Swindled by S E Shepherd

Swindled by S.E. Shepherd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages -

Publisher - Hobeck Books

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

‘He’s out there somewhere. He’s taken everything from me, and … I hate him!’

Lottie

Beautiful, but a little spoilt, Lottie Thorogood leads a charmed life. Returning home from horse riding one day, she finds a stranger, drinking tea in the family drawing room – a stranger who will change her life, forever.

Hannah

After a bad decision cut short her police career, Hannah Sandlin is desperate to make her mark as a private investigator. She knows she has the skills, but why won’t anyone take her seriously? She’s about to become embroiled in a mystery that will finally put those skills to the test and prove her doubters wrong. It will also bring her a friend for life.

Vincent

Vincent Rocchino has spent his life charming the ladies, fleecing them and fleeing when things turn sour. How long can he keep running before his past catches up with him?

S.E. Shepherd’s brilliant new novel is a tale of how the strong bond of friendship can overcome the darkness of deception, and a gripping new thriller that you won’t want to put down.


My Review

Book one in a new series and told from three characters we meet Hannah, Lottie and Vincent - three very different people. The book splits the timeline from the before to now, Lottie and Hannah meet through a job and despite being from very different worlds come together as friends. Vincent, a good looking cad has used his looks and charm to get ahead in life. These three could not be more different so what brings them together?

Hannah was a newbie police officer who made a decision that has huge ramifications, Lottie was a spoilt little madam and Viincent knew he deserved better and there are always people who can help him get what he wants/deserves.

The story goes back and forth between the three, some very unsavoury people and shocking behaviours, actions and consequences. Friendship, family, how lives can change so quickly and the long reach of things that go to pass. Personal growth, how people can become a better person when circumstances change and the flip side - just how horrible a person can be, selfish, amoral and so self absorbed. I hated Vincent he is a horrible human being and Hannah's back story was really interesting to follow. When one door closes another opens, Hannah is determined to make her new business work and with the help of her new friend Lottie she will help them both.

It was a bit different to start with as you aren't exactly sure how things will play out, the characters are very different. As you start to get into it and the threads start to unravel you realise how the three people are interlinked. There is enough shade and badness to keep you intrigued and turning the page, where is it going and what is coming next! I look forward to book two and see where the author is going to take this series, 4/5 for me this time.

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After The Crash by Michel Bussi

After the Crash by Michel Bussi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 386

Publisher - Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Blurb from Goodreads

On the night of 22 December 1980, a plane crashes on the Franco-Swiss border and is engulfed in flames. 168 out of 169 passengers are killed instantly. The miraculous sole survivor is a three-month-old baby girl. Two families, one rich, the other poor, step forward to claim her, sparking an investigation that will last for almost two decades. Is she Lyse-Rose or Emilie?

Eighteen years later, having failed to discover the truth, private detective Credule Grand-Duc plans to take his own life, but not before placing an account of his investigation in the girl's hands. But, as he sits at his desk about to pull the trigger, he uncovers a secret that changes everything - then is killed before he can breathe a word of it to anyone...



My Review

The opening chapter starts in 1980, on the flight that crashes, leaving one sole survivor and flips forward eighteen years later. Two families claim the child is theirs, a private investigator is hired and investigates the case for those eighteen years. An account, told by him Credule Grand-Duc and written down for the girl survivor. After all this time will the truth be revealed?

A tale that flips between present day and Grand-Duc's diary going back to when he was first hired and his findings and thoughts at the time. Secrets are at risk of being exposed, some people will go to any lengths to protect them, including murder. The child, now adult, has her eighteenth birthday and is on a mission of her own. Her brother and protector Marc is desperate to find her and stop her & some members of the family who lost out on the child just can't let go!

The story starts off really strong and reels you right in, we then meet the characters as the tale starts to play out. I found the diary by Grand-Duc quite hard going at times, not because of the content, rather because he gets quite long winded at parts and I got a tad bored by his ramblings. It takes a wee bit of time to figure out where the present day story is going and understand the behaviour of the girl as the narrative isn't blatant about what she is doing. Marc is as much in the dark as the reader which is a bit frustrating after a while. Throw into that we have someone prepared to kill to achieve their goal and their identity is not disclosed so you are playing detective for a while. A relatively good read, I like my ends tied up and for the most part I got that, I would have liked Grad-Duc's diary to be more to the point rather than his musings on certain accounts. 3/5 for me this time, I would read this author again, this book is available to buy in all formats.

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