A Mother's Revenge by Alex Kane

A Mother's Revenge by Alex Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 358

Publisher - Hera

Source - Review copy & bought

Blurb from Goodreads

A mother will stop at nothing to protect her family

Cheryl Davidson was happy with husband Leo, watching her beloved son, Dean, grow into a handsome young man, dreaming of the paths his life would take, the grandchildren he would bring home.

Until the day that Dean was murdered, his body dumped in an isolated scrapyard with a bullet in his head, and Cheryl’s world exploded.

Discovering that Dean had been mixed up in the underworld of the Glasgow crime world, and worst of all, that Leo had brought him in, means that Cheryl’s sanity is hanging by a thread.

Overwhelmed by grief and with no one left to trust, Cheryl plans to take deadly retribution on the family that caused her son to be killed, vowing that they should suffer her same pain.

Cheryl might be up against the formidable Janey Hallahan, the woman who runs Glasgow gangland with guns and fear, but Janey and the Hallahans might discover that a grieving mother with nothing to lose might be the most dangerous opponent of all…

A heart-stopping, gritty gangland thriller that fans of Kimberley Chambers and Jacqui Rose won't be able to put down.



My Review

This is marked as a standalone BUT it does feature characters from the previous book, you can read this as a standalone but I absolutely recommend reading "Two Sisters". Cheryl Davidson is a woman on a mission, her son has been murdered, she blames her husband and his boss, if it wasn't for him/them Dean would still be alive. She doesn't just blame them, she blames Janey and her grand daughter Molly Rose and they are the full focus for her revenge. How do you get close to a female gangster type? Cheryl has a plan in place and she will get her revenge and take all of Janey's family down.

Guys this one, like the previous has some really shady ugly awful characters, there is people trafficking and all the abuse that goes with it, drugs, violence, murder, it is a full bag! Janey is reeling and still trying to recover after being run off the road, the love of her life is in a coma, one daughter gone, another in rehab and Molly Rose it trying to get back to normal. A new threat is coming, they are looking over their shoulder constantly trying to figure out who is after them.

The book is quite fast paced, there is always something going on, some skulduggery, revenge plan. In amongst that and themes of recovery we have Cheryl who is slowly falling apart, torn up by her grief and driven by her rage and thirst for revenge we follow her as she pursues justice for her son.

The depths of depravity, people using and abusing others for profit and getting their kicks, despite it being fiction I think because you know stuff like this goes on in parts of the world, you are hoping for retribution, 4/5.

View all my reviews

The Family Business by Alex Kane

This is my first blog tour for Zooloos Blog Tours and what a book to start with. We have followed Alex Kane since she was writing under her own name and The Family Business is a belter! For my stop on the tour I have my, as always, non spoiler review, enjoy.

About the author

Alex Kane is a psychological thriller writer who lives in Glasgow. She is a huge fan of the genre, with her favourite authors in the genre being Lisa Hall, BA Paris and Sarah Stovell. If she is not writing, she can be found playing with her cat, reading, or drinking tea and/or gin (sometimes all of the above).

Buy link from Amazon UK click HERE

The Family Business by Alex Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 368

Publisher - Hera Books

Source - ARC

Blurb from Goodreads

Blood's thicker than water... and they're not afraid to spill it

Donnie Black. Charming, successful… and utterly terrifying, he rules the Glasgow underworld with an iron fist. Nothing - or no one - will stop him and he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty to grow his fortune.

Layla Black. She’s been married to Donnie for twenty years, enjoying the lavish world he has worked hard to create. But behind the perfect image Layla is crumbling, numbing her pain with alcohol. But Layla doesn’t know the secrets Donnie keeps – and the truth will send her spiralling.

Louise Bellshaw. She’s young, beautiful and innocent. She’s charmed by Donnie’s sweet words, and believes she’s found true love. But Louise doesn’t know her dream man has plans that will turn her life into a nightmare.

As the three collide, no one can predict how family ties will turn to bloodshed. Because you’ll do anything for the ones you love, won’t you?

A dark, twisty and totally gripping thriller set in the heart of Glasgow gangland - fans of Mandasue Heller and Kimberley Chambers won't be able to put this down.



My Review

Hello Glasgow, meet Donnie Black - we first meet him as a young teen and quickly get the measure of his character. Skip on to him as an adult, the loss of his father and taking over the empire with his brother, making his mark on things. His wife Layla, sweet Layla had no idea back then what she was getting into and loses herself in a cloud of booze to cope with her life. Layla has no idea just how bad Donnie is and Donnie is about to get his hands even dirtier.

I do think Kane goes from strength to strength, I read her first book and have a few others on the tbrm. Gangland, turf wars, a gangster wanting to prove himself just as good as his old man and getting into darker avenues. He really is scum, he manipulates, exploits, uses people because to him they are commodities, a means to an end.

The book looks at some really dark aspects of humanity, human trafficking, violence, murder, drugs, family all of the dark and dangerous goings on and it is set in Glasgow! I love when a book takes place somewhere you know or have been, for me it adds a bit of something.

The family business looks at how some people test loyalty, have none, destroy anything, risk everything and the good old actions and consequences. It is hard to go into without spoilers and I don't do spoilers. The book is bursting with action, shocking behaviour, redemption, emotional, abuse, violence and absolute breath holding moments, 4.5/5 for me this time. I need to bump the rest of them up my tbrm. I hope she brings us more set in the city of Glasgow!

View all my reviews

Vanish by Tess Gerritsen

Vanish by Tess Gerritsen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 462

Publisher - Bantam

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

A nameless, beautiful woman appears to be just another corpse in the morgue. An apparent suicide, she lies on a gurney, awaiting the dissecting scalpel of medical examiner Maura Isles. But when Maura unzips the body bag and looks down at the body, she gets the fright of her life. The corpse opens its eyes.
Very much alive, the woman is rushed to the hospital, where with shockingly cool precision, she murders a security guard and seizes hostages . . . one of them a pregnant patient, Jane Rizzoli.
Who is this violent, desperate soul, and what does she want? As the tense hours tick by, Maura joins forces with Jane s husband, FBI agent Gabriel Dean, to track down the mysterious killer s identity. When federal agents suddenly appear on the scene, Maura and Gabriel realize that they are dealing with a case that goes far deeper than just an ordinary hostage crisis.
Only Jane, trapped with the armed madwoman, holds the key to the mystery. And only she can solve it if she survives the night. ."



My Review

This is book 5 in the Rizzoli & Isle's series, I have to confess to reading them out of order and this one must have slipped my attention. These books are gritty and fast paced, short chapters which I love and perfect if you are struggling reading and having your attention kept just now.

Human trafficking and the sex trade features in parts of the book and of course all the brutality that comes with that so be prepared. A body makes its way to Isle's mortuary only for her to discover it isn't actually a dead body. Chaos ensues a hostage situation/standoff and Rizzoli who is heavily pregnant is caught in the middle. Things aren't always what they seem and as the tension the situation becomes more deadly it gets some of the "players" wondering if there isn't more to all this than meets the eye.

The book splits between the situation with Isles/Rizzoli/the undead woman and that of a girl promised a better future only to be caught up in enforced prostitution. We follow the girls, what they have to endure and just trying to survive to the hostage situation and back and forth.

Tense, brutal and we see a bit more of a tender side to feisty Rizzoli despite being heavily pregnant. A fantastic series and I forgot how much I enjoy Gerritsen books, I will need to look and see if there are any others I have missed, 4/5 for me this time.

View all my reviews

Lost Lives by Lisa Cutts Blog Tour

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Lost Lives by Lisa Cutts, please check out the other stops on the tour.





Lost Lives is out to buy now as a treebook or ebook, click HERE for the link to Amazon to get your own copy.





You can find the author on Twitter or Facebook.


Lost Lives by Lisa Cutts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 368

Publisher - Simon & Schuster UK

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

SHE TRUSTED THEM WITH HER LIFE

When Anna arrives in the UK, she believes it’s the start of a better life for her and her daughter. But what awaits her is more shocking than anything she could have ever imagined . . .

SHE TRUSTED THEM WITH HER DAUGHTER

DI Harry Powell is investigating a shooting, but the victim has been scared into silence. As Harry struggles to piece together what little information he has, he stumbles upon an operation that may put countless lives across the country at risk.

SHE WAS WRONG

As Anna’s situation grows more dangerous by the day, Harry is forced to push his overstretched team to the limits to find answers. But for one of them, will it already be too late?


My Review

Anna is headed for a new life, one her family can be proud of her for, finally. Anna has been sold a lie, she will not be going to work in a hotel or anything like it, Anna's nightmare has just begun. A sordid tale of the worst sides of humanity, human trafficking, exploitation of the weak and innocent. For some, human life has no value except that which is can be sold for.

This is a really hard hitting book to be honest, you know the author has come from a background in policing and whilst this is fiction we know this is an ongoing issue today. Anna finds herself trapped, horrific conditions, abused, death always a breath away and always trying to keep herself safe for her family. Friendship and trust is not something that comes easy where she is but sometimes you need do what you can to stay alive. DI Harry Powell is the other part of the story, investigating a shooting at the complex on a police officer, a sex offender and someone who finds themselves caught up with the darker side of society. When the investigation gets going Powell and the team are caught up in a ring that may well put them all at risk.

Firstly let me say this is my first time reading this author, it won't be my last! The book comes in short chapters which I LOVE as you can dip in and out as life allows, I could have read this in one go instead of as and when across one day. It is a very dark tale involving abuse, human trafficking, sexual deviancy, violence and murder. The book doesn't give in depth focused scenes on the sexual depravity but there is enough for you to know exactly what has transpired. The conditions these poor souls find themselves in is enough to bring tears to a glass and and shocks to the core just how easily people find themselves in this living hell.

Dark, fast paced and not just focused on the trafficking side/victims we also get a good look into the team, who they are and what else is going on outwith the investigation. A busy wee book that you will still be thinking about long after you finish the last page. I intend on buying this authors back catalogue! I enjoyed (enjoyed seems the wrong word when dealing with such a subject) the writing, pace, story and characters, I hope they are revisited in stories to come as I would like to see what is next in store for them, 4.5/5 for me this time.

View all my reviews