Book review: Whispers of the Dead (David Hunter #3) by Simon Beckett

As a huge fan of mystery and thrillers, I bought this book recently on a book fair . I've never heard of this author before, but after this one, I'm gonna get some more of his books. The story itself kept me awake almost entire night, it was gripping and creepy and unpredictable till the very last page. 

Have you seen the tv show "The Body Farm"? I did couple of years ago and previously had no idea that those places really exist. A body farm is a research facility where human decomposition is studied in a variety of settings in order to use the results for solving crimes, like timing and circumstances of death. I'm mentioning this because the story at the beginning reminded me of this tv show. But as the story continued, it was very different from it, it became a hell-of-a-thriller itself. 

D-r David Hunter is British anthropologist visiting his friend and mentor working on the famous Body Farm in US. But in the meantime, a murder happens under very unusual circumstances. Male body is found naked in a chalet, tortured. D-r Hunter's mentor works on the case and asks him to assist. Another body appears and it becomes obvious that it is serial killer we're talking about, and the chase of cat and mouse begins. But who's the cat, and who plays the role of the mouse? 

Book Review: In the Blood by Lisa Unger

This is my very first book from Lisa Unger, but after finishing it, it definitely won't be the last. It kept me up almost all night until I finished it. So, here are my impressions for it.

The plot centers around Lana, college student, who tries to run away from her past. She is so frighten by her father who is waiting his death penalty for murdering her mother. In order to earn some money, she accepts the offer to take care for a very special child. At first it seems that the boy is autistic, that he has some special needs, but the first impression is far away from the truth. In the same time her roommate is missing, just like another girl couple of years ago.

Parallel with Lana's story goes another story, a page from a diary of a woman who recently becomes a mother. She gives birth to a boy who as he grows up, becomes obsessed with his mother. A small boy who becomes the evil itself as he is grows up.

Book Review: First to Fall (Avalon, #1) by Carys Jones

*Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

Aiden Connelly turns his back to the city life. Looking for a new start for his family, together with his wife and daughter, they move to the small town of Avalon. In a small place where everyone knows everyone, life seems so simple. But nothing is what it looks like. Connelly's first case seems pretty plain: the wife killed her husband and confessed the murder. Simple and plain case that has to end very soon. But it takes just one visit to the local prison for his gut to tell him different things, that this woman is not a murderer. Looking for new evidence, Connelly digs up some old skeletons that have to stay buried. The victim was local favorite boy and everyone loved him. He came from a respectful family and was some kind of local celebrity. But his wife, the most beautiful woman who won a beauty contest as a teenager, had no proper home and a had a drug addict for a mother. Everyone was so surprised with their marriage, but no one was surprised when she was arrested for his murder. "That sl*t deserves a death penalty!" Did Brandy really kill her husband? What is hiding behind her angel face? Can she twist men around her little finger or is she a victim of long-term domestic violence? Aiden Connelly has his hands full of work. 

Book Review: Crossing the Line by Frédérique Molay

*Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I don't know many French authors of crime books, simply because not many of them are translated in English. So I was very excited when I found a gem like this one. Crossing the Line is actually second in the series and I figured that out by requesting the third one on Netgalley. After the third one, I came back for the previous books. I didn't find the first one, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the next book in the series.

The story begins with anatomy class at medical school when a strange message is found in a tooth of a corp. "I was murdered"-it says. Is it a sick student's joke or is there something more going on? The body belongs to a well-known pharmacist who has committed a suicide. But why would someone who is suicidal leave a message "I was murdered"? 

Blog Tour: The Strangler Vine by M. J. Carter (Book Review)

This was a rather interesting read and definitely not my usual one, but I enjoyed it greatly nevertheless. It’s an interesting story set in 19 century India, in a time when India is ruled by the East India Company. Xavier Mounstuart, famous author, goes missing and William Avery and Jeremiah Blake are called in to find him. William and Jeremiah can’t be any different. William is not fascinated with India and dreams of the day when he’ll be back home. Only thing he does seem to enjoy is the friendship of his Scottish friend and the British girls who’ve been brought to India to find a husband. This all can be very funny to most of us, but arranged marriages are totally acceptable even now in some part of the world, so it was rather interesting reading about this. Jeremiah seems to have blended in, retiring from the company and enjoying India and the way natives live, and of course he’s not very interested in going on this quest to find Xavier Mountstuart.

Is there a point to this quest? Could the famous writer be alive or has fallen in the trap of the Thugs, the murderous sect of Kali-worshippers?

Book Review: Murder Takes Patience by Giacomo Giammatteo

*Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

Frankie Donovan finally settles down. With his girlfriend Kate and that little boy Alex, he finally has some kind of family. But things are far from perfect. The social services are after Alex since his drug-addict mom left him. Frankie, or FD as he calls him, is the closest thing to a father for Alex and he doesn't need another home. But the law says different things.

Two bodies have been found in a hotel room. Brutally killed, the two bodies of the lovers are found with a note. It seems that there is a serial killer on sight.

Getting on and on with the investigation, Frankie involves himself into a puzzle that seems it can not be solved. When the things get tough, friends are there for help, one particularly. That's all about: friendship, family, honor. 

Book review: Never Look Back by Clare Donoghue

Sarah has no peace even in her own home. Strange phone calls, shadows in the dark, someone is following her. She has chosen her home with so much love, now her neighborhood is her nightmare. Her home has become her prison. There is no place where she is safe.

Another young woman is scared, there is shadow following her. Debbie thinks it's only her overactive imagination, but soon her worst nightmare comes true. 

Three young women are dead. They are all found brutally murdered, no connection between them. DI Mike Lockyer works on the case. Fighting with his own demons, he has to find the murderer. With enough problems in his personal life, he has to follow the leads to find the murderer who kills young women. When the investigation involves members of his own family, the chasing of the cat and mouse begins.

Book Review: That Night by Chevy Stevens

*Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Couple of years ago, I read Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. I liked the drama in the story, so when I saw this book on NetGalley, I immediately grabbed it. And it didn't disappoint me much.

This time the story centers around Toni, former prisoner, accused for murdering her own sister. The story goes back to the time when it all begins, and comes back to the present where Toni suffers the consequences. No matter what everyone says, no matter what her parents think, Toni loves her sister. She knows she didn't do it.

Book Review: Carnal Acts by Sam Alexander

*Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Young man is being held hostage. He doesn't know where he is or how long he is there. A woman uses him as sex slave. 

Young woman is forced to work as a prostitute by Albanian mafia in Northern England. She tries to escape. She fights with all her strength. There are dead bodies behind her.  She hides. There is no place where she is safe. But she can see the stars again, and the sky is blue.

DI Joni Pax is mixed-race detective transferred to work in Corham. Together with her boss, Heck Rutherford, they investigate a murder in a brothel ruled by Albanian mafia.  The evidence leads them to Suzana, young woman that escapes from a brothel. Is she responsible for the killings or she defends herself?

Book Review: The Element of Death by Steve Wilson

*Copy provided by NetGalley*

It all starts with Halloween murder. Young woman has been murdered in her home. A note is left. Just a bunch of letters written with victim's blood, nothing makes sense.

Ben Watson works on the case. It seems that the serial killer has attacked again. The one who recently is out of prison. The one who has unfinished business with Ben Watson.

Ben Watson considers himself like Rupert Penry-Jones' character in Whitechapel series. He has OCD and recently is left by his girlfriend. He has all Sherlock Holmes' series and many other crime books, all precisely lined on the bookshelves. 

Book Review: Take One With You by Oak Anderson

*Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

Do you want to kill yourself?

If you are sure that you want to die, would you take someone with you? Not the innocent people that got on your way, but rapists and pedophiles, people who deserve to die. Are you ready to kill killers?

Charlie and Sarah meet online. Two teenagers who are never loved and never understood by their families. Both suicidals, they start a project. They launch a website TOWY, for people who want to kill themselves and take one with them. They hack the police files to publish the names of killers, child molesters and rapists. And it goes viral. Things start to get out of control. 

Book Review: Hush Little Baby by Suzanne Redfearn

Can you see the evil?

Can you recognize the true crime when all you see is a perfect family?

Jillian Kane seems to have it all: a career, husband, two kids, house in a good neighborhood. But no one knows that she is a very good actress. She hides the pain from her face, hides the bruises on her body, hoping that tomorrow things will be better. No one could ever say that her husband is so abusive, she can't prove that behind the angel's face is a real devil. She can't complain. When she did, to her father, poor old man had a stroke. She doesn't want to cause him more pain. She tries to protect her children, he will hurt them. Their own father will hurt them just to hurt her.

Can she escape the nightmare?

Book Review: Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum

A little girl is missing and entire community is looking for her. Last time she was seen in a van with a guy with Down's syndrome who lives at the end of the neighborhood. When the little girl is found safe and sound, she reveals another crime. A body of a teenage girl by the lake. Naked, but covered, not violated. 

Inspector Sejer works on the case. Coping with his own demons, he has to connect all the pieces in the puzzle. Human nature shows up in very strange ways. No one is what it seems. Perfect families are far from perfect. Local bad boys aren't so bad at all. The inspector Sejer is not an antihero. He has a normal life of a lonely widower who lives with his dog, and talks with hours with his daughter and grandson. Just a normal old man who has seen it all. But even normal people have their own demons, haven't they?

Book Review: Incitement by David Graham

*Copy provided by the author in exchange of an honest review*

In a heroin refinery in Mexico people have been slaughtered. No one knows about the place. But the police finds Serbian brand of cigarette ends on the crime scene. A brand that is very popular in the Balkans. DEA suspects the Kosovars. 

A boat that transfers illegal drugs to Miami has been hijacked. Another group of people are slaughtered. 

Mafia bosses are killed. Drug markets are destroyed.

Does new mafia war start?

Who is responsible for all those killings?

Book Review: The Collector of Dying Breaths by M.J.Rose

*Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

In 1500-s there was a monk who was exploring an interesting theory. The last dying breath of a person contains the soul, and if that breath is inhaled in another person, the soul continues to live in another body. After his death, his apprentice Rene le Florentine took over the job and soon became the personal perfumer of Catherine de Medici. He made perfumes, creams and poisons for the queen. But he was always working on his teacher's theory in order to bring back in life the two people who he loved the most and lost them, his teacher and his bride-to-be.

In modern time, another perfumer is working on the very same theory. After his sudden death, his grieving sister will do anything to bring him back, he is the only family she has. So she connects with two people to finish his job. But these two have other plans. Jac wants her brother back, but Melinoe and Serge want eternal life. Melinoe owns the twelve bottles with twelve collected dying breaths that many centuries ago Rene collected. Jac is the one who has to find the way to inhale the dying breath in a living person. Was her brother Robbie right? Is human soul eternal? Can we live forever?

Book Review: One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf

Imagine your worst nightmare. You send your child to school, you consider your child is safe, and then you hear on news that there is gunman who takes the kids as hostages. 

What would you do?

Holly is young divorced mother who used to live in Broken Branch, but couldn't wait to run away from there. After a fire in her house, she is in hospital with severe burns, while her two children are staying with her parents back in Broken Branch.

Holly's father, Will, takes care for the family and the farm. He isn't in a good relationship with his daughter, but takes his grandchildren on the farm while Holly is in hospital. Finding out that there is gunman who threats them, he takes the things in his own hands. 

Augie is one of the kids. She suffered a lot with the divorce of her parents and moving to the small town of Broken Branch didn't do any good to her. She has her own way of expressing the feelings. The person she loves most is her little brother P.J. and she would do anything to protect him, anything. 

Guest Post by Ananda: Review of The Parisian Christmas Bake Off by Jenny Oliver

*Copy provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

OH FOOD! GLORIOUS FOOD! This book is yummy indeed! I know Christmas is long gone, but I'm one of those that can read Christmassy books all year round.

It's a typical feel-good read and quite a short one, so I'm sure you'll devour it in one sitting. The story is fun too, it's centered around Rachel and her trip to Paris for a cooking competition. It was not her idea to go to Paris, since recently she lost her mother and going away from home is the last thing on her mind. But her friends make her do it, thinking she is a great baker and can show the world her great cooking skills. After hesitating and finding out her boyfriend to whom she was devoted for two years is not actually planning on marrying her, she decides to go to Paris after all. It can't be that bad, right? She's to meet one of the best Chefs and work with lots of new and interesting people, enough to take her mind of grieving and her boyfriend.

And so she takes off on quite an interesting journey where's she's to meet all kinds of people, bake beautiful and delicious food and meet the Devil himself - Chef Henri Salernes.

Review: The Lost Girls Of Rome by Donato Carrisi

One phone call for the ambulance. A man is having heart attack. The team that answers the phone call finds the man in very last moment. There is a tattoo on his chest: "Kill me". The doctor lost her twin sister couple of years earlier, when someone kidnapped her. She was left with her throat cut, with one of her roller skates, red with gold buckles. In the room of that old man, in one corner, there is a a red roller skate with gold buckles, the other half of the pair. The doctor has to choose, to save a life or take a revenge.

Sandra Vega is forensic analyst, a young woman who recently lost her husband. She still grieves, his cologne is still in the bathroom, his cigarettes with the smell of anise are still in the apartment. She refuses to let him go. Until one day she receives a strange phone call from someone who knew her husband. She always thought that her husband's death was accident, but that phone call changed everything, her husband might been murdered.

In the meantime, young women are dissapearing in Rome. Young, beautiful, with families that are looking for them. They are found a month later, throat cut, not violated. Who and why is kidnapping them? And why killing them a month later?

Review: The Morgenstern Murders by C.M. Albrecht

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

Dr. Ezra Morgenstern runs an abortion clinic and constantly faces angry religious fanatics. But one day, standing by the window at his home located at the edge of the cliff above the Pacific, he notices someone climbing up the cliff. Dr. Morgenstern calls the police. The police officer that answers the call faces the most incredible sight: two dead bodies, three with the dog. The doctor and his wife and their dog are murdered.

Couple of years earlier, Jonas McCleary moved to Sand Bluff to work as a sheriff. But the crime level was very low so he didn't have any job to do. So, now he works as a private investigator. Alex Kershaw, the first officer on the murder scene, calls McCleary to help him solve the case.

How has motive to kill the doctor and his wife? Is it some religious fanatic who thinks that abortion is sin? Or maybe his daughter who now inherits the clinic and the money? Or maybe his daughter's husband who has debts?

Well, PI Jonas McCleary has to solve this case.