Screams in the Dark by Anna Smith

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Genre -Thriller

Rosie Gilmour, a Glaswegian crime reporter who has just been back from war torn Kosovo after nearly losing her life, dives deep into a saga of missing refugees when the mutilated body of a Bosnian male is found in the River Clyde.

A very moving storyline with the shocking truth involving the Underworld as well as Politicians. Once again, Rosie is fleeing away from her attackers who know her every move.

This crime fiction grabs you from start to finish and not for the feint-hearted.

---- Reviewed by Judy, Rowville Bookchat

Settled Blood by Mari Hannah

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Genre - Mystery

A young girl is found dead at the base of the infamous Hadrian’s Wall and DCI Kate Daniels realizes her death was no ordinary homicide. Two more girls of similar likeness go missing which puts the police into a very heavy investigation leading deeper into half truths of the upper class and the fact that a terrified girl is running out of time. Good reading and quite gripping until the end dramatic result.

---- Reviewed by Judy, Rowville Bookchat

Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman

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Genre- Thriller

Nora Hamilton lives with her policeman husband in a small country town in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.  She wakes up from a heavy and perhaps drugged sleep looking for her husband in the old farm house.  Finds her husband who has hanged himself.

Nora finds it hard to accept the suicide and looks into the past of her husband’s life and that of the local Police Chief and his staff.  All is not what it seems and ends in a very dramatic turn of events.  Particularly the fact that everyone thinks Nora is over-reacting including her sister.

Good reading although classified as general fiction, it is actually a crime story, one that the reader most likely comes to the same conclusion as the ending.


---- Reviewed by Judy, Rowville Bookchat

Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson

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Genre - Romance, Suspense

Ann Silver who is a Mid Western Investigator, being a rather enigmatic character is a down to roots cop to the core.  However, she is also very talented in writing several published books, painting and able to assist the FBI with insight to that of a more lateral thinker.

She is approached by the FBI to assist cases in the worst of the worst and becomes involved with one of the heads of the FBI which throws her life in a turmoil; also involving the Vice President of the USA.

This books glances over the murders and delves into the lives at the top of the ladder with the FBI and Government, and keeps the reader wanting to finish the book for the final outcome.  Excellent storyline and a book that should not be missed, with plenty of dramas, including romance  to entice the reader.


---- Reviewed by Judy, Rowville Bookchat

Freelance Death by Andrew Taylor

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Genre - Mystery

A true British ‘who done it’ with plenty of complications along the way.  Rod Lorton wants revenge when he discovers truth about his deceased wife being involved with her former employer, PR chief Ivor Newley.  Newley’s business also involves clients within the coin industry which also incorporate one of his top staff members Celia.  Celia’s friend who is romantically involved is also up to her neck in the wrong side of the law.

A very small book for a quick read and none too gruesome.


---- Reviewed by Judy, Rowville Bookchat

Fatal Frost by James Henry

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Genre - Mystery

The inimitable and ‘maverick’ DI Frost at his best.  Frost has more than one man can take as far as his share of responsibilities goes.  His department is landed with the first black policeman in Denton, with not all of the squad accepting this, as the local community of Denton and its surrounds are predominantly white.  Frost is a shock to his compatriot from London, with his lack of personal hygiene and work ethics, on top of which his commanding officer is always on his back.

A young girl’s body is found in suspicious circumstances, on top of that the usual robberies take place, together with attacks from a group of young kids on bikes. More bodies turn up, with Frost having to deal with an elusive wife who disappears and ends up at her mother’s, who has no liking to Frost and thinks her family is beneath him.

A good read and certainly one that has a lot of drama and can be aligned with the Frost series seen on television, with its typical British way of life and enjoyable reading.


---- Reviewed by Judy, Rowville Bookchat

The Bat by Jo Nesbo

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Genre - Mystery

The main character DI Harry Hole is seconded from Norway to Sydney to investigate the death of a young Norwegian girl in the Kings Cross area.  Hole investigates with the assistance of his counterpart, named Kensington who is of aboriginal ancestry.  The story is fascinating as Kensington lives in the current ‘white culture’ and also his own culture with many fascinating stories of the aboriginal ‘dream time’ and how some of these tales relates to the present.

In its own quirky way, the writer definitely brings you into the seamy side of Kings Cross whilst at the same time makes you feel that you are living in that environment and come to understand some of the wonders of the different life-styles of the locals.

This is the first book published in English by Nesbo and well worth reading.


---- Reviewed by Judy, Rowville Bookchat

Evil for Evil by Aline Templeton

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Genre - Mystery

The book is not as heavy as the title.  Set on a small island off the west coast of Scotland with stoic locals to boot.  Mystery surrounds the discovery of a skeleton in a cave, bringing to light a murder from the past.  Meanwhile in the tiny village of Innellan, certain unexplained events occur and Matt Lovatt, the owner of one of the farms, finds himself at the centre of an escalating hate campaign to oust him from his property. 

This is one story which involves you in the small township isolated from the mainland, with its quirky history and very mistrusting locals of newcomers.  Local constabulary are brought into the investigation, and gives the reader insight to the lack of expertise available to their city counterparts.  Keep reading for good entertainment into the British country constabulary at its best.


---- Reviewed by Judy, Rowville Bookchat

The Windermere Witness by Rebecca Tope

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Genre - Mystery

Persimmon (Simmy) Brown moved to the beautiful area of the Lakes District in the Cotswolds closer to her parents who run a B&B and of who are rather eccentric more in line with ‘flower people’, but very loving in their own way.

Simmy Brown opens a florist shop and takes on her best task to date for the forthcoming nuptials of one of the richest families around.  However, the Bride’s brother is murdered before the service, albeit the bride was not informed and her wedding went on as planned.  The bride who is 25 years younger than her husband, having a very cold-hearted mother as well as all the trimmings of society.  Simmy tends to investigate and use her own iniative to find the killer, and in the meantime the father of the bride is also murdered.

Quite a good read with the complexities of the upper and lower class inter-twined with two murders affecting the outcome of the locals being a tight-knitted community who do not take kindly to murders in their territory.


---- Reviewed by Judy, Rowville Bookchat

Low Pressure by Sandra Brown

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Genre -Thriller

Eighteen years ago, Bellamy’s older sister Susan was found murdered and Bellamy writes her first mystery novel based around her life.  This opens a can of worms.  Her book titled Low Pressure is a best seller.  However, the killer (Richard) who himself was murdered in prison always stated his innocence and that the Police did not listen to what would have been crucial proof exonerating him.  His brother Ray is out for revenge to all the people that were involved.

Susan’s past was not one to brag about and her recklessness was well known, particularly with one of her boyfriends at the time, Dent, who was not the type of person her family wished to circulate with and therefore shunned. Dent was also blamed for Susan’s demise.  Is Dent the guilty one, or perhaps the retired Inspector Moody who cannot be traced?  Or even Richard’s brother, the Prosecutor at that time, or even perhaps the sleazy newspaperman who was determined to uncover family secrets no matter what.  On top of all this Bellamy is stalked!

A very gripping story which keeps you on your toes and one that you can’t put down until the end.

---- Reviewed by Judy, Rowville Bookchat