Cell 7 by Kerry Drewery

Martha sits at a table in the centre of the room in half light. Her long hair has been shaved to her scalp and her clothes have been replaced by white overalls. 

Published by Hot Key Books in September 2016

Pages - 400

Summary

Should she live or die? You decide 

An adored celebrity has been killed. Sixteen-year-old Martha Honeydew was found holding a gun, standing over the body.

Now Justice must prevail.

The general public will decide whether Martha is innocent or guilty by viewing daily episodes of the hugely popular TV show Death is Justice, the only TV show that gives the power of life and death decisions - all for the price of a phone call.

Martha has admitted to the crime. But is she guilty? Or is reality sometimes more complicated than the images we are shown on TV?

*****

Wow! When you think you've read every type of dystopian going, an author pulls a completely brand new one out of the bag. 

If you ever imagined what George Orwell's Big Brother might really be like now, then this chilling tale is it. Based loosely on the hit reality shows of today, the audience get to choose whether Martha lives or dies, by phoning in their votes.The votes are suitably rigged - money is the key. If you have lots you can easily, rig the voting, causing innocent people to die.  Imagine if the justice system was really organised like this. A rather chilling thought. 

Through a mixture of show segments and first and third person narrative, you get to see the whole picture. The majority of Martha's chapters are first person, so you get a real insight into her past and her fears about the future. You discover what really happened on the night the much loved celebrity, Jackson Paige, died. As the story evolves, the plot unravels and by the end, the truth has been revealed. 

Martha is a fighter. She is headstrong and determined that the truth about Jackson Paige becomes public knowledge. But will she get the truth out there in time to save her? 

I found this book rather disturbing to read. It is extremely realistic, exceptionally gritting and rather too accurately foreboding. It's one of those books that could happen and that is unnerving. I got a chill just reading it. 

A chilling realistic tale, that I hope to God, never really happens!  

The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lipton

It's FREEZING cold: like the air is made of broken glass. Our English cold is all role-poly snowmen and 'woo-hoo! It's a snow day!' a hey-there friendly kind of cold. But this cold is mean.

Published by Little Brown in July 2015

Pages - 331

Summary

On 24th November Yasmin and her deaf daughter Ruby arrived in Alaska.

Within hours they were driving alone across a frozen wilderness

Where nothing grows

Where no one lives

Where tears freeze 

And night will last for another 54 days.

They are looking for Ruby's father.

Travelling deeper into a silent land.

They still cannot find him.

And someone is watching them in the dark.

*****

Reviewed by Vivienne Dacosta

It's always a delight to receive a Rosamund Lupton book. I've been a fan of hers since her first novel, Sister, and now reading this, her third book, I can see a definitive style that no other author has managed to imitate. Just like it's predecessors, this book keeps you on your toes.

I loved the Alaskan setting of this novel. Many years ago, I can remember reading Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow, and this definitely had a similar iciness to it.It also reminded me of Northern Exposure, only with more action.  Last week, we all watched as the temperature went out of control, but  I could be found shivering as I lost myself in the Arctic conditions of this novel. 

Not only do you get a good plot with this novel, you also learn something new. Fracking plays a big part of this novel and to be honest, I didn't really pay it much attention before. Living in an area, where fracking is a huge possibility for the future, the knowledge I gained from this novel has made me very concerned about the impact it will have on the environment and the human race. I won't be sitting back and ignoring it in the future. If the effects listed here are real, then we as a society need to put a stop to it.

I liked the way the book was told in first and third person. You get a real sense of whose story is being told. I do have a little niggle though. Being an avid reader of Middle Grade fiction, I  struggled with Ruby's dialogue. I didn't feel that she truly represented a ten year old when she spoke. Her voice seemed so much more maturer. I understand she has had to cope with a lot, dealing with the bullying she received because of her deafness, but I don't think she would've reached that level of maturity by her age.  I could be wrong and Ruby could be the exception. 

 I was also surprised to find Ruby an avid user of Twitter. It being such a public forum, I don't know many ten year olds who are allowed to use it. Snapchat, yes, but not Twitter. Having said that, I liked the way that social media was included and became part of the story, something many writers still shy away from.

Yasmin, Ruby's mother is an amazing role model for any woman. She goes above and beyond; the thought of driving an arctic lorry over the ice roads of Alaska, showed her bravery and determination. She really is a gutsy woman!

I really enjoyed jumping back into a Lupton thriller. If you love a thriller where you haven't a clue what might happen next, then this book is for you. Grab your winter woolies quickly, you are in for a icy chase against time!

The Unquiet Grave by Steven Dunne

Saturday, 22 December 1973 - Derby

The boy looked up from sorting through his football cards to watch him mum light another cigarette.  Her hands were tight and clumsy as she fumbled for her props but, eventually, the hiss of gas and a guttering flame signalled job done.  Tossing her gold lighter on to the coffee table, she took a quivering draw, holding the blue-grey poison in her lungs for a beat before exhaling across the room.

     Jeff watched in silence as she tried to ease back and relax but she couldn’t manage it, at once pulling back her frame to the edge of the sofa, her legs bent double, her tension-wracked shoulders invisible under the uncombed hair.  She played with her housework-reddened hands, sometimes picking at a jagged nail, sometimes swivelling the two rings round her wedding finger.

     ‘I’m hungry, Mum,’ said Jeff, in that way children have of asking for things without actually posing the question. 

     Without looking over at him she answered, her voice hoarse and strained. ‘Dad’s home in an hour.’

     Jeff gazed unblinking, waiting for her to crack.  It didn’t happen.  ‘But I’m hungry now.’

     ‘You can have a sandwich when Dad gets home,’ she replied, trying to keep the rising emotion from her voice.  She glanced his way to reassure but it didn’t take.

Published by Headline  on the 4th July 2013

448 pages

Goodreads Summary

The Cold Case Unit of Derby Constabulary feels like a morgue to DI Damen Brook.  But in disgrace and recently back from suspension, his boss thinks it’s the safest place for him.  

But Brook isn’t going down without a fight and when he uncovers a pattern in a series of murders that date back to 1963, he is forced to dig deeper.  How could a killer stay undetected for so long?  Could it be luck or are there more sinister forces at work?

Applying his instincts and razor sharp intelligence, Brook delves deep into the past of both suspects and colleagues unsure where the hunt will lead him.  What he does know for sure is that a significant date is approaching fast and the killer may be about to strike again…

*******

Reviewed by Georgina Tranter

This is the fourth novel by Steven Dunne featuring DI Damen Brook.  Following on from his previous case, Brook has been placed on suspension and is just returning to the force, a figure in disgrace.  There is only one place for a policeman such as him and that is to be stationed in the basement of the police station working on the cold cases of the

Derbyshire force.  But as you can probably imagine, he’s a good policeman, and his instincts soon lead him to reinvestigate a number of murders, that date back as early as 1963.

Unfortunately for Brook, there aren’t many left on the force that he hasn’t already managed to antagonise, so he is left pretty much a one-man team with his enquiries.  But has he discovered a developing pattern that has been left undiscovered by his predecessors, or was the now-deceased DCI Sam Bannon actually on to something when he flagged up the supposed ‘Pied Piper’ killer all those years ago?  If that is the case, Brook only has a matter of weeks before the killer strikes again!

This is a well-written, fast-paced novel.  Despite the plethora of characters that Dunne manages to entwine into the book, it’s a real page-turner.  I couldn’t wait to find out if Brook was right and that there was a link to the Cold Case Unit and if he would catch the killer in time, of if other factors were actually at work.  If you are a fan of crime fiction, which I most definitely am, and haven’t discovered Steven Dunne yet, this is a pretty good place to start.  As for me, I’m off to devour his back catalogue!

The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George

Published by Hodder and Stoughton

Paperback - 14th February 2013

Goodreads Summary

Becca King and her mother are on the run from her stepfather who has used Becca’s talent for hearing ‘whispers’ to make a large and illegal sum of money. Now their options for safety are running out. In the town of Langley on Whidbey Island, Becca finds refuge in the home of her mother’s childhood friend while her mother continues on to Canada in search of safety.
But on her first day in town Becca meets sixteen years old Derric Nyombe Matheson a Ugandan orphan who was adopted as a ten-year-old by the town’s Deputy Sheriff. Derric has a secret that no one on Whidbey Island knows. Derric and Becca form an un-severable bond. Becca is convinced that she’s the only person who can truly help him, and just maybe Derric can convince Becca that life is too short to live on the run.

*******

Reviewed by Georgina Tranter

This is another of my reviews featuring an already established author trying their hand at the YA market (Jodi Picoult and Jane Casey are two I’ve already reviewed).  Elizabeth George is best known for her Inspector Lynley novels of which she has now written over 15.  I thought it would be interesting to see if she could carry the crime genre over to the YA sector when she is already doing very well in the adult market.

Hannah Armstrong has a power - she can hear what people are thinking.  She is not the first in her family to be able to do this; her grandmother can too, so she wears a headset that produces white noise to eliminate her ability to hear others.  Unfortunately she doesn’t wear it all the time and hears her stepfather revealing things he wouldn’t want others to know.  Bad news for Hannah though, he’s worked out she somehow knows and now she and her mum are on the run.

Enter Becca King, dowdy, boring teenager who is about to move to the remote Whidbey Island to stay with an old friend of her mother’s.  The downside is, she arrives and her welcome goes slightly astray when the lady in question turns up dead.  Now Becca has nowhere to go and no one to turn to.

Luckily for her, Debbie Grieder takes in waifs and strays and is no stranger to having a secret or two.  Becca soon settles into her new life, and makes some new friends in the bargain: Seth Darrow and Derric Mathieson, former best friends who now can’t stand each other.  What do the boys have to hide?

The Edge of Nowhere is the first part of the Saratoga Woods trilogy so expect plenty of unanswered questions when you get to the end of this book, that may, or may not, be answered in the next part.

The story does flow well, and although it is less than 300 pages long, it is rather wordy and there are a lot of characters to get to grips with.  My biggest doubt was whether anyone would believe Becca’s story of coming to the island to stay with her mum’s friend whilst her mother was away.  Would a mother leave her teenage daughter in a place she doesn’t know and then not get in contact?  This isn’t questioned in the book though and I guess maybe sometimes in fiction you don’t need to address things that you would in real-life.  The characters all have other secrets of their own that they want to hide, so they don’t pry too hard into Becca’s life.  Little do they know she can read their thoughts!

An Interview With Crime Writing Author Mel Sherratt

Today I am really pleased  to have crime writing self publishing phenomenon and good blogging friend, Mel Sherratt on the blog to talk about her journey through the self publishing world.

1) You have just published your fourth book through the self publishing route. What kind of response are you getting?

It’s been a rollercoaster of a ride. I’ve just found out that Taunting the Dead is a Kindles top 100 best sellers of 2012 on Amazon.co.uk and I’m over the moon. My new series, The Estate, is doing well too so the response I’ve had has been amazing. 

2) This is the third book in your Estate series, can you tell us a little bit about it? 

Fighting for Survival, in terms of issues covered within it, has been my riskiest yet on the estate. It covers such things as self-harm, depression, stabbings and girl gangs. The main thing that links it altogether is peer pressure, I think - how we want to be seen by others and not necessarily who we are. And there’s a death in this one - one of the main characters. It was hard to do but imperative to show that not every story has a happy ending. I’ve also been told that some of the scenes show just how much something can spiral out of control.    

 3) Why did you choose to set your story in a fictional town rather than a real one? 

There were several reasons - the first being that I believe the Mitchell Estate, the fictional place in The Estate series can be located a few miles from anyone who reads them. Every city has its Mitchell Estate - that’s why some people think my work is realistic and others can’t believe things like that happen. Although it is fiction, some of them do. 

I also am quite often asked ‘is it based on the estates that you used to work on?’ and ‘are any of the stories real life cases you’ve dealt with?’ and for both I have to say no. I find most of my information from newspaper and television clips and everyday news. So, in order to distinguish it from the city where I live, I decided to create a fictional place. 

4) What made you choose the crime genre to write about?

 I think the genre chose me - although I’m still quite happy to write women’s fiction in a romantic comedy style too! The background that I mainly worked in was social housing so my writing became grittier and is what makes the stories different, I think. And I never planned on writing a police procedural with a crime to solve. I always wanted to write about victims of crime, fear and emotion.     

5) How did you find time to write and blog at the same time?

 I was ‘lucky’ enough to be made redundant so I made my redundancy last as long as I could and worked full time. I’m sure if I sat down and thought about it, I had the equivalent of a part time job as I ran my blog High Heels and Book Deals, which is why when the self-publishing took off, after two years I had to stop it. But for me, while I was doing it, I met a lot of people in the publishing business and bloggers and readers that knew of me when I released Taunting the Dead. And because I write quickly, I block off weeks at a time where I do nothing but write, so there was time for both at first.   

6) How did you begin your writing career?

 Honestly, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. I’ve always been scribbling down something or other, whether that is short stories that never got published or novels that are mostly available now after thorough editing and bringing up to date. In terms of making money as you would expect from a career, that was when I self-published.   

7) What made you want to self publish in the first place?

It was purely down to being rejected for years by mainstream publishers - and, I think, learning to write better during the time that I was. I never gave up and was always writing something. Taking time to learn a craft is the same for everyone - the hours you put in can suddenly start to pay off. So, because of the near misses I was getting with the publishing houses, I decided to give it a whirl myself. Self-publishing The Estate series was because the work is cross-genre and didn’t seem to fit in anyone’s remit. The series is a mixture of women’s fiction and crime - I call them emotional thrillers.   

8) I read that you have a new agent. How did that come about?

I was very lucky to be approached by several agents during the last few months of 2012. I met with three of those and actually, all three were great. I finally made my choice, Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency, and I haven’t looked back since. It’s great to have someone there who can maybe take me to the next level. There is only so much you can do by self-publishing and I don’t have a clue about foreign territories. It’s going to be a great partnership and I can’t wait to see what comes of it. It’s very exciting.  

9) What advice would you give others looking to self publish? 

Self-publishing is a challenge but I’d encourage anyone who wants to try for themselves to do it. It does depend on the individual author and their aspirations, plus the amount of time someone can dedicate to the other side of things other than the writing such as re-writing, editing, formatting, cover design, marketing etc. My advice is to take your time, make the product (because it is a product at the end of the day) the best you can and go for it.      

10) What are you working on now?

I’m busy working on my second draft of a new novel. I write my first draft really quickly to get down all my ideas and then on the second draft I enhance these ideas and add more to make it into a book. My second draft is a lot like many writers first drafts once it’s finished as everything gets tied up. It’s the hardest I work on a book - the thinking draft I call it. It’s still great fun as I’m at that stage where anything is a possibility.  Once that’s finished, I need to write a synopsis and three chapters of book two to go with it - which is brewing away nicely at the moment.  

To find out more about Mel Sharratt:

Website: http://writerofmurderandmayhem.wordpress.com/

Twitter:@writermels

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mel-Sherratt/218120504951096?ref=hl

How To Fall by Jane Casey

Reviewed by Georgina Tranter

Published by Corgi in 31st January 2013

Freya ran.

It wasn’t a night for running, and the woods weren’t the best place for it.  The full moon cast enough light to make it easy to see in the open, but under the trees it was one shade above pitch dark, and Freya was running blind.  Rogue branches caught at her clothes, whipped her skin, barred her path.  The ground under her feet was uneven, pitted with hollows and ridged with roots, and more than once she stumbled.

But Freya still ran.

She had long since lost the path, but she knew where she was going.  The sound of the sea was louder that the leaves that rustled around her, louder than the voices in her head. Slut.  Bitch.  Freak.  Voices she couldn’t outrun.

About the Author

Jane Casey is one of a band of established adult authors who have now turned their pens, and laptops, to writing for young adults.  With four crime novels under her belt, featuring Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan, Casey has left her behind to write a beach story with a twist.

Summary

Jess Tennant lives with her mother in London.  Estranged from her father and her mother’s family, they only have each other - until the day her mum announces that they are off to visit her twin sister for an extended summer holiday in the sleepy seaside town of Port Sentinel.

When they arrive, Jess sets out to explore the local area only to be met with stares of confusion and shock from the residents.  She immediately feels uncomfortable and cannot understand why she should generate such reactions.  Only after meeting up with her cousins does Jess learn that she bears an uncanny resemblance to her cousin Freya who died a year ago after a cliff fall.

The more time Jess spends in Port Sentinel meeting up with those who were closest to Freya, the more she thinks that the verdict of suicide is the wrong one and she sets out to find the truth about Freya’s death.

Making new friends and enemies along the way Jess is embarking on a dangerous path to investigate what happened that summer.  Can she safely find out what happened to her cousin, or will Jess end up the same way?

**********

I love Jane Casey’s work so was eager to see how she would write for a different audience and I think she pulls it off with this book.  My only question was would a

teenage girl try to play detective in a strange town over the death of someone she had never even met, but having finished the book I think you can see how it would all work out that way.  Jess is an inquisitive individual and it is her nature to question those around her, therefore attempting to solve a suspicious death wouldn’t seem that strange, particularly of someone she was related to.  The characters and setting were believable, particularly the ‘cool’ girls who I instinctively took a dislike too, and I loved Fine Feathers - the owl charity shop that Jess gets coerced into working in, with all its designer cast-offs selling for pennies.

This is billed as the first Jess Tennant thriller so I am keen to read the follow-up to How to Fall, which I am sure will be as gripping.  I’d certainly recommend this book as it does keep you hanging on to the end to find out whether Jess will discover the truth about Freya.

Inspire Me with Jane Casey

To celebrate the forthcoming publication of How To Fall, the new crime novel for young adults, I am pleased to welcome Jane Casey onto the blog to tell us what inspired her to write this novel.

 

I usually write crime novels for adults - I’m just finishing my fifth - but I have an enduring love for YA fiction. I started out as a children’s books editor (not a bad Plan B for a writer, it has to be said) and I was lucky enough to work with great authors such as Meg Cabot and Alyson Noel on some amazing books. The idea to write a YA novel came around the time I should have been writing my second crime novel. I’ve never been able to resist a good story, either as a reader or a writer, and I got hopelessly sidetracked. That book didn’t quite make it to being finished - maybe I’ll get around to it one day. It led, however, to a very lovely editor at Random House Children’s Books suggesting I might write a crime novel for teens, which in turn became How To Fall.

How To Fall is mainly a mystery but also a love story. My heroine, Jess Tennant, is a new arrival in the sunny seaside town of Port Sentinel - but the town has a dark heart and many secrets to uncover. I wrote Jess as an alternative to the fainting heroines that were Bella Swan’s legacy in YA fiction and she’s pretty feisty. She has a lot in common with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, being blonde, opinionated and easily underestimated. Like Buffy, she’s addicted to wisecracks even when she should keep her mouth shut. Like Buffy, she has a strong moral sense. Like Buffy, she can’t help falling for what might be the worst possible guy for her. If you’ve never watched Buffy, seasons 1, 2 and 3 are pretty much essential viewing, despite the rubbish CGI when they were making each episode for about $12.50. There has never been a better TV show. About vampires and teenagers, anyway.

A few years ago I got completely addicted to One Tree Hill, despite the fact that it was preposterous. I don’t even like basketball. I do like evil fathers who pull strings to get their own way, and One Tree Hill had a great one of those. Also, cute boys. 

And speaking of which, Grant Gustin. I’ve often been asked who would play a particular character if they made films of my books. If How to Fall was ever filmed, I wouldn’t get a say in who played Jess or any of the other characters, and it takes approximately one million years to get a film made so he would be too old (and American), but when I imagine Will, he’s built along the lines of Grant Gustin. To find this image I had to look at literally hundreds of pictures of him. Had to. For ages. I won’t judge you if you find you have to do the same.

Don’t ask me why, but I am currently obsessed with owls. They, and their reproductive habits, play a major part* in How to Fall. This one was an eBay purchase and sits on my desk. The picture does not feature my desk, which was too untidy to be a backdrop but has altogether fewer fruit bowls on it.

*all right, a minor part

In many ways I haven’t grown out of my teenage taste in music. Give me an angsty pop song about heartbreak and I am happy. It’s not cool and I don’t care. I edge towards credibility with my love for Feist, Gemma Hayes and Martha Wainwright, but to be honest it’s Taylor Swift, One Direction and Take That all the way when I’m writing. I highly recommend the overwrought yodelling of Avril Lavigne, especially ‘Keep Holding On’. It’s a karaoke classic. 

Art is a big element in How to Fall and I couldn’t resist including a particularly lovely painting that hangs in the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. It was voted Ireland’s most popular painting recently, and you can see why. Called ‘The Meeting on the Turret Stairs’, painted by Frederick William Burton in 1864, it shows the final parting of Hellelil from her bodyguard, Hildebrand, and it’s a beauty. Hellelil, as a name, has been slow to catch on. I may try to revive it by giving it to a character. Then again, I may not.

Finally, Dirty Dancing, a film that really deserved a better title. I remember when it came out first (though I was FAR too young to go and see it in the cinema) and being fascinated by the poster - Jennifer Grey being lifted out of the water by Patrick Swayze. Like How to Fall it tells the story of a girl who learns to love and take risks and believes in doing the right thing, no matter what it costs her. I’ve seen the film so many times I think it’s woven into my DNA and every love story I write probably owes something to it. Sometimes falling in love is just the start of your problems, not the happy-ever-after ending you might expect - and that’s the kind of story I like to tell.

 Thanks for a fabulous post Jane!

How To Fall by Jane Casey will be published on the January 31st by Corgi.

To find out more about Jane:

 Author Place: http://authorsplace.co.uk/jane-casey/

Twitter: @janecaseyauthor

 

Cop To Corpse by Peter Lovesey

Review by Georgina Tranter

Published  by Sphere in April 2012
Hero to zero. Cop to corpse. One minute PC Harry Tasker is strolling up Walcot Street, Bath, on foot patrol. The next he is shot through the head. No scream, no struggle, no last words. He is picked off, felled, dead.
The shooting activates an alarm over one of the shops nearby, an ear-splitting ring certain to wake everyone.
Normally at this time on a Sunday morning - around 4a.m. - the streets of Bath are silent. The nightclubs close officially at three. The last of the revellers have dispersed. PC Tasker was on his way back to the police station after checking that Club XL was quiet.
His body lies in a bow shape under the light of a street lap on the flagstone pavement, a small puddle of blood forming under the head. His chequered cap is upturned nearby.


Goodreads Summary
It’s the third killing of an officer in Somerset in a matter of weeks. The emergency services are summoned. Ambitious to arrest the Somerset Sniper, the duty inspector seals the crime scene, which is confined by the river on one side and a massive retaining wall on the other. He uncovers the murder weapon in a garden and is himself attacked and left for dead.
Enter Peter Diamond, Bath’s CID chief. Throwing himself and his team into the most dangerous assignment of his career, he must outwit an adversary the likes of which the West Country has never seen - a twisted killer with a lust for police blood.

**********

As a huge crime fan I was eager to read Peter Lovesey’s latest novel featuring Peter Diamond, the twelfth in the series. Admittedly I have not heard of Lovesey before but I’m glad I picked this book up.

From page one the story is intense and gripping, PC Tasker is murdered instantly and then follows the immediate hunt for the Somerset Sniper, leading to a second officer getting injured in his bid to capture the killer single handedly, all within a few pages.

The book moves along at a fair pace. Diamond is the typical fictional male detective, grumpy, set in his ways and always knowing best. However when compared to his nemesis Jack Gull, head of the Serial Crimes Unit, he is a saint. Diamond and Gull pit their wits against each other in order to try to find this police serial killer and their love-hate relationship makes good reading.

Almost half-way through the book we are introduced to some new characters, three women who decide to follow a suspicious character who books European business trips when also being on benefits. Is he all he seems? The friends decided to turn detective to find out more about this mysterious Mr Smith and his ulterior motives and write about it in the form of a blog.

The book then moves back and forth between Diamond and Gull’s quest to find the killer, and the blog about trying to find out more about Mr Smith. From midnight stake-outs in woodland to find the sniper, through to historical research in order to link the three policemen this is a gripping read. There is a twist in the tale that obviously links these two stories but I have to admit I sort-of missed it. The conclusion of the book wasn’t quite what I expected it to be and I was a little let down. Having said that, the pace was quick and the characters and dialogue strong enough to keep me turning the pages. I will certainly read another Lovesey book and think this is worth a read for any crime fans out there.

Inspector Singh Investigates: A Curious Indian Cadaver by Shamini Flint

Review by KM Lockwood

Pages - 320
Published by Piatkus in April 2012

In India, word of disaster spreads like head lice..Eyewitnesses and police officers whisper news to family, family members talk to friends and neighbours, they gossip with the servants, coolies, drivers and with the boys over a whisky at the cricket club.


Good Reads Summary
Inspector Singh is sick of sick leave, so when Mrs Singh suggests they attend a family wedding in Mumbai, he grudgingly agrees - hoping that the spicy Indian curries will make up for extended exposure to his wife's relatives. Unfortunately, the beautiful bride-to-be disappears on the eve of her wedding - did she run away to avoid an arranged marriage, or is there something more sinister afoot? When a corpse is found, the fat inspector is soon dragged into a curious murder investigation with very firm instructions from Mrs Singh to exonerate her family. But as he uncovers layer upon
layer of deceit, he knows it isn't going to be that easy...

***********

Don’t be deceived by the cover - the rather jolly styling with the Hindu god Ganesh suggests a lighter novel than it is in places. For me, this book is not as easygoing as Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.
It is true that Inspector Singh like Precious Ramotswe is an amiable and unlikely detective. It is also true that Shamini Flint portrays a different and colourful location - in this case Mumbai. But the prologue with its distressing act of violence sets an underlying darker tone for this fifth Inspector Singh novel.
At its core is a family drama played out with Bollywood intensity but this widens out to link with the wider social and political world of Mumbai. The humour involving the
indomitable Mrs Singh comes as a pleasant relief after some of the more intense scenes in the story.
It is definitely not suitable for the squeamish in my opinion but this may be due to the fact I am not usually a crime reader. However, all the loose ends are tied up by the end in the manner of a traditional whodunit and justice is done. It is easy to read, though the viewpoint does switch at intervals - and Inspector Singh is a likeable creation.
I would recommend it to those adult readers who like solving investigative puzzles.

Night School by C.J Daugherty

Pages - 456
Published by ATOM books in January 2012

'Hurry up!' 
'Will you chill out? I'm almost finished.'
Her jaw set, Allie crouched in the dark, painting the last 't' as Mark knelt beside her holding a torch. Their voices echoed in the empty corridor. The light beam illuminating her work quivered when he laughed. 
A sudden snapping sound made them both jump.
Lights flickered above them, then flooded the school hallway.
Two uniforms stood by the door. 


Goodreads Summary
Allie Sheridan's world is falling apart. She hates her school. Her brother has run away from home. And she's just been arrested. 
Again. 
This time her parents have finally had enough. They cut her off from her friends and send her away to a boarding school for problem teenagers. 
But Cimmeria Academy is no ordinary school. Its rules are strangely archaic. It allows no computers or phones. Its students are an odd mixture of the gifted, the tough and the privileged. And then there's the secretive Night School, whose activities other students are forbidden even to watch. 
When Allie is attacked one night the incident sets off a chain of events leading to the violent death of a girl at the summer ball. As the school begins to seem like a very dangerous place, Allie must learn who she can trust. And what's really going on at Cimmeria Academy.

**********
This book explodes with a thrilling opening scene, that finds the protagonist, Allie, in enough trouble to push her family over the edge. You can tell instantly that she is a troubled soul who needs help. She is sassy, tomboyish and full of teenage anger yet she is also a pretty cool character. 


From that first chapter I was sucked in and I knew I wouldn't be able to put the book down until I found out the truth. Imagine a mixture of Hogwarts and Mallory Towers but filled with murder instead of magic. That is what you get. This book blew me away. Half way through, the author had thrown so many red herrings at me, I was convinced that the school was a mental institution  only to discover that I couldn't have got it more wrong if I tried. Talk about, keep me on my toes. I can usually work out which way a book is going, but Night School had me totally fooled from the beginning and the events that passed were surprises to me. I thought the plot of the book was brilliant. The truth behind Night School really amazed me and it is definitely something I haven't read before. 


I loved Carter from the start and I could definitely see his potential long before Allie could. Allie seemed to be blinded to the charms of Sylvian, who I really wasn't keen on from the beginning. I am sure this little love triangle will continue through future books, but I am pretty sure I will be rooting for Carter throughout the series.


The school is really creepy. It has a very Gothic feel to it and the descriptions provide just the right amount of atmosphere to the story. Just my kind of school. I am desperate to discover where the school is that C.J. Daugherty based the book on.

For a debut novel, I thought this was fantastic. The writing is strong throughout and with each cliff hanger ending chapter, I was desperate to read the next. I was lost in the book from the first to the last page.  This is definitely not a book to read whilst you are busy, as you will find yourself cursing at your lack of time to finish it. 

A chilling, nerve racking, nail biting thriller  that left me wanting more. I can't wait for book two! Well done C.J. Daugherty on such a gripping debut. 

Night School Blog Tour - C.J Daugherty's inspiration for the book.

Today I am happy to be hosting the third stop on the ATOM blog tour for Night School by C.J. Daugherty. I read this book before Christmas and I absolutely loved it. I will be publishing my review this afternoon at three. However if you want to find out how C. J Daugherty was inspired to write about Night School, then read on!

The Inspiration for Night School by C.J Daugherty

I’m the kind of person who’s always telling stories. Stories about my life, or just something that happened on this day, you know, the one when the lady did that thing that made me laugh… I’m the kind of person who gets told fairly often that she should ‘write a book, someday’.

But I never really thought I could do it.

Now and then I would try half-heartedly - I’d write a chapter here, or an outline there. But when I sat down to actually write, only really awkward, boring words would come out.

And eventually I’d give up and forget about it for another year.

One day in 2008, my husband and I were on holiday in Devon in November (I KNOW) it was freezing (inevitably) and we were scrambling up some cliff or another, and I was telling another hilarious story about my childhood when he interrupted me and said, “I bet you a bottle of champagne - the good kind - that if you sat down to write a book now - subject of your choice - you can do it.” When I demurred, he frowned and added, “I dare you.”

I have never in all my life been able to resist the lure of a dare I am fairly certain I’m going to win. And he knew that perfectly well.

So I started thinking.

When we first considered moving to the town in Surrey where we now live, we spent some time driving around the countryside near it. Along the way we passed the private boarding school at the edge of town where my husband’s sister had gone to school as a day student.

School was out at the time but the big, metal gates were open. So we turned in to the school’s short, curving drive. At the end of it stood a vast, Gothic-influenced Victorian building. I was stunned by how beautiful and scary it looked. I couldn’t imagine dropping a child off at those steps and just saying ‘Bye! See you in six weeks!”

That afternoon stayed with me. And after Jack dared me, I sat down one afternoon and tried to imagine what it would be like for a city girl like me to be summarily uprooted from my urban life and dropped into such a different world. What would that feel like? How would I react? How would the other students react to me?

I wrote the first chapter of Night School that day, sketching out the character of Allie Sheridan, with her troubled home life, dodgy friends and unsteady grades.

By the time I got to the end of that first chapter, I knew I had something. I loved Allie already. I could feel her emotions with her. I understood her. And I needed to know what would become of her.

Night School came out of that.

Thank you Christi for showing us how you were inspired. I would definitely like to see this school, although I couldn't imagine being dropped off either.

To find out more about C.J. Daugherty

Twitter: @CJ_Daugherty

Website: http://www.christidaugherty.com/index.htm

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/CJ-Daugherty/226429684069435

Remember to pop back at 3pm for my review of Night School. 

Soul Beach by Kate Harrison

Pages - 266

Published by Indigo, a YA imprint from Orion in September 2011

'The first email from my sister arrives on the morning of her funeral.

I know. What kind of sick freak checks her email before she goes to see her sister being buried? But sometimes it hurts so much I feel like I've got acid in my veins instead of blood, and that's when I go online.'

Amazon Summary

When Alice Forster receives an email from her dead sister she assumes it must be a sick practical joke. Then an invitation arrives to the virtual world of Soul Beach, an idyllic online paradise of sun, sea and sand where Alice can finally talk to her sister again - and discover a new world of friendships, secrets and maybe even love . . . . But why is Soul Beach only inhabited by the young, the beautiful and the dead? Who really murdered Megan Forster? And could Alice be next? The first book in an intriguing and compelling trilogy centred around the mystery of Megan Forster's death.

*********

I really wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I was aware of Kate Harrison's romantic comedies and I was intrigued by this new venture into the Young Adult market with a suspense thriller, but I will admit to being slightly dubious. Fortunately, as soon as I began reading through the first chapter, I was hooked! I struggled to put the book down and found myself staying up until the early hours of the morning on a school night, desperate to find out how it would all end. With each short, sharp chapter, full of expertly written prose, I found the author reeling me in. The way Kate writes is both mesmerising and intoxicating and I am convinced that secretly she is a siren, ensnaring her readers into the shallow waters of Soul Beach, with no possibility of future escape.

I found myself desperate to see Soul Beach for myself. To experience the soft sands, the clear waters and the beauty of the dead - to see whether it was a dream or reality. 

You sympathise  with Alice right from the start. You are right by her side, as she experiences the loss of her sister. You cannot blame her need for Soul Beach, which becomes her obsession and you are fearful for the fall she will inevitably take when she loses her sister for a second time.  Alice struggles with her feelings for Danny too and you cannot help but wonder how this relationship will develop.

This book should be described as a paranormal suspense thriller - a cross between Truly, Madly, Deeply and  Nancy Drew, only much more sinister.

As you approach the half way mark of the book, you realise that Alice actually knows the killer. Yet, just like her, you cannot work out who it is and you become even more fearful for her safety as the killer appears to take an unhealthy interest in her. 

The characters living on Soul Beach were troubled yet beautiful. You realise that Megan has changed from her former character as she comes to terms with her death. Danny just sounded gorgeous and for some reason had me visualizing him to look like John F. Kennedy Jr. I think it was a similar demise that created the link.

The ending of this book had me screaming at the top of my voice. The murder was left unresolved! It was a beautiful ending with some unexpected joyful turns, but I now have to wait until the next book to find out who committed the crime. I do hope Kate Harrison is writing furiously as I am desperate to find out what happens next. 

Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton

Pages 472

Published by Piatkus in June 2011

Book kindly sent by publisher for review

I couldn't move, not even a little finger or a flicker of an eye. I couldn't open my mouth to scream. 

I struggled, as hard as I could, to move the huge heavy hulk that my body had become but I was trapped under the hull of a vast ship wrecked on the ocean floor and moving was impossible. 

My eyelids were welded shut. My eardrums broken. My vocal cords snapped off.

Grace is desperate. After watching sports day, she is shocked to see that the school is on fire. She becomes horrified when she realises her teenage daughter Jenny is still in the school. Grace runs straight into the burning building to rescue her.

Afterwards, Grace becomes determined to find out who the arsonist is and to keep her children safe from further attacks. The arsonist is still out there and wants revenge. 

**********

Rosamund Lupton amazes me! She can create crime investigators out of normal everyday people and make it look extremely natural. You would think that would be enough of a talent for an author, but then Rosamund twists every thing leaving you in complete shock by the end of the book as you would never have guessed that  the person responsible was even involved in the crime. 

I loved Sister so much that I was worried that Afterwards wouldn't be able to live up to its predecessor, but it does it with ease. The whole book was a completely fresh and original approach to a thriller with a touch of the supernatural thrown in. 

I am so reluctant to say too much about this book, because I was shocked and gasping from the first page and  bursting with excitement about the way that Grace would solve the crime. I have honestly never read a book where the case has been solved in such way.  Grace is a brilliantly created character, who will stop at nothing to keep her children safe. I was amazed by her Goliath style strength of character when the situation became so difficult. If she were a real person, she would be receiving a Pride of Britain award for being so courageous. 

The plot moves along at quite a fast pace where you need take cover from all the red herrings that are thrown at you, aiming to lead you astray. I would put money on no one being able to guess who the arsonist is until you are told at the end. I can't help but compare Afterwards to a blank canvas, with each new layer of watercolour added, you notice something you hadn't realised was there before.

There are a couple of tearful scenes within the book which really moved me and found me reaching for my box of tissues. So be warned now and be prepared.

 If you love a thriller with a difference then read this book. I think what I love about Rosamund's writing is that you never know if it it will end happily or not. She doesn't necessarily wrap up the story in a way that you would like, instead she makes it real, gritty and very emotional. Rosamund is quickly becoming one of my favourite  authors within the thriller genre and I can't wait to see what else she writes in the future.

Choker by Elizabeth Woods

Pages - 233

Published by Simon @Schuster - New York

Kindly lent to me by Clover at Fluttering Butterflies

Cara Lange stood in the doorway of the cafeteria, her nylon lunch bag in one hand. The din of chattering students floated above the sea of white Formica-topped tables, and a steamy potato-and-onion aroma emanated from the kitchen. Cara paused. She wasn't sure she could stand another lunch tacked onto the other track girls like a vestigial organ - completely useless and unnecessary. She considered fleeing to the parking lot and eating lunch in her yellow '99 Volvo. But no. She wasn't that lame. 

Not yet.

Cara is a bit of loner at school. She doesn't like to stand out too much in case she gets picks on and hides out on the fringes of the athletic crowd. She misses her childhood friend, Zoe, and has struggled to find a new best friend since she moved away from her. Cara is thrown into the arena of the popular crowd when an incident causes her to be renamed the 'Choker'. Cara is mortified.

On arriving home, Cara is shocked to find Zoe waiting for her. Zoe is in a lot of trouble at home and in need of a safe place to hide. She asks Cara to keep her hidden whilst she decides what to do. Cara, happy to have her friend back, agrees. With Zoe's arrival, her life begins to take a turn for the better, she starts to find that that people actually do like her and draws the attention of Ethan, one of the popular crowd. Cara's life is just getting better and better.

However, life in Cara's town is not so sweet, when a couple of the popular girls begin to disappear. Cara begins to question Zoe's appearance back in her life and wonders if she is really the friend she thought she was.

This book threw me completely. I am not normally one for psychological dramas, but I think I may have found a new genre to increase my nights without sleep. I was thoroughly taken in by the two main characters of this book and the whole storyline.

I get the impression that I am easily sucked in and perhaps a bit gullible, because I am definitely one of a minority group who did not see the ending coming. I was totally shocked by it. This is a toe curling, edge of the seat, nail biting style book that can be read in one sitting if curiosity gets the better of you.

I felt sympathy for Cara quite early on in the story and was quite content to watch her enemies fall down like skittles. Zoe made me really uncomfortable, my weirdo radar went into overdrive as soon as she graced us with her presence. I can spot a nutter within a ten mile radius and this one made my skin crawl. 

There was one part of the story which I found a little hard to believe and that was the part where Ethan instantly fell for the charms of Cara, whilst his present girlfriend has gone missing. Not an ounce of grief seemed to surface from his cool exterior. I understand that his missing girlfriend wasn't the nicest of people, but I did feel he might appear to be a tad remorseful.

And I cannot help but wonder why Cara's parents were completely unaware of what was going on in their own house. As parents, do we develop blinkers when our children hit puberty? Young adult novels are teaching me to keep a careful eye on my children as they reach this stage!

On the whole, a brilliant psychological drama from a debut author, one who I will be happy to look out for in the future. If you like to be stunned into silence, then personally I would recommend this book. If you are quick to spot a hidden finale, then you might find this one too much of an easy picking for you. 

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

Pages - 538

Book: Own copy

Published by MacLehose Press, an imprint of Quercus Books in 2008

It happened every year, was almost a ritual. And this was his eighty-second birthday. When, as usual, the flower was delivered, he took off the wrapping paper and then picked up the telephone to call Detective Superintendent Morell who, when he retired, had moved to Lake Siljan in Dalarna. They were not only the same age, they had been born on the same day - which was something of an irony under the circumstances. The old policeman was sitting with his coffee, waiting, expecting the call.

This book intertwines three very diverse characters from extremely different backgrounds and ties them tightly together until a forty year old crime is solved.

Henrik Vanger, is a tired old man, head of an international family run corporation, who just wants some peace of mind before death takes hold of him.

Michael Blomkvist has nearly lost everything after being taken to court for false information. Vanger hires him to solve a murder that a lot of people would prefer to keep hidden.

Lisbeth Salander, a streetwise delinquent with an autistic temperament, who is cold hearted, but very clever. An excellent computer hacker who will stop at nothing to find out the truth.

This was the book chosen for our Book Club and to be honest I was a little bit reluctant to read it at first.  I don't usually go within a half mile radius of a crime novel as they are normally far too real for my liking. I love paranormal and horror, because as far as I am concerned they are just pure fantasy. 

So with trepidation, I stepped tentatively into this book and found the prologue had me hooked. I realised I needed to have an answer to the big question that is presented in the first couple of pages. Unfortunately, the following two chapters nearly found  me deserting the book. I found that within those two chapters the translation of the book let it down a little. It was too information heavy for my liking, leaving me flailing in the wind. I didn't understand any of it. Everyone who had read the book, insisted that I continued the journey, which luckily proved the right decision.

SO, once I moved onto chapter three, I found myself being dragged, kicking and screaming through the story.  This is an incredible thriller. The story leads you down many different pathways and you begin to  feel like a child lost in a maze, tears on standby as you continually hit dead ends.

I have battled  with how to review this book, as I did enjoy it, but I struggled with aspects of it.

There are some scenes within the book that turned my stomach. I don't cope well with violent graphic sex scenes and I wish that I had been warned about them beforehand. I could see they were integral to the plot, due to the violent themes being explored.

I found the characters within the book rather a deranged bunch, all unable to commit to a normal loving relationship. I could not warm to them at all, but I believe they were created that way for a reason. Larsson did not want you to feel any emotional attachment to his characters.

The book consists of two different plot lines, one of which I loved one, the other surplus to requirements. The main thrilling story seems to be bookended by the rather tedious one.  Once the main crime had been solved by the end, I would have been happy to finish the book, being content that my curiosity had been rewarded. However, I still had to plod through the other story and unfortunately I lost interest in it.  Sorry! Perhaps if the opening story had been intertwined a little more throughout the book and solved at the same time as the crime, it might not have bothered me as much.

I know that many people out there have adored this book and it is an extremely good thriller, but personally I only loved the main crime story with in the book. However, I would definitely recommend reading this book and I do hope to continue with the series.   There are lots of extremely good reviews of this book on Amazon, so please do go and have a look. If you love crime thrillers, with a hint of Dan Brown, then this series is definitely for you.