The Apartment
by
Fiction – CRIME
Book-Reviews-The-Other-Sister
The Other Sister
by
Elle Croft
Elle Croft’s The Other Sister was my second of this author’s books and one of the best books read this year. Written in a now and then fashion it tells the story of siblings Ryan, Gina, Cassie (decease), their parents and Gina’s beau, Julian.
Having been estranged from her family for many years Gina makes contact with Ryan after their parents retire to Florida and soon moves into the family home with him.
Gina is not happy in her work at Channel 8 and soon finds a way to gain some notoriety by live streaming her report of a body she discovered of a woman’s body in an alleyway. Although not popular with her boss and colleagues Gina’s report sees the Station ratings soar. As news of the murder begins to fade along with the ratings, Gina discovers another body.
And it is here that the plot tends to thicken. Many believe Gina is the murderer? Or perhaps it is Ryan? Or could it be Julian? Or someone else entirely!
To add anything else will spoil the plot entirely. A book well worth reading, and perhaps the best mystery I have read this year.
I rated
The Other Sister
as a solid gold
5 star read.
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
The Other Sister
an average of 3.84 stars,
from 562 ratings
and 80 reviews.
The Other Sister
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book-Review-Winter-Sisters
Winter Sisters
(Mary Sutter, #2)
by
Robin Oliveira
Winter Sisters was my first Robin Oliveria book. Winter Sisters commences with huge snow storm which descends upon Albany in 1879. The parents of two sisters are killed in the storm and many believe the sisters could not have survived either and after many days of searching they are presumed dead and a family funeral is held.
Shortly thereafter the girls, who have been held captive by their rescuer, and now predator, escape and are found by friends and relatives. One of their captors is identified and sent for trial and defended by a young, inexperienced, lawyer from their town. What follows is one of the best trial/courtroom scenes I have ever heard, seen or read. To say more will only spoil the book.
I have, on the odd occasion, been known to comment negatively about narrators. Therefore, I feel it only fitting to pass comment here about Tavia Gilbert and her narration of Winter Sisters. Tavia’s reading of Winter Sisters was one of the best narratives, male or female, that I have heard. Character voices were all different enough to identify and more importantly they seemed age appropriate.
The audio version of Winter Sisters is rated, by the library, as a 14 hour 36 minute book. Two of those hours are devoted to the courtroom alone. It seemed like an 8 hour book so quickly did time pass.
I rated
Winter Sisters
as a
four star 
audiobook
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Winter Sisters
an average of 4.06 stars
from 3,267 ratings
and 506 reviews
Book-Reviews-Closer
Closer
by
K. L. Slater
Closer is promoted as a psychological thriller and I must confess to being thrilled when it ended. Is it the publisher or author who adds the ‘thriller’ tag to a book’s description? An interesting read but not as thrilling as other reads.
Seventy-five percent of the Closer is devoted to introducing and providing background information of each character. During this seventy-five percent there were several occasions when I felt that the story was going to change gears, however, as I was pondering the who, what where when and why I would turn the page, commence a new paragraph and find the story focussing on one of the bit players.
There is also, occasionally, a paragraph or two written in italics which features (I believe) unnamed characters. The action in italics takes place several decades earlier than present day. In the context of the story this is important material, however, I believe only Perry Mason could figure out the connection.
Closer is about a family breakup, Shaun, Emma and ten year old daughter Maisie and in that aspect very topical. And as often depicted in movies and television show children of blended families do not see eye to eye. In Closer the future step mother has a witch of a ten year old daughter from her now deceased husband.
I must confess to not picking the villain. In fact Closer could almost make a fair TV movie…all questions answered and unheard of villains introduced and disposed of in the last 10-20 pages of my mini-iPad and its enlarged text. Based on the ending, and solely on the ending, I would have to read a sequel to Closer, especially if it was a direct follow up sequel.
I rated
Closer
as a
read.
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Closer
an average of 3.95 stars
from 2,869 ratings
and 314 reviews.
Closer
can be purchased on-line at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book Review-The-Backup-Asset
The Backup Asset
(Alex Hoffmann #3)
by
Leslie Wolfe
While not publicised as a sequel to Devil’s Move (#2 in the Hoffman series) The Backup Asset follows hot on the heels of Devil’s Move.
Alex is still obsessed with the Mr Big of her previous case to the point that her work colleagues begin to worry about her ability to continue. And when she is asked to work on this next case she does not realise how close it will/bring her to her Mr Big.
In what appears to be another Cold War, Alex finds herself undercover in a company making parts for a revolutionary weapon which the United States is about to install on its warships.
Meanwhile, in Russia, key military leaders have been ordering apparently random incursions on land, sea and air in order to destabilise the security of its enemies. One of these incursions included infiltrating the company building this new weapon and stealing the plans for said weapon. The manner in which Russian spies have infiltrated nearly every aspect of American life is quite fascinating.
I first read The Backup Asset in autumn 2019 and enjoyed it as much in 2020. The Backup Asset is a fast paced read
I rated
The Backup Asset
as a solid star read.
At the time of writing my review other
Goodreads readers have rated
The Backup Asset
an average of stars
from 1,044 ratings
and 50 reviews
The Backup Asset
is available online
at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Booktopia and Fishpond have only a small range
of Leslie Wolfe’s books which does not include
The Backup Asset
Book Review-Private-#1-Suspect
Private #1 Suspect
by
James Patterson
and
Maxine Paetro
Private #1 Suspect was my first James Patterson book this year. Although I have in the past questioned the amount of input Patterson has in his collaboratively authored books, I still enjoy them. Private #1 Suspect was no exception to this. Short sharp chapters made for easy reading, particularly if, like me, you like to ‘finished a chapter’ before turning out the light.
Jack who owns Private Investigations arrives home, showers goes to his room only to find an old flame (Colleen) murdered in his bed. In the eye of the police, along with some of Colleen’s friends, Jack is guilty of her murder. And Jack has his own suspect.
While trying to clear his name there are murders at a hotel chain to solve. A member of the mob asks for Jack’s help. The fact that there is more than one story and complication woven into Private #1 Suspect enhances the story. James Patterson fans will fall in love with Private #1 Suspect.
Other Goodreads readers have awarded Private #1 Suspect an average of 3.96 stars from 20,046 reviews and 1,084 ratings.
I have rated
Private #1 Suspect
as a solid read.
Private #1 Suspect
can be purchased on-line at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book Review-Mile-High-Death
Mile High Death
by
Leslie Wolfe
(Tess Winnett #7)
Mile High Death begins at a cracking pace and in true thriller style we know who the villain is. It is now just a matter of our master sleuth, Tess Winnett catching said villain.
Mile High Death is book 7 of the Tess Winnett series, although the last three have only been novellas. Still we can live in hope that 2021 will bring us a full length Tess Winnett novel.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed Mile High Death it is a novella and I am not a great fan of novellas/short stories. However, a Tess novella is far better than no Tess.
Imagine being offered a ride home in a private jet. Naturally you need to be female of a particular build to receive that offer. The down side of such an invitation is that after being viciously assaulted there is a 10,000 feet high step to negotiate after being pushed out over the ocean. It is with some dumb luck that one body is recovered out in the middle of the ocean. By the time Tess catches our villain there will be many more.
At the time of writing my review other
Goodreads readers have rated
Mile High Death
an average of
stars
from 15 ratings
and 6 reviews
I have rated
Mile High Death
a solid
read.
Mile High Death
can be purchased
online at
Amazon
I purchased my edition from Amazon.
It appears
Mile High Death
is not available
at Booktopia, and Fishpond
Book-Reviews-Little-Whispers
Little Whispers
by
K. L. Slater
Ever wonder how many of us have changed careers for the promise of a better lifestyle and salary? I wonder how many women leave those decisions entirely to the man in their life. Janey Markham let Isaac find a new job, a cheap house in a good street and barely questioned their luck or good fortune. That is, before they moved.
Life was not better after they moved, if anything it was worse. Isaac was putting in longer hours for his new boss which was the exact opposite to that expected from this new job. But the unanswered question was; Is Isaac really at work?
Janey is sure Isaac is not being open with her. She also finds herself on the outside of the local clique of mothers in their street and is surprised, when introducing Isaac to one of her new found acquaintances, to notice that Isaac acts as if it is not their first meeting. Furthermore her wardrobe and lifestyle does not match the others who spend way over Janey’s budget on one item. To cap off Janey’s worries is the deathbed secret her mother left her with.
When I began reading Little Whispers I found the writing style difficult to read. However, as the book progressed so did the writing; or maybe my concentration improved. Whatever the case, I found myself being drawn into the story and wondering what the next chapter would bring. And the ending ensured that while Little Whispers was my first Kim Slater read it will not be my last.
I rated
Little Whispers
as a
read.
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Little Whispers
an average of 4.09 stars
from 1,211 ratings
and 284 reviews.
Little Whispers
can be purchased on-line at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book-Review-Degrees-of-Darkness
~~~~~
Degrees of Darkness
by
Tony J. Forder
Tony J. Forder’s Degrees of Darkness, was the first book I have read by this author. And I must confess that it was one which I wish I had never read, not because of any writing flaws, rather because it is so dark.
Strawberry blonde twelve or thirteen year old girls are being abducted after the rest of their family is murdered in the dead of night. Laura is one of those abductees. She is the daughter of an ex-detective (Frank) who had separated from his wife and family.
Frank is asked to help police track her abductor and killer of his son, ex-wife and several other families. With virtually no leads to follow Frank and friend Nicky, also a detective, set out to track down and hopefully save Laura’s life. During the investigation the killer contacts Frank and then begins to leave him ‘gifts’ in the form of bodies of the earlier girls he has tortured and murdered.
Fans of the thriller genre will enjoy Degrees of Darkness, although should you have twelve or thirteen year old strawberry blonde females in your family, prepared to be disturbed.
I rated
Degrees of Darkness
as a solid
read.
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Degrees of Darkness
an average of 4.38 stars,
from 418 ratings
and 43 reviews.
Degrees of Darkness
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
Book-Review-Scream-Blue-Murder
~~~~~
Scream Blue Murder
(Mike Lynch #1)
by
Tony J. Forder
Scream Blue Murder is the first of the Mike Lynch books by Tony J. Forder and the first Forder has written in the first person. Generally I avoid ‘first person’ books like the plague, however, as I write this review I have nearly finished the second Mike Lynch book.
Mike Lynch is ex military, divorced and has one daughter who lives with her mother and step-father in California.
One cold English night, Mike because of traffic accident detour finds himself on a lonely back road where he pulls over to answer the call of nature. In a few minutes another car pulls over. Two men alight, one kneels and is executed by the second. Anymore information will contain too many spoilers. Well worth a read if you are into this genre
From there on the book could be described as a helter skelter fast paced series of chases and shootouts with various bad guys. If not for the help of an old military mate Mike would probably not have survived.
I thoroughly enjoyed fast pace of Scream Blue Murder.
I rated
Scream Blue Murder
as a solid
read.
At the time of writing my review
other Goodreads readers had awarded
Scream Blue Murder
an average of 4.18 stars,
from 355 ratings
and 56 reviews.
Scream Blue Murder
can be purchased online at
Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon
