This Beautiful Life by Katie Marsh

This Beautiful Life: an emotional, uplifting page-turner about love, family and hope by Katie Marsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - over 2 days

Pages - 384

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Source - Publisher, review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

The addictive and emotive new novel from Katie Marsh, perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes and Jodi Picoult.

'I lived over half my life before I met you both, and I hope with all my heart to live many years more. You two are the reason why. Always, always the reason why.'

Abi Cooper is living her happy ending. She's in remission and is ready to make the most of her second chance. But during Abi's illness her family has fallen apart. Her husband John has made decisions that are about to come back to haunt him, while her teenage son Seb is battling with a secret of his own.

Set to the songs on Abi's survival playlist, This Beautiful Life is the moving and uplifting story of what happens as Abi tries to put her family back together - and of why life, and love, are worth fighting for.




My Review

Abi is in remission so everything should be perfect right? Wrong, her son is becoming more distant and moody, her husband John seems to be more focused on work than her and Abi doesn't know what to do. Each month has a song from Abi's playlist and what it means to her giving the book a beautiful unique voice that I haven't encountered in others with this theme.

The book largely centers around Abi and her son Seb, Seb has all the issues you would imagine as a teenager has and then some. We look at Abi adjusting to lift as a survivor and picking up the pieces, trying to get back to "normal" and then dealing with everything else that follows. Sometimes when you think things can't get any worse or life can't possibly throw anything else at you, it does. This Beautiful Life is a story of love, survival, relationships, everyday life, marital struggles, friendship, secrets, music and personal growth. It is an emotive read and I think certain parts will reach out to readers differently, striking chords and triggering tears galore. The beauty of this book is that whilst not every single issue/problem/event may be one we have experienced or dealt with, they are very relatable, I felt.

The chapters are relatively short making it easy to dip in and out as life dictates, I could have read it in one sitting if work hadn't gotten in the way. Marsh brings characters to life you immerse and become vested in. Some of the music choices were new to me, others lovely to hear again and with Abi's wee story to each gave it another light. This isn't my first dance with this author, it won't be my last, 4/5 for me this time, thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for sending me a review copy.

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Crash & Burn by Lisa Gardner

Crash & Burn by Lisa Gardner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 368

Publisher - Headline

Blurb from Goodreads

My name is Nicky Frank.

I'm in hospital, afraid. All I can think about is Vero. I have to save her but I can't find her. She's just a little girl.

The man by my bed tells me we're married and there is no Vero. He says that six months ago I suffered a brain injury, that I have dramatic mood swings and large gaps in my memory. I get angry and I drink. All of which explains the car crash that put me here.

Now a Sergeant Wyatt Foster has questions about the accident. He has concerns about my husband. And he's worried about a missing girl.

He would like to know what happened to me. So would I.

This is my life. Watch me crash and burn.


My Review

My name is Nicky Frank.

I'm in hospital, afraid. All I can think about is Vero. I have to save her but I can't find her. She's just a little girl.

The man by my bed tells me we're married and there is no Vero. He says that six months ago I suffered a brain injury, that I have dramatic mood swings and large gaps in my memory. I get angry and I drink. All of which explains the car crash that put me here.

Now a Sergeant Wyatt Foster has questions about the accident. He has concerns about my husband. And he's worried about a missing girl.

He would like to know what happened to me. So would I.

This is my life. Watch me crash and burn.




My Review

Nicky Frank is our main character, chapters where she is talking is in first person. When we are in chapters with the investigators it is in third person narration. This sounds like it could be a bit jumpy but it actually works quite well and compliments the story. The first line of the tale is "I died once", this is Nicky and we are immediately flung into her losing control of her car. She crashed and manages to seek out help, but they must find Vero, her little girl. As the police assess the area and start the search for Vero, things aren't quite what they seemed and Nicky comes under scrutiny.

This is a fast paced, thriller mystery type read. We soon discover Nicky has suffered from a traumatic brain injury from a few months back and since then hasn't been herself. She is fixated on Vero, her husband tries to deal with her erratic behaviour and the police are suspicious. There is more than meets the eye with this couple and the police won't rest until they discover what is going on.

The story draws you in from the first chapter, when Nicky is narrating, your unsure how much you can rely on. She seems troubled, her memory is impaired and Vero just won't go away. As the story whirls along, we discover fragments of information and a sense of danger to go with it.

I am sure I have read Gardner before and I will definitely be reading her again. 4/5 for me, thanks to the publisher for sending me this in exchange for an honest review. This book is available to buy now, from all good book stores.

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The Book of You by Claire Kendal

The Book of You by Claire Kendal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 6 hours

Publisher - Harper

Pages - 362

Blurb from Goodreads

What a great wee debut novel!

For Clarissa, being called to do jury duty is a relief. It means she can leave work for a couple of weeks and avoid the unwanted attentions of her university colleague, Rafe. An intense man who is an expert on grisly folk tales, Rafe has always unnerved her, and Clarissa still cannot understand how she could have let herself have a drunken one-night stand with him.

As the trial unfolds, Clarissa begins to see the parallels between the violent tale related by the young woman whose attackers she is judging and her own situation. But with no crime to report and only her gut feeling to guide her, she is powerless. What can you do when the lines between fantasy and reality, love and fixation become dangerously blurred? How do you protect yourself from an enemy that no one else can see?

With an original structure and a heroine whose voice is equal parts unsettling and unforgettable, The Book of You is tinged with the darkness of a macabre fairy tale, yet is terrifyingly close to reality, a story that will haunt readers long after the last page is turned.


My Review

The book opens in diary form, Monday, 2 February, 7.45 a.m. from Clarissa in first person form. The book goes with this theme as well as 3rd person narrative. The diary entries are well signposted and flip back to when she first really encounters Rafe and things go down hill from there, it does it really well and you can follow the time shift easily. Rafe is obsessed with Clarissa, stalks her, believes they are in a relationship and won't take no for an answer. We follow their encounters both in present day as Clarissa keeps a diary of "evidence" of their interactions and going back to how they got to where they are now.

This is a really creepy, thought provoking story about just how easy it can be to fall into the clutches of an unhinged human being. I have read many crime and thriller books, even a few psychological thrillers but this is my first stalker type one and it is really haunting. Some of it is graphic, sexual and makes for really really uncomfortable reading. However, busy as I am with coursework, I couldn't put it down. The author has done an amazing job of creating a tale filled with fear & horror for the main character which you are dragged right into. I have never been stalked however after reading this book, I felt like I had experienced the trauma of it, such is the vividness of Clarissa's world she paints.

There were one or two issues I had with the book however it was more to do with unanswered questions and a few stickler points that are a personal preference when reading. I honestly think, if you like a good book that will freak you out and have you looking over your shoulder, you really must give this a read. 4/5 for me this time and I look forward to more from this lady and hope she is in the process of writing her next! Thanks so much to Harper for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review and highlighting a debut novel to me.!

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PRR - Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary

Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1.5 days

Publisher - Headline

Pages - 420

Blurb from Goodreads

Some secrets keep you safe, others will destroy you...

Detective Inspector Marnie Rome. Dependable; fierce; brilliant at her job; a rising star in the ranks. Everyone knows how Marnie fought to come back from the murder of her parents, but very few know what is going on below the surface. Because Marnie has secrets she won't share with anyone.

But then so does everyone. Certainly those in the women's shelter Marnie and Detective Sergeant Noah Jake visit on that fateful day. The day when they arrive to interview a resident, only to find one of the women's husbands, who shouldn't have been there, lying stabbed on the floor.

As Marnie and Noah investigate the crime further, events begin to spiral and the violence escalates. Everyone is keeping secrets, some for survival and some, they suspect, to disguise who they really are under their skin.

Now, if Marnie is going to find the truth she will have to face her own demons head on. Because the time has come for secrets to be revealed...



My Review

The book opens five years ago, DI Marnie Rome arrives at her parents home, cordoned off by the police. She knows it is bad, the way the scene is, the glimpses she can have from the house, the way her colleagues talk to her. Then we flick to present day, almost five years to the day it happened. The book teases the details along of what happened to Marnie's parents. But the world of crime stops for noone and she has a job to do. Arriving at a refugee house for abused women, to interview one of the woman who can help with an investigation they happen upon a bloody scene, one of the women have stabbed her partner she had fled from. Each of the women need to be interviewed, each has reason to hide, distrust and secrets are something they all have. As DI Rome tries to cope with her personal trauma and do her job, she needs to keep her wits about her to figure out what truly happened and how to solve the case.

The opening chapter pulls you in, your given enough to know something bad has happened but you don't know who done it or what they actually did. Present days packs quite a punch as one of the women meant to be kept safe has attacked her husband in self defense. There is a lot of tension within this book, the topic of abuse these women have endured is always present. It is a subject that if you have been touched personally by it the book will pack more of a punch with you. If you haven't it gives an insight into what these women endure and why they behave as they do.

I would say it is a psychological thriller, laced with crime and violence. Whilst the matter is dark and may be close to home for some readers, it is handled in a way that I feel didn't cheapen the subject but stayed true to the issues and reflected real life.

For a debut novel it packs quite a punch, I was up past 6am reading this, I could have gotten through it in one sitting had I not had other things to attend to. The chapters are nice and short which I do light in stories, it makes it easier to read more when you have other things to do in between. The time period jumps about a bit, between some of the characters although it is sign posted well enough, in parts it took a wee bit or getting used to. A great introduction to some new characters that I hope to see more of, 4/5 for me this time. I would certainly read more by this author and think Detective Inspector Rome and the other characters (especially Stephen) have some great tales still to come. Thanks so much to Headline for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and for introducing me to a new author.

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PRR - The World Is A Wedding by Wendy Jones

The World is a Wedding by Wendy Jones
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1.5 days

Publisher - Corsair

Pages - 265

Blurb from Goodreads

Wendy Jones picks up where 'The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals' left off. It's 1926 and Wilfred Price, purveyor of superior funerals, is newly married to the beautiful Flora Myfanwy. His brief and painful marriage to Grace is in the past. He's busy with funerals - and preparing for fatherhood by reading a philosophy book and opening a paint and wallpaper business. As much as he loves Flora, he senses her distance from him - are marriage and fatherhood going to be very different from how Wilfred imagined?

Grace has fled from Narberth to London, where she is working as a chambermaid at the luxurious Ritz Hotel. But Grace has a secret, one that can't be hidden forever, and binds her to her old life in west Wales.

Despite Wilfred's earnest effort to embrace the future, he is beginning to wonder if the past has too powerful a hold on him.



My Review

Having read the first book I would suggest you read it before picking this one up. You can read this one without having read the first but I think you would enjoy it more checking out the first part of the story. We pick up with Wilfred Price, undertaker and funeral director, set in 1925. After a quick and painful marriage to Grace, he is now looking toward his impending marriage to the lovely Flora. Their tale covers their union, the business and the small town they live in and the happenings of Narbeth. Grace has since fled to London, trying to find work and hiding a secret meaning she can't quite escape Narbeth or her past.

This is a tale with happiness, sadness, confrontation, secrets & the heart of relationships. We see Wilbur's character continue to grow, looking after her new bride, trying to expand his business and trying to prepare for the future. Although Grace has gone and Flora is everything he hoped for her can't quite forget about Grace and her misfortune.

The is a book that has a few layers and deals with subjects that can be difficult to read, it is dealt with in a sensitive manner yet still evokes sympathy and feeling from the reader. There was just a few things that I didn't quite get although I feel I may be in the minority with it. One character has quite a change in their personality and behavior with not a great deal of explanation and I found a few things that one or two characters done came from nowhere which I personally don't like. However, over all it is a good read, the author has a gentle style that flows and despite the book being set in the early 1900s, which isn't always a bit hit with me, she covered it very well. 3/5 for me this time, I would read this author again and much thanks to Little Brown Book Group for sending me a copy.

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PRR - Everyone Lies by A.D. Garrett

Everyone Lies by A. D. Garrett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - dipped in and out over 7 days

Publisher - Constable & Robinson (C & R Crime)

Blurb from the back cover

DI Kate Simms is on the fast track to nowhere. Five years ago she helped a colleague when she shouldn't have. She's been clawing her way back from a demotion ever since. Professor Nick Fennimore is a failed genetics student, successful gambler, betting agent, crime scene officer, chemistry graduate, toxicology specialist and one-time scientific advisor to the National Crime Faculty. He is the best there is, but ever since his wife and daughter disappeared he's been hiding away in Scotland, working as a forensics lecturer.

In Manchester, drug addicts are turning up dead and Simms' superior is only too pleased to hand the problem to her. Then a celebrity dies and the media gets interested. Another overdose victim shows up, but this time the woman has been systematically beaten and all identifying features removed. The evidence doesn't add up; Simms' superiors seem to be obstructing her investigation; and the one person she can't afford to associate with is the one man who can help: Fennimore.


My Review


Professor Nick Fennimore has a previous and tainted relationship with our main character DI Kate Simms. Kate needs help with an investigation where people on the force are just waiting for her to fail. Nick has a soft spot for Kate, forensic science is his thing and access to equipment to help with the case, together the two of them work together to try and crack the case. Despite things seeming to solve themselves, Kate can't help but dig deeper putting herself and her associates in danger.

This is a great wee debut novel, it starts fairly quick with a good introduction to the main characters. Despite being the first book, the two have a previous relationship one that came under scrutiny from the police. This is linked back to and referred to at points throughout the book although not explained in full, I am hoping the next book will be a kick back to this.

The book looks at the underbelly of crime, prostitution, drugs, violence, murder and relationships set in Manchester. It is engaging, gritty and had life not got in the way I could have got through this in a day. I would have liked to have gotten the full back story on what happened with Nick, Kate and the circumstances surrounding their previous relationship and what happened 4 years ago. There are snippets of information which was a little irritating as you want to know but I think the authors have done well in building the suspense.

There are a few twists in the book and quite a bit of interesting information to be learned about forensics dotted throughout which I quite enjoyed. Overall a really good introductory book, I would certainly follow this series and would recommend it to any crime lovers. Thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review and introducing me to a new author, 4/5 for me this time.

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PRR - The Killing Game by J.A. Kerley

The Killing Game by J.A. Kerley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 7 days

Publisher - Harper

Blurb from the back cover

He's coming to get you...

After a humiliating encounter with a cop, Gregory Nieves lauches a vendetta against the Mobile Police Department, Alabama. Nieves can't fight a department, so he selects one man who symbolizes all men in blue: Carson Ryder, the MPD's specialist in bizarre an twisted crimes.

Carson has never seen a killing spree like it: nothing connects the victims, the murder weapon is always different and the horrific crime scenes are devoid of evidence. It almost seems like he's being taunted. Even laughed at.

Carson doesn't know it yet, but he is caught up in a sadistic game of life and death. And there can only be one victor...


My review

The story starts with our killer, a small introduction to him and how he tries to blend in to society and keep him reactions normal. Then we flick to Carson, under cover and about to get into a situation that will hail him hero or reckless. The story flips throughout from the killers view and then back to the police and Carson. We slowly learn more about why Gregory is the way he is and what sets him off on this killing spree.

The story is well done although you are drawn in slowly. Carson soon realizes he has a dangerous killer on the loose and has to work out what has set him off and where he will strike next. An almost impossible task as his kills seem to have to actual motive, weapons and victims are different from one to the next and there is no killer more dangerous than one who strikes at random and with no pattern.

Carson eventually needs to turn to a source for help he would rather steer clear from, his brother who is incarcerated for murder. His brother can give insight that Carson will get nowhere else so he needs to in order to get clarity on the crimes and the killer. I was disappointed at how little Jeremy, Carson's brother, actually featured in this book.

The chapters are fairly short in length which I always like, I enjoy reading Carson's character as he is likable and this time he has a new relationship budding with Wendy, one of the girls from the class he has been helping out with. I felt we could have had more about those two and definitely more about Gregory, his childhood and the horrors he endured and survived that created the killer and psychopath he became. The ending is where the book dropped marks for me, I do enjoy a good twist but this one I didn't see coming at all and it annoyed me as there should have been more on this particular twist, even a few hints rather than shot out of the blue, I feel. I also think it was a tad short and left lacking in regards to Gregory when he is such a huge part of the story. However lots of people have loved it and it is a good story however for me it is a 3/5. Thanks so much to Harper for providing me with a copy and the fun crime competition that is going on to celebrate the book as well.

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PRR - Low Pressure by Sandra Brown

Low Pressure by Sandra Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time Taken to Read - 2 days

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Blurb from the back cover

BELLAMY PRICE WAS ONLY TWELVE YEARS OLD WHEN HER OLDER SISTER SUSAN WAS KILLED ON A STORMY MEMORIAL DAY.

Bellamy's fear of storms is a legacy of the tornado that destroyed the crime scene as well as her memory of one vital fact that still eludes her.....

Now, eighteen years later, Bellamy has written a novel based on Susan's murder. It's her first book, and it's an instant sensation. But because the novel is based on the most traumatic event of her life, she's published it under a pseudonym to protect herself and her family.

But when a sleazy reporter for a tabloid newspaper discovers that the book is based on a real crime, Bellamy's identity - and dark family secrets - are exposed. Suddenly, she finds herself embroiled in a personal conflict at the mercy of her sister's killer, who for almost two decades has got away with murder...and will stop at nothing to keep it that way.

My Review

Bellamy Lyston Price is from a rich influential family, in order to rid herself of her demons, stemming from her sister's murder eighteen years ago she writes the account under a pseudo name as a novel. A tabloid journalist uncovers the story is fact and who the real author is. What follows is a chain reaction that threatens not only Bellamy but her family and all it stands for.

The book is, I thought, a wee page turner. It starts with Bellamy being discovered as the author and the first contact from someone not happy with her book. It then draws out the story of how she came to receive the contact and what she was doing up until that point. As well as unwanted gifts/threats the book also prompts contact from an old figure from Bellamy's past that she and her family would rather forget, his presence evokes a few unwelcome responses and tensions are running high. Soon Bellamy has more than feelings and threats to deal with when her life is at risk and the one person she doesn't want to spend time with might be her only hope.

There are a fair few characters in this book however they are carved out well and I had no problem following who was who and what was happening. Practically from the beginning you know who the bad guy is and the main issue is will he capture and kill Bellamy and was the right person convicted for her sisters murder. Right up until the end you have quite a few suspects of who the actual killer could be and more than one person isn't happy with Bellamys digging to free the locked memory of the day her sister was murdered.

The story, I felt, was definitely a thriller although it is laced with the romantic tanglement of her past with Dent, her sisters ex boyfriend/her past crush and one time suspect of her sister's murder. The family hate him, he has a huge chip on his shoulder, lots of attitude and a definite chemistry with Bellamy. The book has murder, lies, sex (there are a few scenes so if your easily offended you can skip over them or just pass on this book), deception and family secrets, to name but a few of the issues covered in this story. I have read Sandra Brown before and would read her again, this story had bits were the story pulled on for a bit but overall it was a really good read, 4 out of 5 for me this time. Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with a copy in return for an honest review.

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PRR - Cold Killing by Luke Delaney

Cold Killing by Luke Delaney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken to Read - 2 days

Publisher - HarperCollins

Blurb From Goodreads

Terrifyingly authentic, London-set debut crime novel with a psychological edge, by an ex-Met detective. Perfect for fans of Mark Billingham, Peter James and Stuart MacBride.

DI Sean Corrigan is not like other detectives. The terrible abuse he suffered in childhood hasn't stopped him enjoying family life with his wife and two daughters, or pursuing an impressive career with South London's Murder Investigation Unit. But it has left him with an uncanny ability to identify the darkness in others - a darkness he recognises still exists deep within his own psyche and battles to keep buried there. Now Sean's on the trail of the most dangerous killer he's ever encountered. The perpetrator has no recognisable MO, leaves no forensic evidence and his victims have nothing in common. But Sean knows they were all murdered by the same man. Now all he has to do is find the evidence, convince his bosses and stop the killing ...before his adversary gets too close to home..



My Review

This book had a fabulous marketing around it. Before I received the book from the publishers a wee envelope arrived with 3 crime scene photos and a small sheet of paper with the crime scene web address. Of course who could resist that so off I went to the website and had a snoop around. About a wee later the book arrived and I had to read it straight away.

This debut novel introduces us to DI Sean Corrigan, a police officer unlike any other. He can look at a crime scene and get into the killers head, viewing what he did and even at some points thinking how he thinks. The murder is brutal and Sean is sure he knows how the killer is, confirmed when they question him and Sean identifies the darkness under the smooth surface. A game of cat and mouse begins and another body turns up, the killer is goading and mocking the police and Sean needs to be 2 steps ahead if he is going to catch him.

I couldn't put this book down to start with, we begin the first chapter with the killer talking us through how he views the world in front of him. No one is safe, not even his family and he takes us through his latest murderous activity. The next chapter introduces us to DI Sean Corrigan and his response to the murder scene and the story kicks off from there. The chapters flick from our detective to our killer and flips between the two. The chapter lengths going from being a few pages long to fairly lengthy, not a big deal but for me worthy of note.

I must say I loved how Sean got into the crime scene, it reminded me of enter the dragon with Edward Norton although with an actual explanation for how he does it and I do love all areas covered. There are quite a few twists and turns throughout the book, which until the end, confused me as I wasn't sure who was the killer and had a few of my own suspects. I must admit this frustrated me however I know this is a good thing for a lot of readers, I am just impatient and like to know everything which is why I struggled to put this book down. It keeps you engaged throughout and it took me a while to catch on although I did before the big finale. Overall a really good read with just a few snags that brought it down a wee bit for me but this will be a bit hit with most readers. I will definitely keep an eye out for this author again and thank you so much to HarperCollins for giving me a copy and introducing me to a new author, 3/5 for me. Cold Killing is available to buy now from any good retailer for £6.99 Hardback or £5.00 on the kindle.

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