The Tall man - pheobe locke

Kindle Edition Publisher: Wildfire Published: 07/06/18 Pages: 368 Amazon Uk Link: Here GoodReads Link: Here Given for an honest review via Netgalley

Pheobe Locke - The Tall Man A SENSELESS MURDER. A TERRIFYING LEGEND. A FAMILY HAUNTED. 1990: In the darkest woods, three girls devote themselves to a sinister figure. 2000: A young mother disappears, leaving behind her husband and baby daughter. 2018: A teenage girl is charged with murder, and her trial will shock the world. Three chilling events, connected by the shadow he casts. He is the Tall Man. He can make you special... I was looking forward to reading this book, I came across it quite by accident and thought it looked a good read, So much so I put it to the top of my TBR. Unfortunatly it didnt really do it for me. I found that the first 90% a big mish mash of repetativeness leading me down a path that I had no idea where I was going and then BOOM the last 10% the story was told. Its not a bad book by any means, I didnt think about giving up at any time and the story was a good one it was just the execution and structure of it that I had a problem with. A good story but ultimately a frustrating read.

Lar kelper the rabbit hunter

Kindle Edition Publisher: Harper Collins Published: 03/06/18 Pages: 528 Amazon Uk Link: Here GoodReads Link: Here Given for an honest review via Netgalley

Lars Kelper - The Rabbit Hunter It begins with a nursery rhyme. Nineteen minutes later you die… The sixth gripping thriller in Lars Kepler’s bestselling series featuring Joona Linna. Perfect for fans of Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo. There’s a face at the window. A stranger wearing a mask stands in the shadow of a garden. He’s watching his first victim through the window. He will kill him slowly, make it last – play him a nursery rhyme – make him pay. A killer in your house. There’s only one person the police can turn to – ex-Detective Joona Linna – but he’s serving time in a high-security prison. So they offer him a chance to secure his freedom: help Superintendent Saga Bauer track down the vicious killer known as the Rabbit Hunter, before he strikes again. Only one man can stop him. Soon another three victims have been murdered and Stockholm is in the grip of terror. Joona Linna must catch a disturbed predator, whose trail of destruction leads back to one horrific night of violence – with consequences more terrifying than anyone could have imagined… You may or may not know that Lars Kepler is in fact the writing duo of Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril, I didnt. I dont know how they write but it works. The Joona Linna series of books are todate very enjoyable and The Rabbit Hunter is no exception. With an interesting, well paced and clever plot you cant go wrong with this. I must admit when I first started to read it I thought 'here we go again, another cop in prison' and was ready to pack it in. I was wrong. If you like the rest of the series then you will like this one too, its not the best of the series but its still a winner. The only reason I didnt give the book 5 stars is that it was a tad too easy to guess who the Hunter was and his motives. I was surprised that the book was 528 pages long as it didnt seem it, Another sign of a good book.

Miles Hunt - Diaries

Amazon Uk Link: Here

The Wonder Stuff Diaries Something a bit different for this review. I lived in a house where I never heard music being played, god knows why but neither of parents enjoyed music. So my first introduction to music was from my friends at school. My first foray into the world of music had me buying A-ha and Then Jerico records and badgering my dad to take me and my mate to gigs in Birmingham in full bandanna and leather shoelaces tied around our arms. I didn't know better. Then in 1988 as I put the Tv on, sat down on the sofa with my cornflakes contemplating another day of walking in circles around the town when this came on the Tv and so started a , so far, 30yr love affair with the music of The Wonder Stuff and Miles Hunt. It was a defining moment in my life, might sound dramatic but it set me on the course to who I am now. I grew my hair, spent countless hours in record shops buying as much of their stuff as I could, went to countless gigs and bought countless T-shirts. Still do. I was always described as the kid with The Wonder Stuff T-shirt. So when Miles Hunt announced that he was writing 3 books about The Wonder Stuff years it was a no brainer. Written from his diaries of the time the books are split into 86-89, 90-91 and 92-94 and takes you through the highs and lows of being in a band. These books arent only for The Wonder Stuff fans but any fan of 90s music. Its a nostalgic ride that left my wanting to invent a time machine and live it all again but if Hawkings couldn't do it I doubt mine would work. The books are accompanied with photos of the band and reviews that, some, I hadn't seen before. I got through all 3 way too quickly. The 92-94 book upset me a little as it dealt with the demise of the band but I think the time was right to split when they did, Although I didnt think that at the time. Cried like a baby at the last gig at the Pheonix Festival and to top if off when we got back to our tent somebody had decided it was the best place to deposit their diarrhea. These books certainly opened my eyes in many ways and I cant recommend them enough.

Kindle Edition Publisher: Orenda Published: 15/03/17 Pages: 420 Amazon Uk Link: Here GoodReads Link: Here

Six Stories - Matt Wesolowski 1997. Scarclaw Fell. The body of teenager Tom Jeffries is found at an outward bound centre. Verdict? Misadventure. But not everyone is convinced. And the truth of what happened in the beautiful but eerie fell is locked in the memories of the tight-knit group of friends who took that fateful trip, and the flimsy testimony of those living nearby. 2017. Enter elusive investigative journalist Scott King, whose podcast examinations of complicated cases have rivalled the success of Serial, with his concealed identity making him a cult internet figure. In a series of six interviews, King attempts to work out how the dynamics of a group of idle teenagers conspired with the sinister legends surrounding the fell to result in Jeffries' mysterious death. And who's to blame… As every interview unveils a new revelation, you'll be forced to work out for yourself how Tom Jeffries died, and who is telling the truth. A chilling, unpredictable and startling thriller, Six Stories is also a classic murder mystery with a modern twist, and a devastating ending. And now for something completely different.... Its not often that you find a completely different, original book that completely blows you away, many have tried and many have failed but Matt Wesolowski nails it on with his debut novel, Six Stories. I tend to avoid books that are splashed all over Twitter with nothing but 5 star reviews. I am always slightly suspicious, verging on paranoid when it comes to ARC reviews, But that's another conversation for another day. Anyway, I had nothing to read and saw this was 99p on Amazon, what did I have to lose?. The answer was nothing. In fact what I gained was a highly original, well thought out book, that kept me hooked from the first word to the last with a fantastic ending that left me wanting more. In fact after finishing the book I broke my golden rule of not spending more than 99p on a book and I bought the second book, Hydra. Lots of other reviews compare it to the American podcast Serial, but it is so much more than that. A highly recommended book that will have you thinking about it for sometime after reading. Buy it.

Kindle Edition Publisher: Avon Published: 22/03/18 Pages: 416 Amazon Uk Link: Here GoodReads Link: Here

The Fear - C.L. Taylor The perfect daughter. The perfect girlfriend. The perfect murder? Sometimes your first love won’t let you go… When Lou Wandsworth ran away to France with her teacher Mike Hughes, she thought he was the love of her life. But Mike wasn’t what he seemed and he left her life in pieces. Now 32, Lou discovers that he is involved with teenager Chloe Meadows. Determined to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself, she returns home to confront him for the damage he’s caused. But Mike is a predator of the worst kind, and as Lou tries to bring him to justice, it’s clear that she could once again become his prey… When I see that C.L Taylor has a new book coming out, I head straight to Amazon and pre-order. No need to read the blurb or fall for the marketing. She is in my must read list of authors which at the moment stands at 3. I love the style of writing and the way all of the characters inflict an emotional response from me, be it good or bad, because when I read a book I want to be that person, I want to be in that situation with my heart racing, brow sweating wondering how the hell I am going to get out of the trouble I am in. This story doesn't fail to deliver on that count. The characters are all, as expected, superbly written with a passion and feeling that are rare in this saturated genre. The plot is fast moving and attention grabbing, I read this in 2 days which for me is very fast. The old cliche of unputdownable has never been so true. A great story to get yourself lost in and probably the best from C.L Taylor yet. Highly recommended.

The Watcher - Ross Armstrong

Kindle Edition Publisher: HQ Published: 29/12/17 Pages: 384 Amazon Uk Link: Here GoodReads Link: Here Given for an honest review via Netgalley

The Blurb

She's watching you, but who's watching her?

Lily Gullick lives with her husband Aiden in a new-build flat opposite an estate which has been marked for demolition. A keen birdwatcher, she can't help spying on her neighbours.

Until one day Lily sees something suspicious through her binoculars and soon her elderly neighbour Jean is found dead. Lily, intrigued by the social divide in her local area as it becomes increasingly gentrified, knows that she has to act. But her interference is not going unnoticed, and as she starts to get close to the truth, her own life comes under threat.

But can Lily really trust everything she sees?

My Thoughts

Hitchcock fans would probally love this book but im afraid it did nothing for me and I really struggled to finish it.

From the first chapter I took an instant dislike to Lilly and as the book went on it only got worse. The storyline was obvious, contained no surprises and dragged on until an half decent, if not predictable, last quarter.

Cold Blood - Robert Bryndza

Kindle Edition Publisher: Bookouture Published: 20/09/17 Pages: 378 Amazon Uk Link: Here GoodReads Link: Here Given for an honest review via Netgalley

The Blurb

She fell in love with a killer, now she’s one too.

The suitcase was badly rusted, and took Erika several attempts, but it yielded and sagged open as she unzipped it. Nothing could prepare her for what she would find inside…

When a battered suitcase containing the dismembered body of a young man washes up on the shore of the river Thames, Detective Erika Foster is shocked. She’s worked on some terrifying cases but never seen anything like this before.

As Erika and her team set to work, she makes the link with another victim – the body of a young woman dumped in an identical suitcase two weeks ago.

Erika quickly realises she’s on the trail of a serial killer who’s already made their next move. Yet just as Erika starts to make headway with the investigation, she is the victim of a brutal attack.

But nothing will stop Erika. As the body count rises, the twin daughters of her colleague Commander Marsh are abducted, and the stakes are higher than ever before. Can Erika save the lives of two innocent children before it’s too late? She’s running out of time and about to make a disturbing discovery…there’s more than one killer.

My Thoughts

Its no secret that I am a massive fan of Robert Bryndza and the Eric Foster series, every book has been a 5 star brilliant read and an absolute must read. Cold Blood is no exception to this. The fifth book in the series and the story is as fresh as the first.
This story felt different from the other four, thats not a bad thing at all and I cant put my finger on what it was that made it feel different. As with the other books in the series the plot is fast paced and characterisation is spot on.

Defiantly in my top 5 books of the year.