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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Say No More by Karen Rose

Say No More by Karen Rose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - In and out over 4 days

Pages - 480

Publisher - Headline

Source - Netgalley

Blurb from Goodreads

Mercy Callahan thought she'd escaped the cult decades ago, but its long fingers are reaching out for her again in this electrifying novel in the Sacramento series...

Seventeen years ago. That was the last time Mercy Callahan saw Ephraim Burton, the leader of the twisted Eden cult where she was raised. But even though she escaped the abuse and terror, they continue to haunt her.

When her brother Gideon discovers new evidence of the cult's—and their victims'—whereabouts, Mercy goes to Sacramento to reconnect with him. There, she meets Gideon's closest friend—homicide detective Rafe Sokolov. From Rafe, she receives an offer she never knew she needed: to track down Ephraim and make him pay for everything.

But Ephraim, who had thought Mercy long dead, discovers she is in fact alive and that she is digging around for the cult's secrets. And now he'll do anything to take her back to Eden—dead or alive.



My Review

I LOVE Karen Rose books, I am sure I have gaps in the series and need to go back and buy up those I have missed. This is book two in the Sacramento series, go and read book one if you haven't already as there is a lot of the story is follow on from book one. We focus on Mercy and Rafe, with all the side characters in between but these two are our main focus. Mercy wants to make amends with her brother Gideon, for years she hated him for leaving her and her mum in the cult. Suffering abuse, brain washing, manipulation and female children as young as twelve being married off in the commune Mercy has a lot to be angry about. Book two is about her facing the realities of Gideon's life, the long reach/scars from the commune and that sometimes you cannot outrun your past, not matter how long you have broken free from it.

Be warned guys, this has a lot centered around the cult, murder, rape, abuse, brain washing and what is at the heart of most of these "communities" money and power. Mercy quickly realises she will never be truly free from her past and instead on putting her head in the sand she needs to face it. Before more people are hurt, killed or even risking her own life. Her brother and Rafe are cops, she should be safe as houses but these people stop at nothing and we see from the very beginning how far they will go. Action packed, pacey, shocking, enraging, romantic, healing empowering an d huge character growth for some of these guys. Hard truths, overcoming inner demons and learning to trust, Rose intertwines all of this in a tale of death, murder, abusers whilst bringing in love, friendship, trust and family.

Despite being in double figures with these books she manages to bring fresh stories and lets the reader get to know more of the characters and keeping the stories new and shocking, 4.5/5 for me this time. Already impatiently waiting on the next book in the series!

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The Rabbit Hunter by Lars Kepler

The Rabbit Hunter by Lars Kepler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 5 days

Pages - 512

Publisher - Knopf

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

The sixth novel in the Joona Linna thriller series, The Rabbit Hunter, sees the renegade detective superintendent emerging from a prison sentence to solve a bizarre and macabre crime.

Joona Linna has spent two years in a high security prison when he is taken off to attend a secret meeting. The police need his help to stop a mysterious killer who goes by the name of the Rabbit Hunter. The only connection between the victims is that they all hear a child chanting a rhyme about rabbits before the killer strikes. A quirk of fate unexpectedly places celebrity chef Rex Müller at the centre of events. He is about to spend time with his son Sammy for the first time, but instead of three relaxing weeks, he finds himself in a terrifying fight for survival. Joona Linna and Saga Bauer are forced to work together in secret to put a stop to the Rabbit Hunter before it's too late. You never know what fate has in store for you, or what might catch up with you if you don't start running right now.

Thriller maestro Lars Kepler is back with a new page-turner about Detective Superintendent Joona Linna.



My Review

I haven't read all of the previous books in the serious but I did read at least one and like it, I need to go back and read the others. Linna is in jail but the powers that be need his help to catch a serial killer, The Rabbit Hunter and the killers targets are very high profile people in society. In and out leaving no traces but he does leave a witness at the first scene, leaving the police to ponder the significance. A race against time to figure out who is the next target, how the killer is picking them and try and get to the target before the killer does.

So there are a few things to highlight in the book, there are a few graphic sex scenes so if you get upset by things like that you can get by skimming them as they aren't throughout the whole book. Animal cruelty, again it isn't through the whole book but there is enough and when it is, it is hard going. The killers name becomes clear and poor wee rabbits, really horrific to read.

The book centers around the investigation, the agencies involved and bringing Linna out of jail, we visit him just prior to this and follow him as he helps the investigation. Linna is a great character, a good guy, smart as and can look after himself (think Jack Reacher style).

Lots of action, some very questionable behaviour, murder, violence, abuse, sex, past & present as ever intertwining. Pacey and very engaging, I found the animal stuff though, brief in the bits it showed up, really difficult to get past though but relevant to the killer and background. I get the why but still find animal stuff really hard to read, 3.5/5 for me. I will absolutely be reading this author again and looking forward to the next book in the series!

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The Promise by Katerina Diamond

The Promise by Katerina Diamond
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - less thank one day

Pages - 448

Publisher - Avon

Source - Netgalley (review copy)

Blurb from Goodreads

‘All hail the new Queen of Crime!’ Heat

When troubled teen Connor moves to Exeter from the US to escape his past, he finds himself embroiled in a world of popular kids and easy girls. Everyone wants to be his friend, but they don’t know about what he did…and they don’t know about his father.

As Connor’s life in England begins to unravel, DS Adrian Miles and his partner Imogen Grey are working up against the clock to catch a serial killer who dates his victims before he kills them. Determined to uncover the truth, Imogen is forced to act as bait – but will she take it too far and risk her own life?

Katerina Diamond is back with a bang in this dark, twisted novel, perfect for fans of M.J. Arlidge and Karin Slaughter.


My Review

This is book four in the series, I say often you can pick up a book and start reading but with this I would advise going back to get the back story of the characters and more understanding of the existing relationships. Connor is 16 and moved with his dad to where his dad grew up, Connor is beautiful, popular and soon pulled into school life but they don't know why Connor had to leave his old school. Nor do they realise what Connor's father is really like and what is the pull to the neighbour next door?

Detective Imogen Grey and Adrian Moles are on the case of a murdered woman, why was she targeted and is this a serial killer? We then split into another narrative, a young trouble woman being abused, targeted and in fear for what is coming next. It took me a wee bit to settle into the three separate stories, Connor - we know something in his past happened but why and what is the deal with his father? The young woman whose story will bring chills to anyone who has dealt with an abusive and or manipulative partner. We get to see a more personal side to the detectives, four books we have been with them, seen them survives challenges, killers, family life, work life engagement. It is a really busy wee book but it works, I think Connor's story was the main focus rather than the killer/detectives or the unidentified woman but I found them all engaging .

I sank into the story quickly, I have read all the books in this series so was eager to see what came next for our officers. It is brutal in parts, riveting, shocking but we also see a gentler side of our detectives from the reverberations of everything that has passed so far. During a few scenes I gasped out loud, one in particular I had to read over again I was so shocked, I LOVE when a book catches you like that! 4/5 for me this time, I cannot wait for the next installment in the series, hurry up writing Diamond.

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