Hidden Killers by Lynda LaPlante BookTour

Book two of the #TeamTennison tour - "Hidden Killers" - for my stop I have my review, enjoy. You can buy your own copy now, from Amazon or any other good retailer.

We read ours with the pelting rain, in the nook with a blanket (is there anything nicer!).

Hidden Killers by Lynda La Plante
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - as able over 5 days

Pages - 496

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

A prostitute dressed in a blue rabbit fur coat walks through the darkness of Hackney Fields, seemingly alone. But someone is waiting for her...

A woman is found dead in her bath, a small child crying in the room next door... Is it an accidental death or the perfect murder?

When WPC Jane Tennison is promoted to the role of Detective Constable in London's Bow Street CID, she is immediately conflicted. While her far more experienced colleagues move on swiftly from one criminal case to another, Jane is often left with doubts about their findings.

Becoming inextricably embroiled in a multiple-rape case, Jane must put her life at risk in the search for answers. Will she toe the CID line, or endanger her position by seeking the truth...?



My Review

Oooh book two and we find Jane Tennison is promoted to Detective Constable in Bow Street, London CID. There are two cases being investigated, a rape and a young mother dead in a bath tub, Jane is finding just how different things work here. From new bosses, some of the same issues we found in book one, sexism, racism, skulduggery and hints of things not being quite above board Jane is feeling the pressure to do a job she loves, remain true to herself and conform.

I try to remember the time period this is set in, so sexism was (and still prevalent in some areas/places), hierarchy, unethical behaviours but you do get riled at how she is treated by her peers a fair bit.

From being put in danger, questioning her fellow officers and even putting her much loved job at risk by following her heart and intuition we follow Jane on some dark and questionable paths. There are some very unsettling themes in the book, rape, murder, people, cops struggling with their own demons, addictions - it is a busy book and mixed bag.

There is so much more to the series and I look forward to getting into them and seeing what the future holds for Jane and co, 4/5 for me this time.

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Together Again by Milly Johnson

Together, Again by Milly Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages -

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Sisters, Jolene, Marsha and Annis have convened at their childhood home the huge and beautiful Fox House following the death of their mother, the cold and impenetrable Eleanor Vamplew, to arrange the funeral and sell up. Born seven years apart, the women have never bonded and are more strangers than sisters.

Jolene, the eldest, is a successful romantic novelist who writes templates of beautiful relationships even though her marriage to the handsome and charming Warren is a barren wasteland.

Marsha, the neglected middle child has put every bit of her energy into her work hoping money would plug up the massive gap in her life left by the man who broke her young heart, only to find it never has. And now he has been forced back into her life.

Annis is the renegade, who left home aged sixteen and never returned, not even for the death of their beloved father Julian, until now. It is therefore a surprise to all of them to discover that Eleanor recently changed her will to leave everything to the daughter she considered a wretched accident.

Together, Again is the story of truths uncovered and lies exposed, of secrets told - and kept. It is a novel about sister helping sister to heal from childhood scars, and of finding, in each other, the love they have all been deprived of. Together, Again is about vulnerability and strength, acceptance and family.




My Review


A family of sisters brought together by the death of their mum. One sister has been awol for a while and isn't how they remember her. Jolene is a well known author with her own problems, Marsha is your classic middle child syndrome and Annis the runaway aloof youngest who has changed so much and surrounded in mystery. Their mother was cold, aloof, keeping up appearances and everything was about her love for her husband. As the girls try to work their way through sorting mothers affairs as well as their own unexpecting feelings/issues.

Families, they can be rough as, there is no doubting the siblings all have their own form of issues from how they were treated and raised. The mother is a cold fish and whilst her passing is what kick starts the novel we do hear from her a little and get some insight as the book goes on.

Johnson creates characters you love, characters you hate, characters you pity and or want to hear more about. The book delves into secrets, lies, relationships, personal growth, love and trying to overcome the long reaches the past has on you. Whilst she looks at relationships of different varieties she touches on some darker and shocking themes, coercive control, gaslighting, manipulation, abuse but also brighter and happier aspects too. Using many of the true issues and hardships and or battles some of us face in real life so evokes emotional responses from the reader or just grasps them whilst she creates her characters worlds and draws you in.

It is no surprise I loved this, I am a big fan of Johnson's books, having a slump - read a Johnson, want to lose yourself in dramas that isn't your own, Johnson! 5/5 for me, I have read most of her books but do need to check Goodreads and Fantasticfiction to see what all I have missed.

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The Executioner by Chris Carter

The Executioner by Chris Carter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 472

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Imagine your worst fear - and then meet your worst nightmare...

Inside a Los Angeles church, on the altar steps, lies the blood-soaked, decapitated body of a priest. Carefully positioned, legs stretched out, arms crossed over the chest, the most horrifying thing of all is that the priest's head has been replaced by that of a dog. Later, the forensic team discover that, on the victim's chest, the figure '3' has been scrawled in blood.

At first, Detective Robert Hunter believes that this is a ritualistic killing. But as more bodies surface, he is forced to reassess. All the victims died in the way they feared the most. Their worst nightmares have literally come true. But how could the killer have known? And what links these apparently random victims?

Hunter finds himself on the trail of an elusive and sadistic killer, someone who apparently has the power to read his victims' minds. Someone who can sense what scares his victims the most. Someone who will stop at nothing to achieve his twisted aim.



My Review

We open with a priest being murdered, when the police find him, the scene is so horrific many officers struggle to keep their breakfast. Is it a message to the chapel? Hunter & Garcia are called in due to the brutality of the crime. When the next body turns up they know they have a serial killer on their hands, one that kills the victims with their worst fears.

If you have read Carter before you know he is pretty gruesome, this one is no different. We are with the killer at parts and the majority we are with Hunter and the team, investigating, digging. How can a killer know someone's worst fears & then manage to carry them out. Are the victims randomly picked, how does the killer choose the victim and manage to set it all up?

As well as all of that Hunter has a new captain, a woman who is ready to make her mark and take no crap from anyone, including Hunter who we know has a tendency to do his own thing. Page turner as always, utterly horrific and brief mentions of animal torture, I always struggle with that but thankfully it doesn't feature loads throughout. 4/5 for me this time I have a fair few in the series on my tbrm so hopefully catch up sooner rather than later.

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The Game by Luca Veste

The Game by Luca Veste
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 400

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

An edge-of-your-seat thriller that merges the twists of a psychological-mystery with the investigative layers of a procedural . . .

THEY KNOW WHAT YOU DID
You receive a call, an email, a text – someone knows your secret and they want to ruin you.

AND THEY’RE OUT FOR BLOOD
If you don’t do what they say, they’ll tell everyone what you’ve been hiding.
They will come after you, destroy you, and they aren’t afraid to kill.

IT’S TIME TO PLAY THE GAME



My Review

We open with a police interview, someone is admitting to murders and we get inside glimpse into his mind. Who is he, what is the game and what is his motive? We then flip to before and the players, the people involved in a game, what is the game, why are they playing and why are they dying? Fling into that a police investigation, a missing person, a dead body and pow we have the beginnings of the book.

This is one of those books you are pulled into but have absolutely no idea what is going on. Lots of characters, lots of action and of course the investigation of missing person, Emily Burns. DC Mark Flynn is head of the case, chatting to Emily's family, a shady uncle known to the cops, a reluctant family to give up information. Why would Emily go missing? what kind of person was she? As Mark digs he finds the case isn't as straight forward as it seems and everybody has something to hide.

Page turner because you want to know what is happening, who is the body, what happened to X, what is the game, why are they playing? So many questions, it is busy, it keeps your interest and like an onion it gives you layers! 4/5 for me this time, read Veste before will read him again, this is a standalone guys.

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Here Comes The Girls by Milly Johnson

Here Come the Girls by Milly Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 493

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Source - Amazon buy

Blurb from Goodreads

Shirley Valentine, eat your heart out!

Ven, Roz, Olive and Frankie have been friends since school. They daydreamed of glorious futures, full of riches, romance and fabulous jobs. The world would be their oyster.

Twenty-five years later, Olive cleans other people's houses to support her lazy, out-of-work husband and his ailing mother. Roz cannot show her kind, caring partner Manus any love because her philandering ex has left her trust in shreds. And she and Frankie have fallen out big time.

But Ven is determined to reunite her friends and realize the dream they had of taking a cruise by the time they hit forty. Before they know it, the four of them are far from home,on the high seas. But can blue skies, hot sun and sixteen days of luxury and indulgence distract from the tension and loneliness that await their return?



My Review

A bunch of friends in high school, close as can be and dreams of when they grow up. Twenty five years later and one big fall out the dynamic four and more a three. Married, divorced, unappreciated - meet Roz, Ven, Olive and Frankie. When Ven wins a competition for a cruise of a lifetime she takes her besties and plans to get the girls back together. Not all is it seems for the girls and this cruise will have a bigger impact than any of them could have thought.

So we get a wee glimpse into all the ladies lives, Roz cannot get over a betrayal and even after four years it is still having huge repercussions. Olive is a skivvy, any time I read the passages with her home life I was livid, her mother-in-law, husband and their relative. She is so unappreciated, they take total advantage and it just ripped my knittin! Total compelling reading because you just wanted to know what was coming next, will they get their comeuppance?

Family dramas, friendship, heartache, betrayal, love, infidelity and getting to travel the globe through the characters on a cruise ship. I have never been into the idea of a cruise ship but after reading this I so want to go on one! I have read Johnson before and will read her again, I actually have another few of hers on my tbrm, 4/5 for me this time!

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The Perfectly Imperfect Woman by Milly Johnson

The Perfectly Imperfect Woman by Milly Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1.5 days

Pages - 464

Publisher - Simon and Schuster

Source - Waterstones store

Blurb from Goodreads

Marnie Salt has made so many mistakes in her life that she fears she will never get on the right track. But when she ‘meets’ an old lady on a baking chatroom and begins confiding in her, little does she know how her life will change.

Arranging to see each other for lunch, Marnie finds discovers that Lilian is every bit as mad and delightful as she’d hoped – and that she owns a whole village in the Yorkshire Dales, which has been passed down through generations. And when Marnie needs a refuge after a crisis, she ups sticks and heads for Wychwell – a temporary measure, so she thinks.

But soon Marnie finds that Wychwell has claimed her as its own and she is duty bound not to leave. Even if what she has to do makes her as unpopular as a force 12 gale in a confetti factory! But everyone has imperfections, as Marnie comes to realise, and that is not such a bad thing – after all, your flaws are perfect for the heart that is meant to love you.

The Perfectly Imperfect Woman is the heart-warming and hilarious new novel from the queen of feel-good fiction – a novel of family, secrets, love and redemption … and broken hearts mended and made all the stronger for it.



My Review

Marnie has had a hard time with her family, it impacts on most aspects of her life. When things come crashing down around her, a chance internet encounter gives her the opportunity to not only flee but make big life changes. Wychwell is a small village that has much it can offer Marnie but not everyone is as welcoming and soon Marnie is questioning if she has made the right decision.

Oh I do love Johnson's stories and it has been a wee while since I last picked one up. There are many layers to this one, Marnie's story then we have the village history which we read snippets of as Marnie makes her way through the book. Her past and family relationship, her current life before she needs to flee to the village and everything that transpires from her arrival, her friendships and interactions with the village people. There are many secrets, relationships are a key theme throughout the book. I found myself absolutely raging at some of the treatment Marnie has at the hands of her family and how this impacts on her as a person. The behaviour of some of the villagers is beautiful, heartwarming and from others rage inducing and even giving one a twitchy eyeball. I loved the family history and would have read a book on that by itself, I hope it is something Johnson toys with! Other themes that crop up are infidelity, food - oh my I so wanted to eat cheesecake and I don't even eat cheesecake really, cheating, friendships, family, love, office politics, back stabbing, bitchiness, loss, grief, lies and loyalty. It is a busy wee book but very well done and flows nicely, if I hadn't had work I would have read it in one sitting!

Another thing to highlight, the book has a lovely coloured map of the village with the houses and everything labelled so you can follow everything as Marnie experiences the village for the first time. I just think wee extras like that in a book are lovely and get a thumbs up for me, I am a gimmick geek and I love things like that. 4.5 stars for me, I need to look at what books I have missed from the back catalogue and snap them up!

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ZomB Angels by Darren Shan

Zom-B Angels by Darren Shan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 233

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Blurb from Goodreads


After spending the last few months wandering around London--a city filled with the dead--B Smith has given up hope for any sign of normal human existence. But then B finds strange signs all over the city--a "Z" plus red arrows. Following them, B finds The Angels-- a group gathered in the hopes of combating the evil dead and the forces that introduced them. But all is not as it seems and it's up to B to find out: what battle are they truly waging?



My Review


This is book 4, if you haven't read the previous books I would recommend you do so as I think you get much more out of the story knowing the previous parts. B is out and about, going around London and not finding anything much apart from zomheads. She has followed the Z & red arrows and come across a group, a safe haven, a place she can be herself. As B starts to understand what the place is about and their mission, she has to decide if this is right for her.

So, we certainly get a few more answers in this book and a focus as to where the story is headed as well as a bit more insight into the dreaded clowns ans his minions. Again some scenes are gross and there is one particularly harrowing scene with a child so be warned. I felt there was a wee bit of preachiness in this book, religion and again racism which has featured in the previous books especially if you know B's background.

Overall, if you have enjoyed the series so far you will like this one. B is further developing who she is and whilst she won't physically age she is certainly maturing and growing as a "person". 3/5 for me this time, I have the next installment and I will be reading it soon, I am quite keen to see where Shan takes it.

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Underground by Darren Shan

Zom-B Underground by Darren Shan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - on and off over 1 day

Pages - 212

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Blurb from Goodreads

Waking up in a military complex, months after zombies attacked school, B has no memory of the last few months. Life in the UK has turned tough since the outbreak, and B is woven into life- and battle- in the new military regime quickly. But as B learns more about the zombies held in the complex and the scientists keeping them captive, unease settles in. Why exactly was B saved? And is there anyone left in the world to trust?


My Review

This is the second book in the series so if you haven't read the first, stop reading this review and grab the first one. B has lost time, she doesn't remember the last few months and is now under military capture. With a team and under direct instructions B has to come to terms with who she is now and what is expected of her. She isn't gelling with her new team, her is adapting to her situation but as with the first book she has an internal battle going on.

I actually preferred this book to the first, this B has some tough choices to deal with and adaptions to make to get through the situation. She shows much more integrity with darker trials presented although the racist aspect is still looming in there. The setting is within a military building which could have be boring for some readers but I think it was a perfect setting for the build up and examination of B's character and those around her.

It is a zombie book with a twist, yes zombies who can think and talk have been done before but Shan puts a spin on that and offers, certainly for me, a unique take on the whole zombie them. One that can think, ones that are cannibalistic monsters, a mix of both and a stab at an explanation for it, we don't often get that. There is a fair amount of gore and splatter in the book but then it is a zombie apocalypse, we also see a bit of soul and there is some humour infused into the tale. 4/5 for me this time, but for the fact I have a ridik amount of review books awaiting my attention, I would have tore into the next installment of this series!

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Zom-B by Darren Shan

Zom-B by Darren Shan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 217

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Blurb from Goodreads

Zom-B is a radical new series about a zombie apocalypse, told in the first person by one of its victims. The series combines classic Shan action with a fiendishly twisting plot and hard-hitting and thought-provoking moral questions dealing with racism, abuse of power and more. This is challenging material, which will captivate existing Shan fans and bring in many new ones. As Darren says, "It's a big, sprawling, vicious tale...a grisly piece of escapism, and a barbed look at the world in which we live. Each book in the series is short, fast-paced and bloody. A high body-count is guaranteed!"



My Review

This is the first book in a zombie series, we open with B our main character, a teenager who is still at school when the first stirrings of a zombie outbreak starts. No one really believes it and thinks the videos & news are mock ups. We follow B through relatively mundane happenings, until over 100 pages in we finally get our first glimpse of the undead.

So, for me this was a bit more like Fear The Walking Dead rather than The Walking Dead, heavily focused on the pre and build up to the actual onslaught. B is not a likable main character, a lot of time is spent being a bully or just horrible selfish behaviour to assessing the behviour and not wanting to be like her very racist father. There are scenes of bullying, racism, violence and when the zombies finally show up, some gore. There are also some black and white illustration artwork scattered throughout the book which makes for a nice wee change I thought.

There is a lot focus on self exploration of B's attitude, family values (that of white extremist attitude of the father), pack mentality in schools and survival mode. There are quite a few books in this series, I have already bought them so will be reading them. I would advise this may not be for the die hard zombie fans as it is a slow burner and not quite as much focus on the outbreak and zombies as it is on the characters however it is still a decent read, 3/5 for me.

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