The Nurse by J A Corrigan

The Nurse by J.A. Corrigan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 336

Publisher - Canelo

Source - Netgalley and bought copy

Blurb from Goodreads

When you hear her story, will you believe her?

Rose Marlowe is a hard-working nurse, a loving wife, and a merciless killer. Or so she says. Despite her confession, it is hard to believe that this beautiful, kind woman could have killed her vulnerable patient in cold blood.

Down-on-his luck author and ex-journalist, Theo Hazel, is convinced that there’s more to what happened than Rose is telling, and so decides to visit her behind bars to write her story. His first surprise comes when Rose reveals that the victim was not a stranger to her.

As time goes on, it seems that Rose is letting Theo see behind her perfect mask. With each new visit, he learns terrible new things about her heart-breaking past. With each new visit, he becomes more and more convinced that she can’t be a killer. But is he trying to free an innocent victim, or falling prey to a calculating murderer?



My Review

Rose has committed the worse offense ever, she is a nurse and has murdered her patient, she has confessed and been sentenced. She is very much resigned to her fate, declined to give out anything that would possibly help her and yet she doesn't come across as a cold killer. She has refused interviews and limits her visits, until now. Accepting to see a journalist turned author she decides to tell her story, her way, he has his own agenda, he will exploit the case and Rose for money and all it will bring. However when Theo meets Rose and starts to hear her story he can't help but be drawn in as Rose reveals her secrets that could change everything.

The book comes at you quite different from a lot of those I have read over the years, Rose admits to the crime but is quite cagey in what she reveals. We flip between Rose and Theo, Rose telling her story so taking us way back to Theo, present day, processing what he has been told and carrying out his own interviews.

The book has some very difficult themes, murder, betrayal, grief, loss and some of the shadier sides of humanity. I had no idea where the book was going nor saw it going in X directions, I love when a book pulls a punch. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE are words I said more than once. The characters are a bit random, her mother I didn't know what to make of, Rose herself comes across one way, kind, considerate, calming and yet we know she has admitted to murder in such a heinous way.

You know something is coming, just not what so I was loathe to put the book down because I wanted to know what was happening. 4/5 for me this time, I think this was my first time reading this author, won't be my last.

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The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan

The Christmas Sisters by Sarah Morgan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 416

Publisher - HQ Stories

Source - Bought & review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

In the snowy Highlands of Scotland, Suzanne McBride is dreaming of the perfect cozy Christmas. Her three adopted daughters are coming home for the holidays and she can’t wait to see them. But tensions are running high…

Workaholic Hannah knows she can’t avoid spending the holidays with her family two years in a row. But it’s not the weight of their expectations that’s panicking her—it’s the life-changing secret she’s hiding. Stay-at-home mom Beth is having a personal crisis. All she wants for Christmas is time to decide if she’s ready to return to work—seeing everyone was supposed to help her stress levels, not increase them! Posy isn’t sure she’s living her best life, but with her parents depending on her, making a change seems risky. But not as risky as falling for gorgeous new neighbor Luke…

As Suzanne’s dreams of the perfect McBride Christmas unravel, she must rely on the magic of the season to bring her daughters together. But will this new togetherness teach the sisters that their close-knit bond is strong enough to withstand anything—including a family Christmas?


My Review



Suzanne McBride just wants everything perfect, her daughters are coming home for Christmas, business is booming and things are great. Suzanne is stressed, not only is her nightmares still coming but her three girls are going to be together and she just wants them all to be happy. Suzanne adopted the three girls as children and just wants them to be happy, healthy and close. Posy lives there, primed to take over the business when Suzanne retired, Posy loves the mountains, climbing and adventure. Beth is beautiful, has her own little girls and the perfect family life but secretly wants more, something for her. Hannah is career driven and keeps her cards closest to her chest, she doesn't call Suzanne mum and even her sisters feel she is keeping them at length. This will be the Christmas they all need to be honest with themselves, each other and with honesty comes truths, upset and things that will change the family as they know it.

The chapters jump between the characters, seamlessly giving the reader a chance to get to know each of the ladies, how they are and perceived by each other. How they all appear to each other but as we read their chapters we see a different side to them or how they actually see themselves.

As with any family there are issues, perceptions, anger, the past influencing the present/future and this family are no different. The setting is predominantly the Scottish highlands, it is cold, snowy and the perfect setting for a Christmas themed story. If you like family dramas, relationships, love, siblings and unresolved issues from childhood impacting adulthood you will love this. Sank it pretty much in one sitting, characters you can either relate to or invest in, 4/5 for me this time. I will absolutely be looking out for more by this author and actually think I have one or two on my tbrm.

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The Man I Think I Know by Mike Gayle

The Man I Think I Know by Mike Gayle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1.5 days as time allowed

Pages - 310

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Whatever happens to those kids at school who are always being tipped to be stars in adult life?

It's a question all of us find ourselves asking at some time and Mike Gayle's powerful, poignant novel answers it with regard to Danny Morgan and James McManus - rivals for top honours in everything throughout their school years in Birmingham.

Whatever their friends and teachers might have expected, neither Danny nor James is currently running the country.

Depressed and unemployed, Danny is facing an ultimatum from his girlfriend Maya: if he doesn't get out and get a job, she's leaving.

It was an accident that changed James's life and now he is looked after affectionately by his parents. But his sister Martha believes that the role of full-time carers is destroying their lives - and infantilising her brother.

She suggests that James should go into a respite home while her parents take a break.

The respite home, as it turns out, where Danny has just got a job.

What is the path that has brought these two people to this unexpected place, and where will it take them next?

This is the story of Danny and James, but also of the families who love them and of the women they love. It is a story of many surprising twists, by turns funny and sad, painful and uplifting, and marks a brilliant new stage in the writing career of one of Britain's favourite novelists.



My Review

Danny is a bit of a lay about, his girlfriend is getting sick of him not having a job, no life direction and now his benefits are being stopped. James was on the path to success, becoming an MP, a beautiful girl and the world was his oyster.............before "the incident". Fate bring these two together, connecting a past and a future bringing life changes that neither could have foreseen nor will be the same again.

I genuinely didn't know what to expect from this book, I have never read the author and by the time the book arrived I forgot what the book was about. Personal growth, friendships, family, life, love, loyalty, learning to recover, moving on, self belief and so so much more. The chapters alternate between Danny and James, two very different men who have so much to offer, to learn and being brought together they discover so much about themselves. You know something has happened to change their lives pretty quickly but it takes a bit before anything is revealed.

There is a lot of emotion, humour and some sadness - it is quite an emotive read in parts and takes you on a roller coaster, even after I have read a few other books I am still thinking about it. It provokes you to think, just how much a life and life path can be changed by one single event, an act of kindness, bravery and the long lasting affects they can have. It shows the importance of human interactions, the strength of relationships and just how much of an impact one human being can have on another. I feel like I am not doing this book justice, it is hard to emphasise just how fabulous it is without giving away spoilers. Needless to say it warms the soul, gives you something to chew on and I think depending on your life experiences it will impact on different levels with readers. 4/5 for me this time, whilst this is my first dance with this author it absolutely won't be my last, a great read! You can buy your own copy from the 19th of April 2018, ebook and treebooks available from Amazon.

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In A Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - <5 hours

Pages - 352

Publisher - Vintage

Blurb from the back cover

In a dark, dark wood

Nora hasn't seen Clare for ten years. Not since Nora walked out of her old life and never looked back.

Until, out of the blue, an invitation to Clare’s hen do arrives. A weekend in a remote cottage - the perfect opportunity for Nora to reconnect with her best friend, to put the past behind her.

But something goes wrong.

Very Wrong.

And as secrets and lies unravel, out in the dark, dark wood the past will finally catch up with Nora.

My Review

The story opens, she is running, there is a sense of urgency and that draws the reader in. Nora then wakes up in hospital, in agony wondering what happened and what has she done, hello chapter 2! What a great draw into a story eh, is it any surprise I read this in one sitting, I am too nosey and needed to know what went down. So Nora is our main character, chapter 2 sees us taken back to before the hen party. Nora is a relatively solitary creature, a writer living in a small flat, out of the blue she gets invited to Clare's hen party. Clare was her best friend for years, it has been over a decade since Nora, then Lee, left everyone behind. Surely this is the perfect opportunity to put the past behind her, what could possibly go wrong?

Nora doesn't like to talk about what made her leave James, her sweetheart, speculation was rife, Nora is fiercely private about it but it has been 10 years. She makes a pact with Nina, they will both go and everything will be fine. But Clare has some secrets of her own, like who she is marrying and things get awkward quickly for Nora. Clare's new best friend Flo is weird to say the least, Tom is a bit standoffish, Mel is worrying about her baby at home and Nina can't help but stir things up. The weekend soon takes a sour turn, bitchiness is at a high and just when Nora thinks things can't get any worse the weekend takes a deadly turn.

The author does a great job building up an atmosphere long before anything happens. The reader empathises with Nora, well I did, on the impending reunion and uneasy feelings seeing an old friend can conjure up. Who hasn't lost touch with people who were once a huge part of their life or invited to somewhere you feel a bit socially awkward being. A story of friendships, challenging situations and how your past can still very much be a large factor in your present. 4/5 for me this time, this was my first time reading this author, I would certainly read her again.

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I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 5 days

Publisher - Sphere

Pages - 364

Blurb from Goodreads

A tragic accident. It all happened so quickly. She couldn't have prevented it. Could she?

In a split second, Jenna Gray's world is shattered. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape her past, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of the cruel November night that changed her life for ever.

DI Ray Stevens is tasked with seeking justice for a mother who is living every parent's worst nightmare. Determined to get to the bottom of the case, it begins to consume him as he puts both his professional and personal life on the line.

As Ray and his team seek to uncover the truth, Jenna, slowly, begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating.



My Review

A child is killed, as quick as a blink of the eye. Her only hope is to leave everything behind to try and start over. The police are seeking the hit and run driver. The chapters are split between Jennifer, DI Ray Stevens with the investigation and later Ian. The police are seeking justice for the death of a child, Jennifer is seeking some way to start over and Ian well Ian you will find out about as you get deeper into the story.

The first half of this book is a bit confusing, you feel like your missing something and the tale moves between the characters, mainly Jennifer and the police investigating the little boys death. It centers just after the accident and follows Jennifer as she cuts all ties and runs. The second half of the book is very dark, abuse, violence, secrets, relationships and lies are just some of the topics that are covered. We get a closer look at Jennifer and the events leading up to the accident. You start to make sense of what has happened, revelations are made and I personally didn't see the twist coming. Quite a few people have said they weren't too sure about the book when they start it but definitely keep going, it all falls into place.

A story that shows you can never outrun your past, actions or lack of have consequences and sometimes the past can destroy your future. This is the first time I have read this author and I would certainly read her again. 4/5 for me, a story that lulls you into thinking one thing then throws a curve ball and packs a punch!

The book is quite gripping, particularly I felt the second half when things start to fall into place. The chapters are quite short which I always like in a book

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