Alice and Joe move from London to Penton for a change of pace but soon find themselves embroiled in a murder investigation! A shopkeeper dies during their antenatal class in his shop which also boasted a birth. Can Alice find the killer before her due date?
The Expectant Detectives is a light hearted cosy murder mystery.
Alice is a bit hapless to say the least. Now she is catapulted into village life and a murder case. There is soooo much humour in this book. Mums everywhere will identify, cringe and laugh along with the pregnancy and baby details. There were some guffaw out loud moments and knowing sniggers throughout as Alice rattles through the lead up to giving birth as well as investigating a murder.
There are a whole host of suspects including the others in the antenatal class. I liked the way that Alice negotiates her new friendships whilst also being wary of her fellow amateur sleuths. Alice’s husband Joe is acting oddly and I did guess this twist about a hundred pages before it was revealed. However, the final outcome of the murder case had me guessing until the end so the mystery was maintained well.
The book is written in Alice’s first person voice to show her innermost thoughts. She is such a wonderful character and I loved her zany thoughts. Of course she is ably assisted (or not!) by her nightmare dog Helen and this again brought many moments of humour.
The Expectant Detectives is a wonderful book and even more impressive once you know it is a debut novel!
For Alice and her partner Joe, moving to the sleepy Cotswold village of Penton is a chance to embrace country life and prepare for the birth of their unexpected first child. He can take up woodwork; maybe she’ll learn to make jam. But the rural idyll they’d hoped for doesn’t quite pan out when a dead body is discovered at their local antenatal class and they find themselves suspects in a murder investigation.
With a cloud of suspicion hanging over the heads of the whole group, Alice sets out to solve the mystery and clear her name, with the help of her troublesome dog, Helen. However, there are more secrets and tensions in the heart of Penton than first meet the eye. Between the discovery of a shady commune up in the woods, the unearthing of a mysterious death years earlier and the near-tragic poisoning of Helen, Alice is soon in way over her head.
CAN YOU SOLVE THE MOTHER OF ALL MURDERS?
Author info
Kat Ailes’ debut novel, The Expectant Detectives, was runner-up for the Comedy Women in Print Unpublished Prize 2021. She works as an editor and freelanced for several years to allow her to take a couple of belated gap years, including hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. She now lives in the Cotswolds with her lovely husband and son and her beautiful but foolish dog.
TRIGGER WARNING: war crimes including rape
1940s: Lidia is a non practising Jew in Venice but she is forced to flee for her life when her father is rounded up and deported. Her only hope is to fight the Nazis and Fascists. 2010, Charlotte’s grandmother dies, leaving behind possessions that suggest a secret past…
The Girl From Venice is a dual timeline historical novel set in the 1940s and 2010.
Lidia’s father cannot believe in the approaching danger as the Italians switch sides during WW” and battle each other as well as the Nazis. He and Lidia stay in their home until it is too late to escape and he is deported. Yet Lidia still clings to the hope that he is being well treated in a camp. Decades later, Charlotte embarks on a mission to find out the truth about her grandmother’s past but also needs to heal her own heart that is dealing with a feckless ex and the grief at her grandmother’s death.
The book doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war. We witness the brutality that was experienced on all sides, including Lidia’s emotional reaction to kiling for the first time. In light of the emotional depth in the 1940s timeline, I personally found the sex scenes in the present day a little unnecessary. I expect that they were to contrast against the brutal rape scenes but I thought they detracted from the plot.
The book is written from the first person viewpoints of both Lidia and Charlotte. I was more emotionally affected by Lidia’s timeline but Charlotte’s provided a balance to the strong emotion as she gradually discovers the truth. I enjoyed the unfolding mystery as we charted the life of Lidia and tried to confirm the links with what Charlotte is told. The scenery and character descriptions were vivid and brought the plot to life. I felt like I was immersed in the Italian setting alongside the narrators.
The Girl From Venice is a vividly imagined historical novel.
The Girl from Venice
1943
Lidia De Angelis has kept a low profile since Mussolini’s laws wrenched her from her childhood sweetheart. But when the Germans occupy Venice, she must flee the city to save her life.
Lidia joins the partisans in the Venetian mountains, where she meets David, an English soldier fighting for the same cause. As she grows closer to him, harsh German reprisals and Lidia’s own ardent patriotic activities threaten to tear them apart.
Decades later
While sorting through her grandmother’s belongings after her death, Charlotte discovers a Jewish prayer book, unopened letters written in Italian, and a fading photograph of a group of young people in front of the Doge’s Palace.
Intrigued by her grandmother’s refusal to talk about her life in Italy before and during the war, Charlotte travels to Venice in search of her roots, There, she learns not only the devastating truth about her grandmother’s past, but also some surprising truths about herself.
Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/girlfromvenicesocial
Author Bio –
Siobhan Daiko writes powerful and sweeping historical fiction set in Italy during the second World War, with strong women at its heart. She now lives near Venice, having been a teacher in Wales for many years.
Social Media Links –
An elderly woman thinks her former lodger is breaking in to steal her belongings. She reports it several times but isn’t taken seriously. But DS Jack Warr thinks something strange is happening and days later Avril is found dead and dismembered…
Vanished is the third book to feature police detective Jack Warr and his colleagues and family. I have previously read and reviewed Buried and Judas Horse.
Avril is a right character and has been written off as eccentric by other officers. Jack sees a kernal of truth in her story and is proved right when she is brutally murdered. The plot then takes a different direction as drugs take centre stage. This leads to conflict as the drugs team and murder team argue over the investigation.
In Jack’s personal life, his bride-to-be asks him to look into her boss’s daughter’s relationship but this has disasterous repercussions for his career. Meanwhile, Jack and Maggie tie the knot and delight in the development of their young daughter Hannah. Jack’s relationship with his senior officer is hindered by secrets but their respect for each other is not diminished.
I enjoyed the confident writing style and the careful balance between the criminal elements and the personal dimension. I feel quite invested in Jack as a character as he has been on a significant journey emotionally whilst also having a slightly maverick tendency.
Vanished is an enjoyable police thriller and I would recommend this series.
Book blurb
When an eccentric widow claims she is being stalked by her former lodger, Detective Jack Warr is the only person who believes her wild claims.
Days later, she is found brutally murdered in her home.
When the investigation uncovers an international drugs operation on the widow’s property, the case grows even more complex. And as the hunt for the widow’s lodger hits dead end after dead end, it seems that the prime suspect has vanished without a trace.
To find answers, Jack must decide how far is he willing to go – and what he is willing to risk – in his search for justice. Because if he crosses the line of the law, one wrong move could cost him everything . . .
Naomi and Ben Felton move into a house that was abandoned 20 years ago. Naomi is sure that the house is hiding secrets but her husband is acting oddly too. The unease becomes even more powerful when they meet neighbours Sara and Joan…
My Husband’s House is a psychological thriller set in the UK.
Moving house and being pregnant are stressful enough. But Naomi thinks it is more than just her hormones and stress causing the unsettled feeling she has had since moving in. Her husband knew exactly where he wanted all the furniture and seems to be acting negatively towards the neighbours.
Horrifying secrets about the house’s history add to Naomi feeling uncomfortable but she isn’t sure if she can rely on her new friend and neighbour. Sara’s own history means she makes assumptions about Naomi’s marriage and is distrustful. I liked Sara and Naomi and wondered if they would get past their own issues to become supportive and trusting friends.
The book is written mainly from Naomi and Sara first person perspectives although other characters also provide part of the narrative. Secrets are hinted at which builds anticipation and tension as we await a shift in the plot line. The house has a sinister feel to it right from the start so the setting feeds the atmosphere of uncertainty and mystery.
My Husband’s House is an enjoyably tense psychological thriller.
Book Description:
A new home. A loving wife. A secret that could kill…
With its peeling wallpaper and overgrown garden I know our new home isn’t perfect. But my husband Ben promises it’s the fresh start we need. I remind myself that he’s an amazing father to our two children, and that we have years of happy marriage behind us. He’s been distant for months but I’m desperate to believe the move will bring us back together.
When I meet our next-door neighbour Sara, I’m immediately relieved. She’s so welcoming and full of local gossip. But the moment she meets Ben I’m sure an angry frown flickers across her smiling face. Later he says I’m imagining things…
Why is my husband lying?
Then one night as I tuck our children into bed, the silence is broken by a knock on the front door. A stranger is standing on our doorstep. I turn to look at Ben’s face as he stares at her with unconcealed fury. Has he met this woman before? Nothing could prepare me for what she says:I know who you are. Get out of my house.
How well do I know the man I married? And by moving to this house, did I put my children’s lives in danger?
If you enjoyed reading The Housemaid, The Perfect Marriage and The Wife, you will love My Husband’s House. Gripping and totally addictive, you’ll be hooked from the first page.
Author Bio:
Bestselling Author, Sheryl Browne, writes taut, twisty psychological thriller. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association and the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Sheryl has several books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies where she completed her MA in Creative Writing. Sheryl has also obtained a Certificate of Achievement in Forensic Science and – according to readers – she makes an excellent psychopath. Sheryl’s latest psychological thriller HER HUSBAND’S HOUSE comes to you from BOOKOUTURE. Her previous works include the DI Matthew Adams Crime Thriller series, along with contemporary fiction novels, The Rest of My Life and Learning to Love.
If you would like to join her Bookouture Mailing List you can grab her short story #FREE! https://t.co/bIigwwALCs
Buy Link:
You can sign up for all the best Bookouture deals you’ll love at: http://ow.ly/Fkiz30lnzdo
Sam dies, apparently as a result of a drugs overdose. But his stepdaughter is convinced that Sam would never have touched drugs so what really caused his death…?
The Other Sister is a psychological thriller centred around family secrets.
Iris is convinced that her stepdad’s death is unusual and has a link to her mother’s past. There is a mystery concerning Daisy’s sister Rosemary who is estranged from Daisy and their other sister Violet. These plot strands are established at the start of the book and the mystery unravels over the course of the plot developments and twists.
The book is written to show Iris in the present day as she adjusts to life without Sam and investigates his death. There are also chapters taken from Daisy’s diary to show her childhood and establish the background to the family. I liked the way that the author used childlike language and crossed out words/spelling errors to convey Daisy’s youth.
Iris’ love of her stepdad and the little details she provides about his kindness set us up to want to find the truth about his death. The chapters which show the terrible circumstances of the past are very emotive as the girls struggle to survive and rely on each other. I enjoyed the style of writing along with the way the plot develops across the two timelines.
The Other Sister is an enjoyable psychological thriller with emotion and mystery.
Book Blurb
They seem like a lovely family. Until you meet Rosemary.
Iris is reeling from the loss of her beloved stepfather Sam. His death was apparently caused by an accidental drug overdose. But Iris knows Sam would never do drugs and she’s convinced there was foul play. Why will nobody believe her?
And who is this mysterious Aunt Rosemary she keeps hearing about? Iris has never met her. But she knows that her mother Daisy and her Aunt Violet fell out with their sister Rosemary a long time ago.
Something dreadful happened at Abbey House, their mansion in the Cotswolds, but Iris has learned never to ask about it. Now, in the wake of Sam’s death, Iris is more curious than ever. Could there be something rotten at the heart of her seemingly perfect family?
Iris sets out to uncover what happened all those years ago, and whether those events are somehow linked to Sam’s untimely death. But the deeper she probes, the more shocking the secrets she uncovers. And someone is determined to stop her finding out anything more.
It looks like Rosemary is back.
Author Bio
As a child, Jane spent a lot of time in elaborate Lego worlds populated by tiny plastic animals and people. Crime levels were high, especially after the Dragon brothers set themselves up as vets and started murdering the animals in their ‘care’. (They got away with it by propping the victims up with Plasticine and pretending they were still alive…)
As an adult, she is still playing in imaginary worlds and putting her characters through hell – but now she can call it ‘writing’ and convince herself that she is doing something sensible. In real life, she has a PhD in genetics and copy-edits scientific and medical journals.
Jane’s links :
