Dead Man's Prayer by Jackie Baldwin

Dead Man's Prayer by Jackie Baldwin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - on and off over 3 days

Pages - 344

Publisher - Killer Reads

Blurb from Goodreads

Ex-priest DI Frank Farrell has returned to his roots in Dumfries, only to be landed with a disturbing murder case. Even worse, Farrell knows the victim: Father Boyd, the man who forced him out of the priesthood eighteen years earlier.

With no leads, Farrell must delve into the old priest’s past, one that is inexorably linked with his own. But his attention is diverted when a pair of twin boys go missing. The Dumfries police force recover one in an abandoned church, unharmed. But where is his brother?

As Farrell investigates the two cases, he can’t help but feel targeted. Is someone playing a sinister game, or is he seeing patterns that don’t exist? Either way, it’s a game Farrell needs to win before he loses his grip on his sanity, or someone else turns up dead.



My Review

A priest is murdered, D.I. Frank Farrell is named as the officer in charge of the case. Farrell is not just a police officer, he was a priest and in the same community as the the priest who has been killed. Farrell has links to the old priest, a connection that he doesn't think is relevant and doesn't want to dredge up his past. As the case unfolds, Farrell is forced to look upon his own past, why he had to leave the priesthood and why his mother no longer speaks to him.

You would never know this is a debut novel, it is well written and has strong police procedural themes. Farrell ends up investigating two cases, the murder of the priest and the disappearance of twin boys. Things start to seem personal and Farrell is battling his own demons whilst trying to focus on the cases and keep on top of the inner team issues.

A great book that looks at many themes, battling inner demons, secrets, mental health, relationships, police procedures and a deranged killer. The chapters are short which I love in a book, makes it easier for dipping in and out of especially if you are busy & working in between. You know early on something is a foot and Baldwin keeps you gripped page after page desperate to know what it is, or maybe that is just me because I am a nosey reader. Relatively fast paced, you have a murder in the first chapters and the investigation and introduction to the team goes from there. A fantastic and gripping debut, I will certainly be on the watch for more from this author and hope this is just the beginning of Farrell's story, 4/5 for me this time.

View all my reviews

Bad Blood by Julie Shaw Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the Blog Tour for Bad Blood by Julie Shaw, her newest novel which is now available to buy in paperback or kindle edition.





I have had the pleasure of reading this book already, you can read my review here.







Welcome Julie, thanks for stopping by and taking the time out to answer some questions for us.



1. Hi Julie, welcome to So Many Books So Little Time. This is your first Blog Tour if I am correct, how are you finding it?

I am really enjoying it. It’s especially interesting to answer the numerous questions I have been asked as it gets me really thinking about why I write the things I do.


2. I have read one of your books before Bad Blood, your settings are always in lower class gritty scheme settings, what draws you to these and do you think you will ever branch out from them?

I was actually brought up in very similar circumstances to a lot of my characters. By that I mean on the same estates, had very similar friends, and had family members who lived through very difficult circumstances. Since being very young I have tried my hand at all genres, and many different styles of writing, but I’m much more comfortable writing about the grittier, seedier side of life. Will I branch out? Maybe, I don’t know at the moment, but what I do know is that I feel much happier writing about the tougher side of life.


3. The character Lizzie, page 30 had me horrified, without spoiling it for others, how did you manage to come up with her and that scene? Creative genius or tapping into a true event?

Oh dear, unfortunately I have known many Lizzie’s in my time. Her character is an amalgamation of quite a few women I knew over the years. That scene was also easy to write as that was very definitely a true scenario, believe it or not.


4. Who inspires you to write?

Lots of people actually. As a child I would lose myself in any books I could get my hands. A story took me away from everything and I could be anyone and anywhere I wanted to be. If I had to choose an early writer that made me think ‘yes! I want to do this!’ then it would have to be Enid Blyton – I thought she was simply incredible. These days however, my hero is Kimberley Chambers. Her characters are so bad, I just love them! Now she really does tell it like it is!


5. What are your three top favourite books of all time?

I hate this question J I have so many that I love and I always feel horribly guilty about the ones I don’t mention. Also, my answer may surprise you. Okay, so the number one spot has to go to Mr Shakespeare himself with Romeo and Juliet. My first ever tragic love story. I was blown away by it. The number two spot would go to Roots by Alex Haley – another book that helped form my opinion on the world, and last but not least, They Put Me Inside by Tony Grestone – a book I read as a young teenager that really did change me.



6. What is next for Julie Shaw? Do you have another book in the process already?

I have just handed in Blood Sisters, which I’m sure you’ll like if you enjoyed Bad Blood, and I am just about to start writing a sequel to Bad Blood in fact. We don’t have a definite title for it yet, but I’m hoping it will be Sins of the Father. Watch this space J


7. Where can fans find you?

Facebook is simply Julie Shaw, though I also have a page especially relating to my books, and that is Canterbury Warriors. My Twitter is @jueshaw


8. Anything else you would like to add or tell readers about yourself?

I think I have gone on for long enough lol, but I do really appreciate all of my readers and particularly you fantastic bloggers who spread the word. Thanks again J xx



And up for grabs is 1 paperback pre-loved copy of Bad Blood, as always, use the Rafflecopter below to enter, this giveaway will run for 1 week.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ARC - The Keeper by Luke Delaney

I am uploading my image of the book as my copy has a different cover from that showing on Goodreads.

The Keeper by Luke Delaney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Publisher - Harper Collins

Blurb from Goodreads

Thomas Keller knows exactly who he’s looking for…

They tried to keep them apart, but when he finds her, he’s going to keep her. Just like he knows she wants him to.

DI Sean Corrigan is not like other detectives. His dark past has given him the ability to step into a crime scene and see it through the offender’s eyes. He understands what drives a person to commit terrible acts – but sometimes his gift feels more like a curse.

When women start disappearing from their homes in broad daylight, Corrigan’s Murder Investigation Team is reluctant to take on a missing persons case. But then the first body turns up, and Corrigan knows he must quickly get into the mind of the murderer. Because this killer knows exactly who he wants. And he won’t stop until he finds her.



My Review

I read the first book in the series, I hope this is a series with more to come, this is book two, of DI Sean Corrigan's career and investigations. Sean has an ability that helps him read crime scenes and understand criminals in a way that no other officer could or even quite understand. This book sees us follow Corrigan trying to peace together the disappearance of women, from their own homes by a madman who will stop at nothing to get exactly what he needs. When a body shows up and another female is missing, the police have to acknowledge this isn't going to stop until they catch him.

Ah it isn't often I like a second book more than the first one but this is the case this time. Don't get me wrong I did like the first book but this one just had something a bit more than the last one. Possibly because, I feel, it is a psychological thriller. It still is all crime, graphic descriptions and pulls you in however this time, our psychopath uses a method that, even now after finishing another book, it still is with me. The story kicks off with our psycho, Thomas Keller, in his uniform, about to make his grab. Right from the first page I was hooked as how often do you confidently open your door, without thinking twice, to a man in a uniform. It is the thought of how easy it could actually happen, despite it being a fiction book. The chapters go between Sean & Thomas and what is happening, how Thomas is progressing, thinking and what he is doing and with the women. Then to Sean going through his paces and concluding they have a case before they have a body.

Some of the scenes, especially with Thomas and his victims are very graphic and brutal and not for those easily upset or offended. DI Corrigan is brilliant again with his 6th sense on picking up vital information via the crime scenes and bread crumbs left behind. I would recommend anyone reading this to get Cold killing first as that explains how Sean has this "sense" and I think you would definitely enjoy this book more knowing the background.

We also reacquaint with Detective Sergent Sally Jones in this follow up book and how she is since all of the dramas and incidents in the first book, sorry no spoilers here. How she is coping back at work, her health and overall attitude towards 'perps', victims and her role as an officer.

I honestly hope this is just the beginning of a very long series as I will be following DI Corrigan's progress in any following novels. He is very much like the character Edward Norton plays in red dragon, especially with this sense of the killer and the killers motives. Had work not got in the way I could have seen me getting through this is a day, which considering it is 457 pages and a largish sized book says a lot I feel. An author who is progressing in his writing and coming along grand, I eagerly await the next installment. 4/5 for me this time, thanks so much to Harper Collins & the Killer Reads Team for sending me this ARC. Available to buy from the 29th of August from all good retailers.

View all my reviews