they know about the terrible argument we had that day?
Do they know about the text message I sent, telling someone to Delete everything?
And do they know that no-one is happier that my husband is in a hospital bed, than me?
An absolutely addictive page-turner about a family in crisis, a marriage at breaking point, and how secrets can be deadly. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Sally Hepworth.
About the author
Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because-as her professor pointed out- ‘It’s not meant to be a story.’ She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters’ degree in Children’s Literature.
The idea for her first published novel, The Boy under the Table, was so scary that it took a year for her to find the courage to write the emotional story. She went on to publish a further five novels in Australia before joining Bookouture in 2019. She is a USA Today and Amazon bestseller in the USA, UK, AUS and CAN.
Nicole lives in Sydney with her husband and three children.
Author social media
Facebook: @NicoleTrope
Twitter: @nicoletrope
