Cold Granite By Stuart Macbride

So again I judged this book by its cover in my local library and discovered a new author I can put on my list of favorites!

The story is set in Aberdeen and in this book we follow DS Logan Macrae on his hunt to bring down the bad guy killing and torturing children. Some of the scenes are a bit graphic but I found the general telling of the story and the way we follow the police department through the investigation quite ‘Real’ I say this as someone with no experience in law enforcement but still! 🙂

The only thing that annoyed me about the book is every spoken word is in a strong Aberdeen accent meaning that at first I had to say some of the sentences out loud (in a BAD Scottish accent of course) for them to make sense. However as I got further into the story this endeared the characters to me even more and I started to enjoy it.

I have already read the next book in this series and its back to the library tomorrow to get the next ones. Just brilliant! 

The Broken Souls By Jack Kerley

So this was the last book in this series that my library had. Not sure if there are more but after this I’m probably not going back!

So ‘The Death Collectors’ kind of got me excited about Kerley and this story is brilliant until it ends with secret houses and hidden disfigured and crazy siblings! Oh the secret lives of the rich!

Just a bit too far off the deep end for me to enjoy.

The Death Collectors By Jack Kerley

So book number two from Jack Kerley ‘The Death Collectors’. Again I had the issue with the writing style but for me the story in this book was even better than the ‘Hundredth Man’. He had me to the end and once again shocked me with the reveal.

So again we follow Carson and Harry though a murder investigation only this time its real weird! Pieces of art are being mailed to the victims and discovered with their bodies. The art pulls up a 30 year old case and opens the door to a strange world where we are introduced to the people know as ‘Death Collectors’. They spend their thousands on items belonging to serial killers and blood soaked clothing that belonged to the victims. 

But the art being discovered with the bodies ‘The art of the final moment’ holds significance as up until now it was believed to be a myth. Could a serial killer dead 30 years have come back to haunt the town of Mobile? 

BRILLIANT! I’m not even sure that collecting things belonging to serial killers is a thing but common sense tells me this world is pretty messed up and I’m sure it is! I find the whole idea quite interesting and seriously messed up so to throw a couple of murders in there and write a book about it, awesome idea! 

Totally hooked me and with this book I learnt to ignore the writing faults, not sure if that’s a good thing but worth a read on a lazy day!

 

The Hundredth Man By Jack Kerley

So this book I picked up in the local library on a whim and I went back today to get the next two, that said although I like the story I’m not a huge fan of the way its written. At times its like the sentences or paragraphs are worded wrong. I know what he means and understand what hes saying but I’ve had to stop a few times and read sentences out loud just to check its not me! However Jack Kerley pulled me in somewhere as I’m now 3/4 of the way through his 3rd book!

So we follow Detective Carson Ryder and his partner Harry Nautilus, and as with all other crime fiction EVERYWHERE there’s a dead body or 2 and a crazy serial killer on the loose. Like I said before the reason I ended up enjoying this book and going back for more is the story, it flows well and he throws you all over the place and honestly for me that’s half the fun. I was honestly surprised when I found out who the killer was but as always thinking back Kerley placed some well hidden clues along the way.

The characters are great, I really like Carson and Harry they are a perfect partnership and have some really enjoyable banter and back stories. I would suggest this book if your an avid reader of crime as even though its not the best writing I’ve come across theirs something about Kerley’s story that left me wanting more!

Eleven By Mark Watson

I just finished this book last night and honestly for me it was one of those, change your life recommend to everyone that even looks in your direction. I have not been so excited by a book for a really long time!

So we follow Xavier Ireland and his life in London as a late night radio host. I really don’t want to say too much because you HAVE to read this book but the story really begins when Xavier is walking home from the store and he sees a kid being beaten up by a bunch of bullies. Xavier tells the kids to stop but when they turn round and size him up he walks away. From here on in even though we still follow Xavier’s story we are introduced to a series of characters whose lives are affected by Xavier’s decision to walk away. Until eventually it makes a full circle and comes to effect Xavier himself. 

Amazingly well written, every time you meet a character even if they have nothing to do with the story you are given tit bits of where their life goes, I love this! Everything has been thought out and just awesome! If you only read one book this year it has to be this one.

READ THIS BOOK!

The Shadow Year By Hannah Richell

Holiday book number 5! What an amazing way to end my list of holiday books.

This book is simply beautiful it follows Lila in the current day and Kat 30 years previous. Kat and her friends finish school and decide to take a day out in the countryside. They arrive at a remote lake and an old abandoned cottage and instantly thoughts turn to escaping real life for a year and living it rough with only mother nature to care for them. We follow their ups and downs and the struggles they face mixed up with general teenage hormones until everything starts to fall apart and they alone will have to hold the secrets of the year at the cottage forever.

30 years later Lila finds herself the owning the cottage Kat and her friends lived in so many years ago. Who would give her this cottage and why does it feel so familiar? Struggling to keep her marriage together and dealing with the recent death of her father Lila begins to renovate the cottage and uncover its secrets.

So this book pulled me under and I was guessing the end from the very first page. Just gorgeous. I loved it!

Dead Mans Time By Peter James

Holiday book number 4! So as I’ve said before crime books are my thing but honestly this one didn’t really do a lot for me. 

I couldn’t come to like the main character at all so even though I half enjoyed the story line and the twists and turns the characters ruined it for me.

I finished it but I don’t think I’ll be trying anymore of his books. Sorry!! 

 

A Vicky Hill Exclusive! By Hannah Dennison

Holiday book number 3! So still sticking with the girly books here. This book follows Vicky Hill an aspiring journalist currently living in the town of Gipping and working for the local gazette. Vicky’s dream of being a superstar journalist isn’t going quite as planned as she finds herself in charge of the funeral section of the paper and constantly covering funerals is about as exciting as it sounds. However when she heads to the funeral of the late Sir Hugh Trewallyn a local hedge jumping enthusiast she gets more than she could have dreamed for when the arrival of the mysterious American send her on her way to find the breakthrough story of the year!

This book was OK, I didn’t enjoy it  as much as the other books I devoured on holiday but it was interesting and at some points the story is so far fetched you cant help but smile and read more! 

A Summer Fling By Milly Johnson

Holiday book number two! After reading ‘Its Raining Men’ I couldn’t wait to get into another Milly Johnson book!

I feel I should also mention here (as I forgot in my previous post) another reason I am loving these books is Milly Johnson is actually from my home town of Barnsley and this is where her characters are from and her story’s are based so for me there is a real personal connection with these books. 

Anyway….back to the book it follows 5 women working together and discovering friendship and love whilst discovering themselves.

A beautiful book highlighting for me the importance of friendship and the fact that maybe even if your from Barnsley there’s a white knight out there somewhere! 😉

Its Raining Men By Milly Johnson

So this last week I have been lucky enough to have an awesome holiday with my wonderful other half and my beautiful step son, and what summer holiday would be complete without a classic girly holiday book!

This was the first (of 5!!!!) books I read and I got exactly what I wanted, 3 friends Lara, Clare and May are sick of life in the bustle of London decide finally that they need a holiday to get away from their demanding careers and love lives!  They arrive for their 10 day 5* spa break to discover a mistake has been made in the booking and instead they are in the weird and wonderful seaside town of Ren Dullem.

The locals here are less than pleased at the arrival of strangers to the town and the owner of the cabin couldn’t care less if their holiday was booked wrong a refund is not on the cards! After fighting the mistake for a couple of days the girls start to warm to life in Ren Dullem and go on to enjoy a life changing holiday with all the holiday book staples, drama, mystery, men and of course a few bottles of wine!

Read this book on the beach in the sunshine, I did and I loved it!