Untold Stories
by
Fiction – CRIME
Book Review-Hidden-In-Plain-Sight
Hidden In Plain Sight
by
Jeffery Archer
*****
Hidden In Plain Sight follows on after Nothing Ventured with William continuing his good work in the police force. Hidden In Plain Sight opens at the same cracking pace that Nothing Ventured attained and that which is expected from a Jeffery Archer novel.
William is progressing through the ranks and finds himself with a Drug Squad that is trying to catch to of the major drug importers in London. One of the targets is Miles Faulkner who has a 4 year suspended sentence hanging over his head courtesy of the judiciary system in Nothing Ventured. The other villain in Hidden in Plain Sight is Khalil Rashidi. Rashidi is a drug dealer, of note, operating out of South London.
Faulkner and Rashidi meet and bond in Pentonville Prison where they bot being held pending their respective trials. All the while Christina, Faulkner’s, soon to be, ex-wife is angling to have Faulkner’s 73 paintings, which for his entire art collection held locally, included in her divorce settlement.
Faulkner is soon in a courtroom again where again Booth Watson is his adversary
Although Sir Julian does not think of women being good enough to be a QC he does appoint Grace as his junior, where she earns some respect from her father.
I rated
Hidden In Plain Sight
as a
Four Star read.
***
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Hidden In Plain Sight
an average of 3.98 stars
from 9,853 ratings
and 793 reviews.
***
Hidden In Plain Sight
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book Review-Three-Woman-Disappear
Three Woman Disappear
by
James Patterson
*****
Many years ago I was a James Paterson fan; however it is only about one in seven books that rate a four star rating during the past 5 years. Three Women Disappear is no exception.
An accountant (Anthony) with connections to organised crime is stabbed in his own kitchen. Three women (his wife, Anna; his maid, Serena; and his personal chef, Sarah) were in the house at the time and all three fled the scene as all three had a motive for wanting him dead.
Sara is married to Sean, the homicide detective investigating the murder. Sean is a bad husband and a good cop.
I will concede that I listened to Three Woman Disappear while working on my computer…the same as I do with many of my books. However, I still couldn’t follow the storyline and cannot tell you whether the story was about all three women travelling together, or whether it was each individuals’ story.
By comparison, Come and Get Us, a bonus story included with the Three Women Disappear recording, was far easier to listen to and follow.
I have rated
Three Woman Disappear
as a
audiobook/read.
***
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Three Woman Disappear
an average of 3.62 stars
from 6,009 ratings
and 434 reviews.
***
Three Woman Disappear
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book-Review-The-Mistake
~~~~~~~
The Mistake
by
K. L. Slater
L. Slater’s, The Mistake, is a story of an impressionable teenage girl, Rose. She was impressed by a 25-year-old (Gareth) who manipulated every single thought she ever had to his advantage.
Gareth does not like Rose having any friends or relatives; especially eight-year-old Billy, Rose’s brother. Sometime thereafter Billy goes missing and his body is found not far from where he was last seen and it is Gareth who is charged and convicted.
Sixteen years later with Gareth still in jail for Billy’s murder and still proclaiming his innocence, Rose is still blaming herself for Billy’s death.
Then she discovers evidence that her next-door neighbour may know something about Billy’s disappearance. But does he? And is Gareth really innocent of Billy’s murder? The lead investigating officer at the time says he was not and is not one hundred percent certain that Gareth is the killer.
The Mistake was my eighth K. L. Slater read and is only the second of her works I have rated as a Three Star read. Even though I did not pick the ending, it is definitely not on my favourites list.
I rated
The Mistake
as a
Three Star Read.
***
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
The Mistake
an average of 3.91 stars,
from 9,289 ratings
and 702 reviews
***
The Mistake
is available online
at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
~~~~~~~
Book Review-Nothing-Ventured
Nothing Ventured
by
Jeffery Archer
*****
It has been a few years since I last read a Jeffery Archer novel so it was with a bit of trepidation that I commenced Nothing Ventured. I felt that I was labouring through the prologue and first chapter or so. But I soldiered on, soon after realising that I was again reading a Jeffery Archer novel.
Nothing Ventured is the first of the William Warwick series. Not a detective story, but the story of the making of a detective, according to the blurb. Since he was eight years old, William Warwick had always wanted to be a detective much to his father’s disappointment. Sir Julian had always expected that William would always join the family law firm.
After graduating with a Degree in Arts, William joins the police force and hits the beat with his first mentor, Constable Fred Yates. William eventually has the opportunity to join Scotland Yard where he ends up in the Arts and Antiquities Squad.
His first case investigation is the seven-year-old theft of a priceless Rembrandt which was stolen from its home in the Fitzmolean Museum.
Beth Rainsford, a research assistant at the gallery, becomes the love of William’s life; however, Beth has some secrets of her own.
Towards the end of the book, there are two court cases in which William and Beth have an interest and is enjoyable to read.
After a shaky beginning, Nothing Ventured soon became a book of Archer quality.
I have rated
Nothing Ventured
as a
read.
***
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Nothing Ventured
an average of 3.91 stars
from 29,665 ratings
and 1,758 reviews.
***
Nothing Ventured
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book-Review-A-Stranger-in-the-House
A Stranger in the House
by
Shari Lapena
A Stranger in the House was my first of Shari Lapena works and will not be my last.
Tom and Karen Krupp are happily married; almost newlyweds. Life is good until….the day Karen receives a phone call from her past. The next thing Karen knows is she is in a hospital bed with no idea what happened or how she arrived. She claims to have amnesia! Prior to arriving at the hospital, she had been speeding through a seedy part of town before crashing her car, at speed.
Upon arriving home from the hospital, Karen notices things are out of place; not exactly where she left them. She even goes as far as photographing rooms before leaving and every time she returns things have been moved. There is someone entering their house and poking through their belongings whilst no one is home. Who is it that is entering their home? Could it be Bridgett; Karen’s best friend?
Gradually Karen’s amnesia is slowly replaced by memories after her crash. As the police begin questioning her about a murder not far from the scene of her crash it soon becomes apparent that Tom has secrets. Karen has secrets. Tom and Bridgett have secrets.
There is a twist near the end that will keep you guessing. I read A Stranger in the House in 2020 and have just completed the audio version and have again rated it as a four-star book.
I rated
A Stranger in the House
as a
four-star read
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
A Stranger in the House
an average of 3.67 stars
from 101,550 ratings
and 8,984 reviews
****
A Stranger in the House
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book Review-Come-and-Get-Us
Come and Get Us
by
James Patterson
*****
Come and Get Us was/is the bonus story included with the audiobook, Three Women Disappear.
Come and Get Us had me intrigued right from the first chapter. A family being chased along a mountain road by persons unknown.
From there on it is one long chase with Mum featuring in all chases. It is an action-packed storyline. She was the driver of a vehicle that was run off a mountain road.
She then abandoned her daughter and husband in order to reach help. Was found by the bad guys and chased again.
Come and Get Us was the bonus story and easier to follow than Three Women Disappear. Both were used as background stories while working on my computer.
Come and Get Us may be found online as a standalone book or it may be the bonus story included with Three Women Disappear
I have rated
Come and Get Us
as a
read.
***
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Come and Get Us
an average of 3.63 stars
from 4,149 ratings
and 336reviews.
***
Come and Get Us
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book Review-The-Girl-You-Killed
The Girl You Killed
by
Leslie Wolfe
Leslie Wolfe’s latest offering, The Girl You Killed, was presented in a slightly different manner from any of her previous work, and in my opinion, it is this difference that contributes to The Girl You Killed being one of her best.
Andrea and Craig Brafford appear to be a happily married young couple. The only thing Andrea is missing is gainful employment. Every time she applies for a job she doesn’t get past an interview. Craig plays the dutiful husband as she grieves her lost opportunities. Craig has his own plans for Andrea’s skills.
Then Andrea discovers she is pregnant and she expects support and joy from Craig and again she doesn’t get the expected. Far from it. The only thing she develops is severe morning sickness…morning sickness that develops any time of the day or night. In fact, the only time she doesn’t suffer morning sickness is during a week in the Caribbean.
Not many months later Craig is on trial for murdering his pretty young wife.
Fans of Leslie Wolfe will find The Girl You Killed a real page-turner.
I rated
The Girl You Killed
as a solid
five star read.
***
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
The Girl You Killed
an average of 4.53 stars,
from 618 ratings
and 64 reviews.
***
The Girl You Killed
is available online
at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
~~~~~~~
Book-Review-Safe-With-Me
~~~~~~~
Safe With Me
by
K. L. Slater
Safe With Me is a book that I would not normally read simply because nearly all the characters are, or appear to be, suffering from a form of mental illness. However, Safe With Me almost falls into the page-turner category which has a not easy to guess ending.
Anna witnesses an accident between a car (Amanda) and a motorcyclist (Liam). Liam crashes his motorbike into Amanda’s car. Anna believes that Amanda is actually Carla one of her childhood teachers and also that Carla had something to do with her brother’s death thirteen years earlier and has now changed her name to Amanda.
In an effort to make sure Amanda/Carla gets her comeuppance for this accident and her brother’s demise, Anna after helping Liam at the scene of his accident decides to befriend him and follow the police investigation to ensure that Amanda/Carla is charged with the fault of the accident.
Almost all scenarios raised during this book are figments, of the character’s imagination. Now I did say almost. The trick is to sort reality from fiction.
This was my second time with Safe With Me and I chose the audio version, narrated by Lucy Price-Lewis, to refresh my memory. I have often stated that a good narrator can make or break a book. In this case, Lucy Price-Lewis’ contribution made my revisit to Safe With Me an enjoyable experience.
I have rated the audio version of Safe With Me as a four-star book.
In 2020 I rated Safe With Me as a three-star read, however, I did not write a review, hence this review.
~~~~
I rated
Safe With Me
as a solid
star audiobook.
At the time of writing my review other
Goodreads readers have rated
Safe With Me
an average of 3.75 stars
from 10,205 ratings
716 reviews
***
Safe With Me
is available online
at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
~~~~~~~
Book-Review-The-End-of-Her
The End Of Her
by
Shari Lapena
WoollyMuses 