Wednesday 25 February 2015

Never Look Back (Mike Lockyer #1) by Clare Donoghue



A chilling and compelling debut crime thriller set in South East London. For all those who enjoy Peter James, Mark Billingham and Peter Robinson.

Three women have been found brutally murdered in south London, the victims only feet away from help during each sadistic attack. And the killer is getting braver . . .

Sarah Grainger is rapidly becoming too afraid to leave her house. Once an outgoing photographer, she knows that someone is watching her. A cryptic note brings everything into terrifying focus, but it's the chilling phone calls that take the case to another level.

DI Mike Lockyer heads up the regional murder squad. With three bodies on his watch, and a killer growing in confidence, he frantically tries to find the link between these seemingly isolated incidents. What he discovers will not only test him professionally but will throw his personal life into turmoil too.


I LOVE Mark Billingham books. The way he writes is gritty and to the point. I picked up Clare Donoghue's book as I needed something gritty and a good police procedural book.

Well, when I started this book, I wasn't sure on it. Was slow to start off with, places it got better and I was clicking along as I was reading. I nearly gave up as I thought, where is this going. We're going all over the place, but I carried on and was glad I did. I had a inkling who the killer was, but wasn't confirmed til nearly 5% left to go from the end.

I have the second book to this to read. So I will read more from Ms Donoghue.

Saturday 21 February 2015

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes



They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.


I have been told that this was a weepy, I will agree that it is. But I never cried as I kinda guessed what the story line was heading to. This was my 1st Jojo Moyes and I don't think it'll be my last.

It was good between Louisa and Will. The way they keep each other laughing and going through every day life. You kinda get the feeling of what happens in the story. What each character has to contend with as well. 

Friday 20 February 2015

The Advent Killer (Antonia Hawkins #1) by Alastair Gunn



Christmas is coming. One body at a time. 

Three weeks before Christmas: Sunday, one a.m. A woman is drowned in her bathtub.

One week later: Sunday, one a.m. A woman is beaten savagely to death, every bone in her body broken.

Another week brings another victim.

As panic spreads across London, DCI Antonia Hawkins, leading her first murder investigation, must stop a cold, careful killer whose twisted motives can only be guessed at, before the next body is found. On Sunday. 

When the clock strikes one . . .


When I got this book a while ago, I thought I would read it for Christmas. Well that never came lol. 

This was recommended by a friend to read as I also have the 2nd book in the series. It starts off really good and you think you're getting into the mind of a killer. No idea why the 1st 2 people was killed originally. As the story unfolds, you begin to understand part of the killer's mind (but no idea who he/she is). Acting DCI Antonia Hawkins is only just been made a DCI through the previous DCI passing away. This is her 1st major case and boy has she landed one hell of a case. How she solves it, you'll have to read, who is the killer and how does he/she always get 1 step ahead of DCI Hawkins. 


All will be revealed in this gripping book.

Saturday 7 February 2015

Pop Goes the Weasel (Helen Grace,#2). by M.J. Arlidge



DI Helen Grace returns in Pop Goes the Weasel, the electrifying new thriller from M. J. Arlidge.

The body of a middle-aged man is discovered in Southampton's red-light district - horrifically mutilated, with his heart removed.

Hours later - and barely cold - the heart arrives with his wife and children by courier.

A pattern emerges when another male victim is found dead and eviscerated, his heart delivered soon afterwards.

The media call it Jack the Ripper in reverse; revenge against the men who lead sordid double lives visiting prostitutes. For Grace, only one thing is certain: there's a vicious serial-killer at large who must be halted at all costs . . .
 


When I started this book, I thought "Oh Yeah, another good thriller coming". Not thinking what I was about to embark after reading Eeny Meeny beforehand.

It took me ages to get into the book, kept asking myself was it worth reading, where is the storyline going and stuff. But I persevered and got right into the book. After reaching over 50%, I started to think if the author wanted the readers to go along the lines in the story. I'm happy to say I think he did and the outcome at the end was worth the read. I loved knowing a bit more about Helen Grace's background, but I didn't like the journalist one bit (still don't even though I've read both books lol).


Will I be reading The Doll's House? Most definitely will be, just not yet lol.

Wednesday 4 February 2015

Addicted to You (Addicted #1) by Krista Ritchie & Becca Ritchie



She’s addicted to sex. He’s addicted to booze…the only way out is rock bottom.

No one would suspect shy Lily Calloway’s biggest secret. While everyone is dancing at college bars, Lily stays in the bathroom. To get laid. Her compulsion leads her to one-night stands, steamy hookups and events she shamefully regrets. The only person who knows her secret happens to have one of his own.

Loren Hale’s best friend is his bottle of bourbon. Lily comes at a close second. For three years, they’ve pretended to be in a real relationship, hiding their addictions from their families. They’ve mastered the art of concealing flasks and random guys that filter in and out of their apartment.

But as they sink beneath the weight of their addictions, they cling harder to their destructive relationship and wonder if a life together, for real, is better than a lie. Strangers and family begin to infiltrate their guarded lives, and with new challenges, they realize they may not just be addicted to alcohol and sex.

Their real vice may be each other. 


New Adult Romance recommended for readers 18+ for mature content
 

I was offered this via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well I can see why some people would love to read this, but I just couldn't get past where Lily and Loren's relationship is all based on lies to family. Yes I get that he is an alcoholic and she is a sexaholic. But to mis-lead your family and things. Maybe this isn't the right book for me.

I would like to thank the authors and the publishers of this book for their time and letting myself read this. Just not for me at this time.

Eeny Meeny (Helen Grace #1) by M.J. Arlidge



Two hostages. One bullet. One lives. One dies.

They were going to spend the rest of their lives together. Soul mates. But when a young couple wakes up alone together, disorientated and trapped, they are yet to grasp the true horror of their situation. They have no food, no water. Instead there is a gun loaded with a single bullet and a mobile phone with enough power only to deliver a short message: ‘when one of you kills the other, the survivor will walk free’. For their captor it’s simple: set the scene, watch, wait and leave the victims to do the killing. Tortured by fear, desperation, starvation and thirst, there’s only one way to end their ordeal: one of them must die. 

DI Helen Grace and her team know they are hunting a complex predator whose broken survivors must endure their role as living calling cards. And killers. The victims - work colleagues, a mother and daughter, a pair of dancers - appear to be chosen at random and yet the planning is meticulous. There must be something driving the choice of victims, but until DI Grace can establish a connection, the killer is unreachable. A breakthrough is elusive and then, terrifyingly, the investigation begins to turn full circle...

In this startling highwire drama M.J. Arlidge throws us headlong into a chilling race to stop evil in its tracks. Dark, ingenious and bullet-paced, Eeny Meeny introduces a major new thriller writing talent.


I was given this copy via Netgalley as well as I had won a copy on Goodreads.

The hype for this from people who have read it, gave me the final urge to pick it up. Well I can say I did enjoy the book, you don't know who the murderer is until about 5% away from ending the book. What confused me mostly was the italic parts, I was wondering what that had to do with the story. All was revealed in the end when you found out who the killer was. 

DI Helen Grace is a powerful tough detective, but she has a dark secret that NO ONE knows. Why are 2 people being taken and having to choose who lives or dies? What has DI Helen Grace got to do with the killings. Well I can tell you, YOU HAVE TO READ THE BOOK to find out. 

Will I read the next in the series POP GOES THE WEASEL? Yes I will as I want to find out more about DI Helen Grace and her team.