BROKEN by Anna Legat @LegatWriter

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I've read another book by this author, The End of the Road, and loved it, so I wanted to read more.   

In a Nutshell: psychological thriller, murder mystery and ... paranormal

This is the strangest book, but in a really good way!  You know when people write 'kept me guessing until the very end' in reviews?  This one absolutely did - even at past 90% I had no clue how it was likely to pan out, or how the points of view would come together.

There's a serial killer, yes, and we don't know the identity, but this turned out to be almost secondary to the stories of Camilla, a middle-aged, middle class housewife, and Joseph, a motorbike and narrow boat loving priest.  The way their stories mesh together is so clever ... and unexpected.  Everything about this book is unexpected, all the way through.  The paranormal element came as the biggest surprise, though to say any more would be to give spoilers.  It creeps up, gradually; I'm not usually into that genre but this seemed curiously believable.  Suddenly I found I was reading a different book from the one I started.

The line 'the real monsters are disguised as humans' becomes increasingly relevant, as the true psychopath is revealed...

Anna Legat's writing is a treat to read.  Never jarring, intelligent, highly readable, the characters jumping off the page.  Definitely recommend.

MURDER BY INCREMENTS: A CITY OWNED and KILLING COUSINS by O J Modjeska @OJModjeska

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I had already bought Book #1, because I'd read and loved GONE: Catastrophe in Paradise by this author, but then it appeared on the Rosie Amber's Book Review Team list; as a member of this review team, I said I would read it for Rosie's blog, too.  I bought the second book, about the killers, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, as soon as I'd finished it.  Thus, I am reviewing the books as one. 

Genre: True Crime (non fiction); serial killers.

This two part series, Murder by Increments, is about the crimes of the Hillside Stranglers, who made LA a frightening place to be in the late 1970s.  The first book, A City Owned, starts with a picture of what LA was like back then.  Such a clever way to start; to understand the lives of the victims and why Bianchi and Buono went undiscovered for so long, we have first to be aware of the culture of the time.  LA was a seedy place indeed, peopled by many who'd arrived seeking the Hollywood dream, only to be sucked into the underworld of prostitution, porn, drugs and crime.  The cops were overworked and jaded, with few resources; these were the days before the internet, before reliable criminal profiling, and before DNA databases.  Reading how carelessly they bungled the investigations, over and over again, made me think that crime solving had moved on very little in the hundred years since the London police tried in vain to identify Jack the Ripper.

O J Modjeska writes about the victims with great respect for each girl's short life, drawing a heartbreaking picture each time.   These are not just names, and the book is far from being just a list of heinous crimes.  Only towards the end of the book do Bianchi and Buono themselves appear, and by then I had to know the whole story; I went back to Amazon and bought Killing Cousins as soon as I'd finished A City Owned.  

I found Killing Cousins the most absorbing of the two books, as I am more interested in the psychological background of killers than the solving of crimes.  The drawn out trial was at times farcical, not only because of Bianchi's attempts to convince psychiatrists that he suffered from Multiple Personality Disorder, but because of the self-interest and prejudice of many involved.

'There were the cops who thought the lives of prostitutes were worthless, the officials who wanted to look good in front of the media, the shrinks seeking professional recognition, the prosecutors who assumed middle-aged women were crazy, and the politicians seeking office.  There was stupidity, there was self-aggrandizement, there was sexism and the tyranny of the herd.' 

This two-book series is everything that true crime should be, without being in any way sensationalised.  O J Modjeska has not only written a riveting account of the victims, perpetrators and law enforcement bodies, but also shown how very different attitudes in general were, only forty years ago; if just a few incidents had not taken place, a few people not spoken up, if a few jurors been swayed by the individuals who defended these two monsters, the outcome might have been very different.

AFTERLIFE by Marcus Sakey @MarcusSakey

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book:  I read a review of it on Between The Lines book blog 

What if death is just the beginning?

The basics:  A serial killer on the loose.  Investigation led by detective Claire McCoy, involved in a love affair with subordinate Will Brody.  A main character dies at the hand of the killer, after which we see them in the afterlife 'echo', a strange parallel earth with different players and rules. 

The book starts in the 16th century, when a boy is shipwrecked, dies, but then wakes up to his own 'echo'.  I loved this, and looked forward to reading on, and seeing how this fitted into the 21st century plot.  

I was a bit 'hmm, not sure' about the main story at first; I liked the author's writing style, but was less keen on the slightly hackneyed detective characterisation (the overworked, world-weary female boss with no food in the fridge, the maverick young FBI agent who doesn't play by the rules but gets results).  Within a few chapters this didn't matter a jot, but it was an early reaction, so I've recorded it.  I soon became much more interested in Claire and Brody, and found their relationship believable; the emotional connection between them was perfectly described, and I cared what happened to them, which is, of course, what it's all about.

On the cover, a comparison is made with The Matrix.  If, like me, you found that particular film confusing for the sake of confusing and a bit 'emperor's new clothes', generally, you might feel similarly about this book.  At first.  I wasn't always sure what was going on, and started to wonder if I cared.  I decided to give it to 40% ~ but it clicked into place well before then.  The 'echo' of afterlife became intermingled with real life ~ and I began to understand Sakey's take on what-happens-when-you-die. 

I jogged along, quite enjoying it, but then I got to chapter 26, at 42% ~ for me, the turning point, when I realised how brilliant this book is.  16th century Edmund's role became clear, and I understood that this isn't a novel about the catching of a serial killer, or a kooky idea of people in the afterlife charging around having battles with each other.  It's about the energy of the universe, the reason for the atrocities man commits against man, the manipulation of the living by powers far stronger.  The layers of life, of which the waking world that we surface dwellers experience, in blissful ignorance, is just one.  Awesome concept, I loved it.

Now and again I found it a little long-winded and was tempted to skip-read, but I'm so glad I stuck with it, as it's one of those books that explodes into something else half way through.  Yes, I'd definitely recommend it 😈

BLOCK 46 by Johana Gustawsson @JoGustawsson @OrendaBooks

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: I'd read several positive reviews for it on book blogs, but it was the one on Swirl and Thread that made me take the plunge!

I'm not usually one for police procedurals as I get bored with the endless conversations discussing the ins and outs of the case, but this attracted me because of the Scandinavian setting and the connection to Buchenwald concentration camp in WW2.

In Sweden, high-flying jewellery designer Linnéa Blix is found gruesomely and artfully murdered; it is clear that her killer was intent on her being discovered.  Her friend, crime writer Alexis, becomes involved in the investigation, much of which is led by forensic profiler Emily Roy.  The murder shows marked similarities to recent murders of young boys in London. 

Alongside the unravelling investigation runs the story of Erich Ebner, a German medical student interred in Buchenwald, and his relationship with a Nazi doctor occupied with medical experimentation.  Gradually, the two threads converge.

I was most pleased to discover that the ins and outs and whys and wherefores of the case discussion actually held my attention—a round of applause to the author.  One particular part of 'the reveal' had me wanting to go back to the beginning and see all the clues I'd missed; I didn't guess the outcome at all!  A side element I liked was the incidental information about Scandinavia, in general.  I didn't find any of the characters particularly vivid (Emily was the one who 'spoke' to me the most), and I found it hard to remember which cop was which (there are a lot of them), but it kind of didn't matter, because the plot itself, the neat structure, the building of suspense and the interspersing of story threads totally carried this novel.

It's a bit on the grisly side in parts, but given the subject matter it could hardly be anything but, and I didn't feel, at any time, that this was just sensationalism.  My only complaint was that I found the explanations of the killers' motivations a little vague; I was never exactly clear what need was being fulfilled or what the work of the Nazi doctor actually was, other than general sadism and psychopathery.  But that might just be me.  I was absorbed by the book all the way through, looked forward to getting back to it, and would definitely recommend it, whether you're a fan of this genre or not.

LOCKED DOORS by Blake Crouch

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

How I discovered this book:  I've read and reviewed a few of this author's books, and had just read the prequel, Desert Places - had to know what happened next!

Desert Places was jolly good, but this is even better.  Obviously I can't say anything about the plot because it's a sequel, and it would give away what happens in Book One, so I'll give the reasons why I liked it:

There's no exposition-type recapping of the previous book, and the situation of the main character, writer Andrew Thomas, seven years on from the end of the last book, is all that you would hope for him.  He's in Yukon, and I loved the description of the lonely cabin where he lives (okay, okay, I wanted to live there too....).  When the psychopathic Luther Kite beckons, though, he can't help responding....

The pace is terrific.  It alternates between characters, and from first to third person, and each change is just right, building the suspense perfectly - I'd swear that on occasion I got that adrenalin flutter of excitement as I moved from one section to another!

The new characters brought in are terrific - there's young Christian detective, Violet, plus Andrew's 'biggest fan', Horace Boone... and the parents of the evil killer. 

It's realistic - although all books of this type (serial killer thrillers in which your average guy takes on ultimate evil) can get a little far-fetched, all of this is well within the bounds of feasibility.  It's not predictable, either.  Just when you think it's going to be okay, it gets bad again.  And Crouch shows no fear about killing off people you badly, badly want to stay alive.....

A fab example of its type.  Really looking forward to the next one, Break You.  The reviews for that aren't so good... we'll see.  Incidentally, like all Blake Crouch books, this one finishes by about 80%, followed by excerpts from other books and bits and bobs generally telling you how awesome Blake Crouch is.  I don't mind this, if the book's been really good, but some people feel ripped off by anything that doesn't end at 99%, so I thought I'd better mention it.

DESERT PLACES by Blake Crouch

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

How I discovered this book: I've read and reviewed several of this author's (click author tag at the bottom if you would like to see them), and couldn't resist trying another.

I love a nice bit of Blake Crouch when I've been writing all day and want a nice easy read with a cracking good plot that I know will keep me turning the pages.  Desert Places was no disappointment.  It's about a super-successful writer, Andrew Thomas, who, at the peak of his career, gets a note from a stranger to say that a body has been buried on his land, and that the sender of the note has all the evidence he needs to get Andrew convicted for the murder.  To say any more would be to give away the plot, but it's a belter.  Plenty of fast action, surprises, and situations that you'll think can't possibly be remedied as the plot travels from beautiful, rural North Carolina to the deserts of Wyoming.

It's pretty grisly in places, but not excessively so, and not just for the sake of it.  It's not great literature, it's popular fiction, and a fine example of its type.  Good enough for me to nip over to Amazon and download the next in the Andrew Z Thomas/Luther Kite series, anyway!  

 

MOUNTAIN MAN by Keith C Blackmore

5 out of 5 stars

Zombie apocalypse/serial killer/thriller

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

Well, I wanted a new zombie apocalypse series to get stuck into, and I saw this one mentioned in a review for one of The Walking Dead books (the reviewer thought the TWD book was rubbish and suggested Mountain Man as something much better).  So I tried it, and loved it. 

I wasn't sure at first, because the first few pages included much talk of bodily functions and too many sentences starting with 'He'; I thought it was going to be grisly realism for the sake of it and not very good writing, but within a few pages I changed my mind.  The story is set in Canada and starts over two years after the zombie virus hit the world.  Gus has found himself a house up a mountain which he has made safe, and got the scavenging for supplies thing down to an art.  Only trouble is, he's got an alcohol problem (which he doesn't see as a problem) that needs constant feeding, and doesn't realise how much he's missed other people, until he saves someone who becomes his companion.  Later, another new friend is not all she seems, and lurking in the background is a danger more sinister than the walking dead....

One of the things I love about this genre is reading about how the characters survive, on a day to day basis, and there's plenty of that, but also lots of thrilling and well-written human and zombie showdowns.  It's quite a brutal sort of book, not for the faint-hearted, but the characterisation is great (I really liked Gus's friend Scott), and the characters' thoughts on their present situation versus the old world, versus just dying, are interesting.  I read it over a period of a couple of days, definitely recommend it if you like this genre, and am looking forward to starting book two.

KILL LINE by Robert Leigh

5 out of 5 stars

Murder thriller

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE

Reviewed by me as part of Rosie Amber's Review Team

I liked this book a lot, so much that I've already downloaded Robert Leigh's latest one, Any Man Joe.

Shaun Dolan works in a call centre, and murders customers who are unnecessarily rude to him.  Yet I still kind of liked the guy.  I didn't want him to get caught.  That's a real art - making the reader root for a brutal psychopath.  Oh dear, I hope it's not just me...

The strength of this book is the sharp observation by which the characters have been created, from Shaun's boozy mates, to the chav ex-girlfriend, to the begging victims Barry Johnson and the revoltingly pompous Derek Page-Dove (great name!), and, best of all, the ghastly, dreadful supervisors and management at Skymiles and Calltex call centre.  Well done, Robert Leigh - the section in the middle about the changeover from Skymiles to Elevation, with all its corporate BS, is a masterpiece - it's obvious the author has worked in one of those places, and the production of this novel must have made every soul destroying moment worth it.  The dialogue is spot on, with every awful buzzword and phrase these people use; yes, and don't they always refer to their staff, etc, as 'you guys'??!  Ugh!  

This is not a novel for the squeamish; the violence is graphic, and you'll want to weep for the victims.  But it's kind of funny.  If you can believe that.  Not laugh out loud funny, but witty and clever.  

I wavered between 4 and 5 stars all the way through it, eventually deciding on 5.  I think it needs some tidying up, I thought the Harry Collins part was too much, and I was a tiny bit disappointed by the ending, but these are very minor complaints (in fact, not even complaints), are only my opinion, and the good bits are so very good that I couldn't have given it less.

Highly recommended!

From Lime Street to Yirgacheffe by Robert Leigh reviewed HERE

Any Man Joe by Robert Leigh Reviewed HERE

EENY MEENY by M J Arlidge

4 out of 5 stars

Serial killer crime thriller

Audio Book

On Amazon UK HERE

I listened to the audio book of this.

Since the ghastly hype that is Fifty Shades, WHY do all books, regardless of genre, have to have the obligatory explicit sex bit in them?  I don't want to know about DI Helen Grace's explosive orgasms, I want to know the identity of and story behind the serial killer, and such diversions always seem a little incongruous if the rest of the book isn't sexually orientated.  Most writers can't 'do' erotica anyway; so often it comes across somewhat cringeworthy and TMI* rather than genuinely erotic, and this is no exception.  When I was listening to the bit when she finally gets round to shagging the person you know she is going to shag from about the fifth chapter (and hope she does so behind a closed door), I actually said, "oh, give it a rest!" out loud, which amused my husband who heard me from the kitchen....   I thought the S&M sub-sub-subplot was a bit daft and pointless, too.

Anyway, moving on from that little outburst (it's in the first half of the book).....  in Southampton, people are being abducted in pairs by a seemingly friendly woman in a van, and held in various makeshift prisons without food, water, or any contact with their captor apart from one message on a mobile phone, which is left on the floor.  Next to the (pin locked) phone lies a gun; the message tells them that if one of the two captives kills the other, the killer gets to live.

The plot is unusual and well thought out.  Some reviews say that too many aspects are unfeasible, but I don't think it's any more outlandish than other stories of this type.  Not that I'm a connossieur of this genre, far from it.  For a murder thriller to work the outcome has to be a surprise, and though I made several guesses I didn't get it right, or see how the threads linked together.  The story switches point of view frequently, which I like, and the timing, suspense and cliffhangers worked well.  It was around a fifth too long (I started to think, is this ever going to end?) and a tad heavy on the cliches (wouldn't you just love to read about/watch a fictional detective who hasn't got all sorts of personal demons?) (and the characters keep hoping 'against hope' ~ does that actually mean anything?) but it's basically good - if serial killer detective type stuff is your bag, I'd definitely recommend it.

Audio-wise, I'd give it about 3.5/4 stars; it wasn't bad.  I didn't think the voices were particularly well chosen but they didn't irritate me or spoil the story at any point.  Certainly good enough, anyway.


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