Niki Valentine – The Haunted

Sue and Martin visit Scotland for a holiday for a holiday ten years after visiting the same area on their honeymoon. They decide to trek to a remote boothy to spend a night in the wilderness but get cut off and stranded there by bad weather. There seems to be some kind of presence at the boothy and the couple soon start bickering. The disagreements become more nasty as time wears on and they couple start to think that they may not make it out alive.

I was drawn into this book quite quickly, however, I did find it a little slow and repetitive at times. Martin and Sue would probably have been better off getting a divorce rather than a second honeymoon as their relationship seems a little rocky before they even set off into the wilderness. Neither character is particularly likeable but they were still readable despite that fact that I wasn’t too bothered if they made it out alive or not.

I did enjoy the story and read it quickly but ultimately it was pretty forgettable. There was nothing particularly scary or memorable about it. I may read some more Niki Valentine in future but she is not an author I will actively make an effort to read, although if I see a book by her and like the sound of it I will most likely give it a go.

Will Carver – Girl 4

Detective January David is hunting for a killer who has so far murdered three girls in London. When he is called to a fourth crime scene he is shocked to find that he knows the victim. She is still alive but in a critical condition. He has to find the killer before he strikes again.

I choose this book as part of the Criminal Plots Reading Challenge. This one is for the category “2011 Debut author”. I found it quite difficult to get a book that fitted the requirements for this category as I kept finding authors that I hadn’t heard of before and then discovering they had written several books already, then when I did find a new author I’d realise that their book was actually published in 2010 so I was really pleased when I discovered Will Carver and Girl 4.

This is an interesting take on a crime story. The narration of the book switches between the viewpoints of the detective January David, the killer and all of the victims which gives a really good mix of perspectives. It does mean that we don’t get any major character development though as we do not get as much time with each character as we would do if the whole book was from one perspective or less perspectives. I didn’t feel that was a major issue though as we still get a good feel for the characters involved.

I really enjoyed the story and quite liked the outcome. It seems that it is going to continue a little bit in a future book so that could be interesting. I liked Carver’s writing style so I am looking forward to reading more of his work in the future.

Andrea-Maria Schenkel – Bunker

When Monika is abducted from work she is kept locked up in a bunker. Her kidnapper looks a little familiar, reminding her of a past she has tried to forget. As her time in captivity continues she tries to work out the motivation behind her kidnapping.

This was actually more of a novella than a full novel, coming in at well under 200 pages. The narrative is (purposefully) quite disjointed and is split between the viewpoints of Monika who has been abducted and her captor along with a some smaller sections from the viewpoint of the emergency services. I quite liked this style, it was always clear whose perspective we were in and it was interesting to get both sides of the story.

The story was a bit confusing at times as there were so many questions such as who is the kidnapper? Is he who Monika thinks he is? Why has he kidnapped her? What is the significance of the bunker, What is the significance of their pasts? I could go on but you get the idea. Most of the answers do become clear as the story progresses although there were still a few things left vague.

I thought the translation was well done, I didn’t notice any mistakes (the book was originally written in German). The pacing was good and the story an interesting twist on a kidnap tale.

John Rector - Cold Kiss

Nate and Sara are moving away, their few belongings packed into their beat up old car. When a hitchhiker offers them money for a ride they feel unable to turn it down but they soon start to regret the decision, especially when a heavy snowstorm forces them to make a stop at an isolated motel.

This story gets going quickly and remains at a pretty fast pace throughout. There were several twists and turns to the plot which kept in fresh and interesting. I did work out who the baddie was (it’s really obvious once you are given a few small details) but that didn’t have any detrimental effect for me.

It was a quick read with large text and under 300 pages so I finished it in a day. The characters were all pretty interesting, I’d have liked to have found out a bit more about some of them. I liked the setting in the snowed in motel, it added atmosphere and helped the creepiness of the story.

I enjoyed the book and will read more by John Rector in the future.

Neil Cross – Burial

Can your guiltiest secret ever be buried? Nathan has never been able to forget the worst night of his life: the party that led to the sudden, shocking death of a young woman. Only he and Bob, an untrustworthy old acquaintance, know what really happened and they have resolved to keep it that way. But one rainy night, years later, Bob appears at Nathan's door with terrifying news, and old wounds are suddenly reopened, threatening to tear Nathan's whole world apart. Because Nathan has his own secrets now. Secrets that could destroy everything he has fought to build. And maybe Bob doesn't realise just how far Nathan will go to protect them... (synopsis from amazon.co.uk).

Burial is the first Neil Cross book that I have read but it won’t be the last. The premise is nothing new: Old secret rears its head, threatens to destroy current life, something must be done to keep the secret buried. I liked the way that it was done though. There were some interesting plot twists throughout which helped to keep the story fresh and interesting and the pacing was just right. I liked the writing style and found the characters interesting. I even found myself feeling sorry for Nathan at times although never for long as any trouble that comes his way is pretty much down to his own actions / inactions and he did seem to have a habit of being rather stupid sometimes!

The book was quite short coming in at around 300 pages of fairly big text so I read it in under a day.

When I bought Burial I also liked the sound of several other Neil Cross books but only bought this one in case I didn’t like it. As I enjoyed it I will definitely be picking up some more of his books in the near future to add to my (ever increasing) to read pile.

Harlan Coben – Tell No One

Eight years ago David Beck’s wife Elizabeth was kidnapped and murdered and he has been grieving for her ever since. The he receives a strange email with a link that appears to show Elizabeth alive. As he tries to unravel the mystery he finds that he is now in danger and that there is a lot more behind Elizabeth’s murder then he had previously believed.

Tell No One is the second book by Harlan Coben that I have read. I had previously read Darkest Fear and whilst I had enjoyed the story I really didn’t like the main character, Myron Bolitar so this time I made sure I picked a book that wasn’t from the Myron Bolitar series. To begin with I was worried that the same thing was going to happen again as I took a dislike to David Beck to begin with although luckily he did grow on me and by the end of the book I decided that he was alright. The other characters in the book were pretty good although they were often a little too perfect at times and somewhat stereotypical as well.

The story itself was good, it was well paced and kept me interested throughout. The ending was a little unbelievable but I didn’t feel that it spoilt the book at all. There were two other things that annoyed me but I can’t say what they were without spoilers!

Overall I’m still not entirely convinced by Harlan Coben. I like his writing style and I like his storylines. However, I am still not all that keen on his characters although I can’t quite figure out why. I will read another of his books as the plot summaries on the back always interest me but he’s still not an author that I will be rushing out to buy as soon as the book is released.

Nicci French - Killing Me Softly

Alice has a nice life, a good circle of friends and a happy long term relationship until one day she meets a stranger in the street and starts a passionate affair with him. Alice quickly cuts off from her old life and becomes obsessed with Adam but their relationship starts to take a sinister turn as Alice delves into his past.

I choose this book for two reasons. Firstly as I have never read any Nicci French before but often see “For fans of Nicci French” on some of the other books that I have read and enjoyed and secondly as part of the Criminal Plots Reading Challenge. This one is for the category “Book made into a movie” as this book has been made into a film starring Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes. I have never seen the film and looking at some of the reviews for it won’t be in any particular hurry to watch it!

This book was a quick and easy read. You do need to suspend your disbelief to read it as many of Alice’s actions seem completely bizarre and unlikely but as long as you can put that aside then the book is easy to get into.

I liked the pacing and the writing style and the story was entertaining. The characters were interesting but generally not at all likeable. Most of the time I thought Alice needed a bit of a slap to knock some sense into her and Adam was a suspicious weirdo that everyone seemed to worship and pander too because he had saved some people on a mountain once.

So whilst the book was not without its faults it was still an entertaining and enjoyable read. I will probably read more Nicci French in future.

Claire Seeber – Fragile Minds

Claudie’s young son died several years ago and she is still struggling to cope having suffered a breakdown and splitting with her husband. When a bomb blast near her work at the Royal Ballet Academy kills her friend Tessa Claudie’s world is once again turned upside down. Claudie realises that she has lost periods of time and after sereral strange occurrences she begins to feel that she may have had something to do with the blast. DCI Joe Silver is on the case but he has problems of his own and is distracted.

This book has an interesting plot with lots of twists and turns including clues and red herrings. I had suspicions about several of the characters but didn’t quite manage to work out who did it.

I quite liked the way the book was written, jumping between the perspectives of several of the characters. Claudie’s chapters were written in first person and the other character’s chapters were in third person which sounds a little odd but seemed to work.

On the whole the characters aren’t particularly likeable but they are quite interesting. We slowly learn the stories behind Claudie and Silvers problems and get to know quite a bit about some of the other more minor characters as well.

There was one thing that annoyed me in the book. One of the main supporting characters, a detective called Kenton, is a lesbian. Fine. What was annoying was that the author saw fit to go on and on and on about it. Pretty much every time Kenton was mentioned there was a reference to her sexuality. It was like the author was saying “Look! Look! I’ve put a lesbian in my book! Look!” It had no bearing on the plot whatsoever and became distracting. It started off being mildly irritating and by the end I wanted to grab the author and scream at her “I know she’s a lesbian, you have mentioned it eight thousand times already, I don’t care, tell us something else about her”! I think what made it more annoying was that Kenton seemed like an interesting and likeable character and it would have been nice to have seen a bit more character development and find out more about her.

Having said that I did still enjoy the book. The story was gripping and the pacing was just right. I do have another Claire Seeber book in my to read pile so I will be giving that one a go at some point.

S. J. Bolton - Blood Harvest

Ten year old Tom Fletcher doesn’t seem to be settling into the new family home very well, he complains about being watched and followed by a mysterious, creepy girl. Harry is the new vicar in the village, he is opening up the church which has been closed for ten years. He has noticed some strange occurrences but is assured by the locals that these are normal village traditions. Evi is a psychiatrist with a patient in the village who lost her daughter in a fire three years ago but is unable to come to terms with the death and still wanders the moors looking for her daughter.

The narrative follows the three main characters, Tom, Harry and Evi and switches between their viewpoints and individual stories (which have interlinking threads). They are all interesting and likeable characters, especially Tom and Harry. There are quite a few supporting characters as well and you are able to really get a feel for life in the strange, remote little village.

The story is quite spooky in places, the author creates atmosphere well. The story really drew me in and kept me interested throughout.

I will definitely be looking out for more S. J. Bolton in the future.

Jeffery Deaver – The Burning Wire

Lincoln Rhyme is brought in to help investigate a killer who is using electricity to kill his victims. At the same time Rhyme is also involved in helping Kathryn Dance and the Mexican authorities close in on The Watchmaker.

It was nice to be back in the world of Lincoln Rhyme. This is one series that I have read in its entirety in the correct order and I always look forward to the next book. I liked that the weapon used by the killer in this book was electricity, it’s something that is all around us and so deadly yet we all take it for granted and don’t give it a second thought most of the time. I’m often wary about touching metal things because I am always getting static shocks off of things and reading this book didn’t really help!

There was some interesting character development in this book, of both a main and a supporting character which I liked. The story was good and had several twists and turns as is normal with Jeffery Deaver although I’d say there were slightly less plot twists this time.

I’m guessing there may be a bit of a wait for the next Lincoln Rhyme instalment as Jeffery Deaver currently has his Bond Novel, Carte Blanche and a stand alone thriller, Edge out (which sounds good, it’s in hardback at the moment so I’ll get the paperback release as I’m not keen on reading hardbacks) and then I expect his next book will probably be Katherine Dance (looking forward to that though as I enjoyed the last Katherine Dance book).

James Thompson - Snow Angels

It's Kaamos in Finland, meaning its dark all day and night for weeks. During this time an immigrant film star is brutally murdered and mutilated. Detective Kari Vaara must investigate and bring the killer to justice but as he works deeper into the case he finds that things are getting a little too close to home.

I choose this book as part of the Criminal Plots Reading Challenge. This one is for the category “New-to-you Series” as this is the first in a series of books following Detective Kari Vaara.

The setting in Finland adds an interesting side to this story, with the freezing weather and the constant darkness making things more difficult than they would be elsewhere. It does paint a picture of lots of Fin’s being alcoholics though!

The plot was interesting with quite a few twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. I didn’t manage to work out who the killer was. I liked Detective Vaara. I thought he was an interesting and likeable character. The same cannot be said of his wife, Kate though! She was just constantly moaning and irritating!

This is a series that I will probably read more of but not one that I will be rushing to buy on release day.

Carol Smith – Without Warning

When a woman falls in front of a London Underground train the police assume it was an accident or suicide until they find the knife sticking out of her back. When a similar murder happens a few days later Brewster takes on the case knowing that the killer could strike again at any time.

I have a fascination with the London Underground so any book set there immediately draws my attention. This book follows a selection of characters who are mostly interlinked in some way. It's fairly obvious almost from the outset who the killer is but I think this is intentional. The killer is properly revealed somewhere between half and two thirds of the way through the book although there are still plenty of mysteries to try and work out.

I liked the story and it's London Underground setting. It also tied the July 7th 2005 bombings into he storyline as well which was interesting. I get the feeling that the bombings happened as the author was writing the book and she decided to include it as opposed to it originally being part of the plot though.

The characters were for the most part likeable, however, a lot of them were very stereotypical and clichéd and didn't seem to have much depth to them. This was only a minor annoyance though and didn't stop me from enjoying the story.

Gregg Hurwitz – You’re Next

Mike Wingate was abandoned at the age of four and grew up in foster care knowing nothing about his parents. He has since managed to build a nice life for himself with his own business, a wife and a daughter. However, when he meets a mysterious man at a party who seems to be threatening him his world is turned upside down. Mike must work out what it is from his past that is causing these men to come after him and his family before it’s too late.

I choose this book as part of the Criminal Plots Reading Challenge. This one is for the category “opposite gender” as the main protagonist, Mike, is male.

I was drawn straight into this book as it sets off at quite a fast pace and doesn’t slow at all throughout. The book was mostly set in the present but there were a few sections that went back and covered Mikes past, telling the story of how he was abandoned and some of the trouble that he got into during his younger years.

Mike is a likeable character, although at times I found him a little too try hard and overly perfect. I preferred Shep, he has some character flaws and is a more interesting and real character for it whilst still retaining that likeability.

There were parts of the story that were somewhat farfetched. This may bother some people but it didn’t bother me as it is a work of fiction after all. The story worked and was enjoyable to read. I’ll be reading more Gregg Hurwitz books in the future.

Simone van der Vlugt – The Reunion

Sabine has just started back at work after having been off with depression for a year. A lot has changed during that time and she is having difficulty fitting in. On top of this she is starting to have dreams and flashbacks relating to the disappearance nine years ago of Isabel, a girl that she was at school with. Sabine is convinced that Isabel was murdered and that she was a witness but has since repressed the memory.

Sabine is an interesting character, she is quite likeable although I did find her a bit annoying at times although I could relate to her quite a lot. The other characters are also well written and interesting. I liked the style of the book and the Netherlands setting. I thought the translation was well done.

There are two main storylines that are interlinked, the present day troubles that Sabine is having and the events surrounding the disappearance of Isabel nine years ago when Sabine and Isabel were at school together. The flashbacks and dreams seem to have been triggered by seeing and advert for a school reunion and meeting up with a face from Sabine’s past. I actually slightly preferred the bits about Sabine’s present day life although the disappearance bits were good as well. I did manage to work out who did it but only a little while before the reveal. I think I should have worked it out sooner though!

Steven Dunne - The Disciple

DI Brook thought he could put the reaper murders behind him, knowing that the reaper is dead. However, when a drowning in Brighton turns out to be murder, placing Brook under suspicion, and a family in Derby is murdered with all the hallmarks of the reaper killings, DI Brook is drawn in to find out who is responsible.

When I bought this book I didn’t realise that it was the second in a series, although that soon became obvious when I started to read it. I debated putting it down and getting hold of the first one to read but decided to stick with it as I have read books in series out of sequence before and have found that most of the time it doesn’t really matter. Luckily I found that to be the case here. There was quite a lot of mention of the previous events but they were all well explained so I didn’t feel like I was missing out on any information.

Most of the narrative follows BI Brook and the team working on the present day events in Derby but there is also a strand that follows the 1995 FBI investigation into the Ghost Road killers in California, USA. I really liked the storyline. It was quite complex but easy to follow. It kept me guessing all the way to the end and I didn’t manage to work out who the killer was. The characters were well written and interesting.

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be keeping an eye out for Steven Dunne in the future. I will probably pick up the first book in the series, The Reaper, at some point as well. I’ll leave it a while though as at the moment I feel that I already know the most important bits from it having read this book.

Chevy Stevens - Still Missing

Annie O'Sullivan is an estate agent who is abducted and held prisoner for a year. This is the story of her abduction, imprisonment and the aftermarth.

The story is told in the first person by Annie as recounted to her therapist. I really liked the style in which the story was told. It was very unusual. I liked that the story was told in a non-linear fashion, Annie recounted what had happened to her, roughly in the order that it happened, but it was broken up with events effecting her life in the present and the impact on her current day to day life.

The story was believable throughout and Annie was a likeable character. The pacing was just right, the story sucking you in right from the very beginning. There was also a twist at the end that I did not see coming at all.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by Chevy Stevens in the future.

Linwood Barclay – Too Close to Home

When the Langley family are murdered in their own home their neighbours, the Cutter family, are understandably worried. But what if the killer had gone to the wrong house? All of the family have their secrets so it’s a real possibility.

I really enjoyed this book and read it in just two days as it really pulled me in right from the start.

There was a good cast of characters who were well written and in the most part believable. The story was well written with good pacing that kept me gripped. As the secrets gradually come to light it’s fun trying to guess which ones are relevant and which are the red herrings. I did manage to guess who the killer was and why but not too far before it was revealed.

Too Close to Home was the first Linwood Barclay book that I have read but I will definitely be reading more in the future.

Christopher Ransom – The Haunting of James Hastings

James Hastings works as a double for notorious rapper Ghost (think Eminem). When his wife Stacey is killed in a car accident he quits his job, a year later he is still struggling to come to terms with her death and when he meets a new woman, Annette, strange things start happening such as Stacey’s shoes appearing in the hallway and mysterious phone calls that originate from within the house when James is the only person there.

I had read and enjoyed Christopher Ransom’s first novel, The Birthing House, so I was interested to see what this next book had to offer. I preferred The Birthing House but I still enjoyed reading this book as well. James Hastings is a flawed character, but one with whom the reader is able to sympathise with most of the time.

The story was well paced, gradually building up the mystery and suspense. In places it was decidedly creepy. There were a few good and unexpected twists at the end (although this did make it slightly confusing at times). I think the book could have done without some of the epilogue though.

Tania Carver – The Creeper

Suzanne Perry has a stalker. He crept into her bedroom at night, she thought it was a nightmare until she found a photo of herself sleeping stuck to her bedroom window the next morning. There are other young women that have gone missing and a body has turned up on a boat. DI Phil Brennan is assigned to the case but he has problems of his own.

This was the first book that I have read by Tania Carver and I enjoyed it. The characters were well written and believable and the plot was good. The pacing was just right throughout as well.

The parts that I didn’t enjoy quite as much were the events surrounding DI Phil Brennan’s personal life. I think I would have enjoyed this more if I had read Tania Carver’s first novel, The Surrogate, as from what I can gather it was set up in that book so having not read it I was unaware of the reasons behind certain things. This was a minor thing though which didn’t take up much of the plot so didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the book.

I will definitely be looking out for future releases by Tania Carver and will read The Surrogate at some point as well.