Book Review: The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti

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

Wow! It literally left me breathless. And speechless. With my jaw dropped. I definitely didn't expect that kind of outcome. I love this book!

The plot is centred around Zoe Whittaker, a young woman, a wife to a very wealthy man. From outside, her life looks like a fairytale. A modern time Cinderella. A poor girl, a middle-class worker who finds her Prince Charming and leaves her previous life to live with the rich and famous. But when you scratch the surface, you see a different picture. Zoe is not Zoe. Zoe is Hilary, a person who used to use and sell drugs, a victim of kidnapping, a witness in a human trafficking case who is in the witness protection program. A person who was raised by an adoptive mother, Evelyn, who died a couple of years ago because of cancer. With no money to bury her at the time, Zoe is full of regret not being able to do something for the mother she loved. She is also in the search of her biological mother, Carolyn, and all she has is a birth certificate with possible false information. All she has now is her husband Henry who adores her and showers her with gifts but seems a little bit possessive from time to time. But aren't all the men like that?

Blog Tour and Review: Scared to Death by Rachel Amphlett

Hi, guys.

Today is my stop of the blog tour of the fast-paced crime thriller Scared to Death by the amazing author Rachel Amphlett. I hope you'll enjoy my review and this thrilling serial killers' novel. Don't forget to visit all the blog stops and read all the amazing stuff about this book.

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

From the very beginning, the author throws you into a very scary situation. Two people, husband and wife, parents, are in the search of their kidnapped daughter after they paid the ransom. Only to find their daughter's lifeless body. A couple of hours later, while giving the statement in the police station, the father of the kidnapped girl collapses and dies from heart attack. The mother loses her daughter and her husband in a very same day.

Blog Tour: Guest Post by Marnie Riches

Hi, guys.

Today I have a great pleasure to welcome one of my favourite crime writers ever, Marnie Riches. She made a big BOOM with the series #TheGirlWho. If you haven't read any of them, GO, GO, GO and get your copies. In meantime, read this amazing post of hers and don't forget to visit all the amazing bloggers who hosted this blog tour.

Why crime fiction? By Marnie Riches

I have read crime fiction and thrillers sporadically but with great enthusiasm since my childhood, plundering my mother’s copies of Harold Robbins A Stone for Danny Fisher and Peter Benchley’s Jaws at the tender age of about ten. It was never unusual for me to read something quite adult and thrilling as a child, alongside more traditional age-appropriate fare of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books. My reading choices were never censored, thankfully.

Book Review: The Secret by Katerina Diamond

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

A triple murder in a brothel. Two female prostitutes and one male client. The bodies look horrible. One of the women has been tortured. Someone needed an information. But one of the women is not there. The third prostitute somehow has managed to escape. She is an undercover police officer. Her name is DS Bridget Reid.

Back in the police station, DS Imogen Grey is working on the case. A police officer with a lousy personal life and skeletons in the closet. Imogen has grown up with a single mother and no knowledge of her father. Her mother has a psychological disorder and never allows anyone to help her. Also never talks about her past.

But what happens when the buried past comes after you in the present?

Book Review: Saving Sophie by Sam Carrington

Source: Won

The story starts with a teenage girl coming home brought by the police. Sophie has no memory of the previous night and has a hangover. But very soon there is news about one of her friends dead. Killed. Murdered. Making things even more strange, there are emails with photos on her phone. Photos of her friend 's body, photos of herself in the same room. Is she involved in her friends' murder?

Sophie's mother is very worried about her daughter. Karen suffers from agoraphobia and is too afraid to go outside the house. She feels that way since she was attacked by a serial rapist in her own car. Nothing is same since then.

Book Review: Environmentally Friendly by Elias Zanbaka

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

In the story, we meet Sergeant Schaefer, a former soldier. A person who decides to take a weapon in his arms and declare war, to mother nature. It is very obvious that he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He has been in a psychiatric hospital for a while and he has escaped from there. He sees his enemies everywhere. Anyone is his enemy.

With a weapon in his hands, Sergeant Schaefer is a threat to the others. Surrounded by the police force, he is caught in the trap. But only one man believes him. Only one one man knows how he really feels....

Book Review: Vigilante by Kerry Wilkinson

Copy provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

How to explain the unexplainable?

A murder happens on the streets. And another one. DNA is found among other evidence. Matches a criminal who is behind the bars. There was no way he could escape. How could he commit the murders? Is he guilty for the crimes that put him in prison in the first place?

Detective Jessica Daniel works on the case. It is the most difficult case for her ever. Someone is killing the bad guys on the streets. The press calls him „Vigilante“. But murder is a murder and someone has to be guilty. The man whose DNA matches the evidence is in prison and there is no way he could escape. So how his DNA is found at the crime scene? Can two people have same DNA? There is no history of siblings for the suspected prisoner. Is someone messing with the evidence in the lab?

Book Review: The Sister by Louise Jensen

Source: Bought

The Sister is my very first book from Louise Jensen. I was hearing a lot about this book and decided to give it a try.

The story centres around Grace and her friendship with Charlie. There is Grace in the past when she arrived to live with her grandparents and meets Charlie for the very first time. Also, there is Grace in the present, who suffers from the loss of her best friend and tries to fix things right. Grace in the past has a skeleton in the closet and feels guilty about it. And Charlie is always there to make things easier for her. They even bury a little box to open up when they grow up. But year after year, Charlie becomes strange and distant. She also tries to find her biological father. But her sudden death stops her. Years later, Grace feels guilty for Charlie's death and decides to do something in her memory. Grace decides to find Charlie's father. Instead of her father, she finds her sister. A young woman who claims to be the daughter of the man who is Charlie's father. Grace welcomes her into her home and tries to find in her the sister she lost when Charlie died.

Blood Lines (D.I. Kim Stone #5) by Angela Marsons - Book Review

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Here we are! Book number five and still not enough! How does she do it?

Blood Lines is the fifth book in the DI Kim Stone series. And Angela Marsons did it again! I still can't get enough of her books. With every book next in the row, the author makes me more and more addictive to her writing. I absolutely love her books.

This time, Kim Stone's arch enemy is back. Alex Thorne is in prison, but she still feels like the puppet master and has a plan: to destroy Kim Stone. She plays with human minds, she knows which buttons to push. Anything to get what she needs.

Kim and Bryant have a tough case to solve. A woman has been killed, probably a robbery went wrong. But everything is there, every piece of jewellery, every single pound in the wallet. Who wanted the murder to look like a robbery?

But when a young girl, a local drug addict, is killed the same way, Kim knows that these two cases are connected. Nothing connects the two victims, except the way they were killed. Are these killings work of a serial killer?

In the very same time, Kim's private life turns upside down. Her mother has been in a mental hospital for years since she killed Kim's little brother. Now, Kim receives a note that her mother is going to be released. Her behaviour has been very much improved since Kim started to send her letters full of forgiveness. But Kim hasn't sent a single piece of paper. What the hell is going on?

Wow! If I have to explain this book with one word, it would be WOW! If I have to explain this book with three words, they would be OH MY GOD! I can't stop reading till finishing it! It is fifth in the series and I still can't get enough of it. I have no idea where the author finds the inspiration and the energy for so many books for such a short time, but she is amazing. Angela Marsons definitely knows her job and knows how to keep your hair stand on the neck till the very last page.

What to say more?

READ THE BOOK! I TOTALLY RECOMMEND IT!

My opinion: 5 / 5.

Lawless & the Flowers of Sin by William Sutton - Book Review

A Foundation for Fallen Women. A chess automaton. An impossible theft.

Reluctant inspector of vice, Lawless must take a fruitless reckoning of London's shadowy nether world. Hypocrisy, double standards: just what we expect from stuffy Victorian society.

But Lawless was not expecting the trail that his questions open up: from the erotic booksellers of Holywell Street down the darkening passageways of Haymarket bordellos to backstreet cast-offs of the high life.

When reputations are at threat, those running the show can be merciless in defending them.

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

Lawless and the Flowers of Sin is the second novel in the series, but it can definitely stand alone. It is my first book from this author, so I am not familiar with his writing style.

The plot is set in Victorian London, in 1863. Inspector Campbell Lawless goes into the world of the people that we see every day, but we don't notice them at all. Beggars, street musicians, ladies in brothels, erotic booksellers, each one of them walks among us, but we don't see them. Or we choose not to see. But these people are alive and have stories to tell. Stories of their hard lives, destroyed dreams, broken wings.

Sonata of the Dead by Conrad Williams-Book Review

It's four months on from the events of Dust and Desire... Joel Sorrell has recovered from the injuries he sustained in his fight with The Four-Year-Old. A body has been found, sealed into the dead space behind a false wall in a flat in Muswell Hill. Beheaded and surrounded by bloodstained pages of typewritten text, it is the third such murder committed by a killer known as The Hack. And it may be linked to his daughter's disappearance.

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

Conrad Williams is a brand new author to me, and when I started reading his book, I didn't know what to expect. This is his second book in the series but definitely can stand alone.

My Top Five Kick-Ass Female Book Characters

Hello, fellow readers. Today's post won't be about book reviews, but book characters. I always admire strong main characters and this time I am going to talk about my favorite female detectives.

Angela Marsons' Kim Stone

Angela Marsons is less than two years on the writer's stage and she has already established herself as one of the top crime authors not just in the country, but even worldwide. Her main character in the series is Kim Stone, a detective who you don't wanna mess with.

D.I.Kim Stone is well described as a leading character. She is tough but also has a wild and also a soft side. She lives alone with no family but has a passion for motorbikes, which is unusual for a woman. Life was hard for her, and she built a wall around her feelings, but those same feelings sometimes find their way to rise on the surface.

With every other book in the series, Kim Stone is more than an anti-hero. We can peek into her past and see why is she the way she is. We can see the reasons that made her built the walls around her, but in the same time, we can see those walls breaking. But the disappearance of the walls doesn't make her vulnerable as she thinks. No, it makes her more human, it finally brings her emotions on the surface. In the first book, the author added a child with an illness. The second time, she added a dog. Man's best friend. Next, it is a criminal who is as much as smart as she is, a villain who pushes the right buttons. But Kim Stone is a fighter, a badass warrior whose buttons can not be pushed that easily. Kim Stone is one of my favorite characters, and can't wait to read about her next adventure.

Cover Reveal: Perfect Remains by Helen Fields

Hi. today is the D-Day. Perfect covers for a perfect book. And yes, there are two covers. I simply love them both and wanted to share them both. And I can't wait to read the book.

Let me introduce Helen Fields' debut crime thriller, PERFECT REMAINS.

Book Review: Guilt Trip: The Mystery (Lauren Beck #2) by Donna Huston Murray

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

Lauren Beck is back! This time with a family issue to solve. A cancer survivor with no place to live, Lauren sets up on her brother's farm together with his family. And then, her brother's wife, Karen, survives a tragedy. Her brother has committed a suicide. But Karen knows her brother well, and she knows that he would never ever do that. So she asks Lauren to help.

Together with Karen's other brother, Lauren goes to the funeral. She makes up a cover story, just to make sure that she can sneak into the lion's den and find out what really happened. Something isn't right here. Why would someone who recently got married and expects the first child commit a suicide? Even if all the evidence says the obvious, Lauren is not satisfied. Something fishy is going on here!

Blog Tour and Book Review: Strangers by Paul Finch

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

Hi, guys. Today is my stop for the blog tour of the gripping read written by Paul Finch. Strangers is one hell of a read, full of adrenaline and I believe that there isn't even a single page that doesn't make the hair on your neck stand.

PC Lucy Clayburn has to live with the skeletons in her closet. Four years ago, a convicted murderer escaped while handcuffed to her. She almost got killed then and the entire operation failed. But Lucy loves being a copper and since then she desperately tries to prove to herself and others that she is a good cop.

And the opportunity arrives....

A man has been killed. Alone, in the woods, mutilated. The police connect the case with some previous cases where other men were killed and also mutilated. Everything points to a serial killer.

But what if the serial killer is a woman?

My Blogging Story

I've been reading my entire life, as long as I remember. My mother used to say that could read my neighbor's first-grade book when I was only three years old. When I was a kid, my mom used to buy me children's books with animals. I read them all by myself, I didn't need any help. I still have Grimm brothers' stories somewhere in my basement. I've been always fascinated by the storytelling and always imagined myself in the story.

As I grew older, my reading habit didn't diminish at all. I believe I was the only kid that had several pages long list of borrowed books from the school library. I wasn't much into sport's activities, my spare time was always spent with a book. It happened sometimes to borrow the same book twice, just because I forgot that I've read it before, or because there was a new edition with a different cover.

Book Review: What Doesn't Kill You, The Mystery (A Lauren Beck Crime Novel #1) by Donna Huston Murray

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

Lauren Beck is finally cancer free. But her friend and supporter during chemotherapy didn't have that luck. Corrinne dies from cancer. Corrinne's daughter blames Lauren for her mother's death. She accuses her of mixing up the drugs in order causing euthanasia, just to stop her suffering. Even worse, she kicks her out from her house.

In the very same time, strange things start to happen. Someone is stealing Lauren's identity. No more money on her credit cards, canceled payments, unknown debts, Lauren never did anything of this. She suspects Corrine's daughter but is no sure about anything. And Corrinne's death, what if someone is responsible for her death?

Lauren is a former police officer, now works as a private investigator. With her identity stolen and no place to live, she has to swallow her pride and count on the people who aren't her best friends. But most of it, she has to find out what really happened to her friend. She knows she didn't do anything, but what if someone did? This time, she has to use her investigation skills and save people's lives, including her own. 'Cause someone is after her!

Review: The Virgin of the Wind Rose by Glen Craney

While investigating the murder of an American missionary in Ethiopia, rookie State Department lawyer Jaqueline Quartermane becomes obsessed with a magical word square found inside an underground church guarding the tomb of the biblical Adam. Drawn into a web of esoteric intrigue, she and a roguish antiquities thief named Elymas must race an elusive and taunting mastermind to find the one relic needed to resurrect Solomon's Temple. A trail of cabalistic clues leads them to the catacombs of Rome, the crypt below Chartres Cathedral, a Masonic shaft in Nova Scotia, a Portuguese shipwreck off Sumatra, and the caverns under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Intertwined with this modern mystery-thriller, a parallel duel is waged: The year is 1452. One of the most secretive societies in history, Portugal's Order of Christ, is led by a reclusive visionary, Prince Henry the Navigator. He and his medieval version of NASA merged with the CIA scheme to foil their archenemies, the Inquisitor Torquemada and Queen Isabella of Castile, who plan to bring back Christ for the Last Judgment by ridding the world of Jews, heretics, and unbelievers. Separated by half a millennium, two conspiracies to usher in the Tribulations promised by the Book of Revelation dovetail in this fast-paced thriller to expose the world's most explosive secret: The true identity of Christopher Columbus and the explorer's connection to those now trying to spark the End of Days.

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

Well, it's been a while since I've read that big book. Seriously, it took me three weeks to finish it. But, believe me, it was worth. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone who loves old-school mysteries.

Let me tell you something about the plot. One story runs in the present , one goes back in time when the year is 1452. The story in the present, follows Jaqueline Quartermane, Jaq to her friends, who works for the State Department. She is engaged to Paul who works in Ethiopia and dies on a mission. But when Jaq goes to pick up his body as his fiance, she finds very strange things going on. The investigation of his death takes her on a journey that no one can ever imagine, something that can shake the whole world as we know it. And some people might not like it. The origin of Christianity, the discovery of America, do we know the real story behind the facts that are written in history books? Can we trust the bible itself?

Review: No Turning Back by Tracy Buchanan

You’d kill to protect your child – wouldn’t you? When radio presenter Anna Graves and her baby are attacked on the beach by a crazed teenager, Anna reacts instinctively to protect her daughter. But her life falls apart when the schoolboy dies from his injuries. The police believe Anna’s story until the autopsy results reveal something more sinister. A frenzied media attack sends Anna into a spiral of self-doubt. Her precarious mental state is further threatened when she receives a chilling message from someone claiming to be the ‘Ophelia Killer’, responsible for a series of murders twenty years ago. Is Anna as innocent as she claims? And is murder forgivable, if committed to save your child’s life…?

I have to say it! This is one of the best psychological thrillers I've read lately!It literally left me with my mouth open. I started reading with no big expectations, but the story grabbed my attention and I finished it within one day.

5 Things I Hate About Books as an Avid Reader

 I read books as long as I remember. I love books. And it really bothers me when I search for a certain title and more than twenty books with similar title appear. Or when I remember the cover of the book I love and suddenly see the same cover on a different book. Just because I love books, I must tell about the five things that I hate when reading a book.

• Same (or almost same) titles

Do you know that there are more than 30 versions of the title „50 Shades of Grey“, and they are all different books? Do you know that there are more than 20 different books that include „The Girl...“ in the title? Authors, please. You are creative enough to write a story. Be creative enough to create a unique name for your baby. You don't want someone to copy your work. So why would you copy somebody else's, just because it is famous and sounds catchy? You don't want someone to buy some other book thinking it is yours, and this happens lots of times. It is not reader's fault.

Book Review: Fear Dreams by J.A.Schneider

Liddy Barron, an artist, was injured in a hit-and-run accident that left her with recurring nightmares, partial amnesia, and an increasing obsession in the disappearance of a coed named Sasha Perry. Was Sasha murdered? Insecure and nervous, Liddy's turmoil grows as she begins seeing ghostly images. Her husband Paul tries to help but suspects it's just her imagination...while intuitive Detective Kerri Blasco, also obsessed with young Sasha's disappearance, senses that Liddy may have a key to solving the case, and tries to unravel the shocking truth of what really haunts her.

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

Have you ever feared your own dreams?

Liddy Barron is afraid to sleep, afraid to work, afraid to walk in the public. Ever since her car accident a couple of months ago, her life is changed. With no memory of the night of the accident, she starts to see weird things. Works as an artist and suddenly the word HELP appears on her paintings. The main problem is when she is out in public, she sees a young woman walking towards her. Nothing unusual, you'll say, but the young woman is missing! And Liddy sees some things on her that no one else knows about. Is she losing her mind or some distant memory comes out on the surface?

Do you believe in ghosts?

Cover reveal: The Alibi by Jaime Raven

Hi, guys.

Tonight I have a pleasure to take part in the cover reveal of the second book of the criminally good Jaime Raven. You know her debut The Madam (read my review here) and I am sure you'll love the book two. 

So what’s next from Jaime? Hold tight, because it’s a good ‘un.

Publishing in eBook and Paperback: 29^th December

Secrets, lies and revenge brim to the top in this gritty thriller. Perfect for fans of Martina Cole and Kimberley Chambers.

A perfect crime needs a perfect alibi…

Crime reporter Beth Chambers is committed to uncovering the truth – and she’s not afraid of bending the rules to get there.

When troubled soap star Megan Fuller is found stabbed to death in her South London home, all eyes are on her notorious gangster husband, Danny Shapiro. There’s just one problem: Danny has a watertight alibi.

Determined to expose Danny as a cold-blooded killer, Beth obsessively pursues him. But in her hunt for the truth, her family are set to pay the ultimate price…

Book Review:The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - The Ripper Legacy by David Stuart Davies

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson investigate the case of a kidnapped child. With no ransom note, and a sinister connection to the highest echelons of Victorian society, the companions' lives are in danger. What is the child's true heritage? And what is the connection with the vicious Whitechapel murders?

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

I am a very big fan of Sherlock Holmes stories and I quite enjoy the new ones that are written these days. Some of them are set in modern times, some are authentical as much as possible. Many authors try to write in Artur Conan Doyle's style, but very few can do it successfully. I think that David Stuart Davies did a really good job here, including real facts to spice up a fictional story.

Blog Tour: The Irish Inheritance by M.J.Lee-Book Review

June 8, 1921. Ireland. A British Officer is shot dead on a remote hillside south of Dublin. November 22, 2015. United Kingdom. Former police detective, Jayne Sinclair, now working as a genealogical investigator, receives a phone call from an adopted American billionaire asking her to discover the identity of his real father. How are the two events linked? Jayne Sinclair has only three clues to help her: a photocopied birth certificate, a stolen book and an old photograph. And it soon becomes apparent somebody else is on the trail of the mystery. A killer who will stop at nothing to prevent Jayne discovering the secret hidden in the past The Irish Inheritance takes us through the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish War of Independence, combining a search for the truth of the past with all the tension of a modern-day thriller. It is the first in a series of novels featuring Jayne Sinclair, genealogical detective.

Copy provided by Neverland Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review.

Hi, guys.

Today is my stop of the blog tour for M.J.Lee's new book. This is my third book from this author and quite different from the other two. It has mystery, it has a history in it, but also genealogy, a search for one man's ancestors. Perfect read for history lovers.

Book Review: The Girl Who Walked in the Shadows by Marnie Riches

Europe is in the grip of an extreme Arctic blast and at the mercy of a killer, who leaves no trace. His weapons of choice are razor-sharp icicles. This is Jack Frost. Now a fully qualified criminologist, Georgina McKenzie is called upon by the Dutch police to profile this cunning and brutal murderer. Are they looking for a hit man or a frenzied serial-killer? Could there be a link to a cold missing persons’ case that George had worked with Chief Inspector Paul van den Bergen – two abducted toddlers he could never quite give up on? The hunt for Jack Frost sparks a dangerous, heart-rending journey through the toughest neighbourhoods in Europe, where refugees and Roma gypsies scratch a living on the edge of society. Walking into the dark, violent world of a trans-national trafficking ring, can George outrun death to shed light on two terrible mysteries?

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

Ok, I have to admit! This girl who walked in the shadows really got under my skin. This is the third book of the series and I can't get enough of them. Georgina and Paul are such a dynamic duo in private life and on the crime scene, I absolutely love them with all their ons and offs.But, let me tell you something about the story....

Book Review: Blood Ties (Tales of the Notorious Hudson Family #4) by Julie Shaw

Family is not always a place of safety.  Kathleen was just eight years old when her mother was tragically killed in a car accident.  And when her father remarries it is to the bitter and resentful Irene who has two children of her own and no space in her heart for another.  Irene goes out of her way to make Kathleen's life as miserable as possible and will stop at nothing to get her out of their lives... When Kathleen is sixteen, a shocking incident rocks the family, and life takes a darker turn.  Among this darkness, Kathleen finds a glimmer of hope in an older man, but Irene is ruthless in her mission to destroy her.  Can Kathleen find happiness or is she destined for tragedy?

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

I know that this isn't a crime or thriller book as I usually read, but the story of modern Cinderella intrigued me and I decided to give it a try. Being a motherless daughter by myself , I've found some connection with the main character, but that is where the similarity ends. The plot is set in Bradford Yorkshire in the sixties of the last century and centers around one working class family. Kathleen is a young woman, girl, just turning sixteen years old, who has lost her mother as a child. Her father remarries a couple of years later, and the new stepmother has two children by herself. But this family's life is far away from a happy fairytale. The stepmother is like Cinderella's evil stepmother, and her children act just like Cinderella's stepsisters. Kathleen works part-time in her father's pub and there she meets a man. A regular customer, a young widower who has lost his wife too early in life. The pain from the loss connects these two people., but they have to fight for their love. Terry is older than her and already a widower and she is still a minor. Love works in mysterious ways.

Another Kind of Review: My New Kindle Case

Hello.

This time, I am not going to write a book review. I decided to share my thoughts about my new kindle cover. This is not a sponsored review. I bought this cover from Amazon.com.

I bought my kindle keyboard 3G in 2012. Then I bought a cover or a case if you prefer, to protect it. This is how it looks like after four years of keeping safe my kindle and being dragged every day to my workplace in my purse. It served well. And it was time for retirement.

Book Discussion: Why I didn't rate your book with five stars?

Hi, guys.

It is Sunday, and it is raining here, so I hope that you're having chilling Sunday evening cuddled with a good book. Here is one topic that I want to talk about: rating the books.

When writing a review, it takes time and effort to write really honestly what we like and what we dislike and being objective as much as possible, and when I say „we“ I mean us , the book bloggers. Some authors take it really personally when we tell them that the characters aren't developed well, or it is hard for us to follow the story. But that's why we obliged ourselves to write a review, to tell our honest opinion. It is nothing personal, it is simply what we think about your book. I might love and adore the author in real life, but that doesn't mean that I think that all his/hers books are masterpieces. I always try to be as much as constructive as possible. If an author asks for an honest review, he/ she suppose not to expect only five stars. I disagree with people who never read the book but rate it with one star just because it arrives at their door later than expected. I always finish what we've started, spend time reading the book and thinking about it, so when the review is written, sometimes later than expected, the story is well consumed and overslept, and there is an inner discussion about every single character.

My Favorite Summer Themed Crime TV Series

Hi, guys.

Sorry for not being around lately. After waiting for my new internet package for more than month and fixing the laptop after my dad accidentally spilled water on it, it's good to be back. Many reviews are waiting to be written, but today I decided to talk about something easier, like summer vacations and mystery tv shows. Every summer the local tv stations are filling the program with summer themed tv shows, most of them filmed on exotic islands. Some of them include mysteries, some include murders, but they all include out of ordinary detectives. And they are all filmed on exotic locations. I like most of these shows, they are humorous, mysterious, perfect for chilling out if you are not on the beach. So here are some of my favorites:

See How They Run by Tom Bale-Book Review

How far would you go to save your family? In the dead of night, new parents Alice and Harry French are plunged into their worst nightmare when they wake to find masked men in their bedroom. Men ruthless enough to threaten their baby daughter, Evie. This is no burglary gone wrong. The intruders know who they’re looking for – a man called Edward Renshaw. And they are prepared to kill to get to him. When the men leave empty handed, little do Alice and Harry realise that their nightmare is just beginning. Is it a case of mistaken identity? Who is Renshaw? And what is he hiding? One thing is clear – they already know too much.

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

Your home is a sacred place. It is your sanctuary where you feel safe and loved. It is your harbor. And what to do when someone destroys that?

Harry and Alice have a perfect home. Lovely house in a quiet neighborhood., perfect for raising their little baby girl. But then, one night, an intruder is in the house. Intruders.

The invaders in their home do unimaginable and horrible things to them. And for what? They are looking for some man Renshaw who supposedly lives there or hides. But Harry and Alice don't know such a person. Not even among their neighbors.

Valentina by S.E.Lynes-Book Review

When Glasgow journalist Shona McGilvery moves with her partner Mikey and their baby to an idyllic cottage in rural Scotland, they believe that all that lies ahead of them is happiness. But with Mikey working offshore, the frightening isolation of the Aberdeenshire countryside begins to drive her insane... That is, until she is rescued by a new friendship with the enchanting Valentina. She has the perfect home, the perfect man, and a charismatic new best friend – or does she? As her fairytale life begins to unravel, the deep dark wood becomes the least of her fears... A hauntingly intelligent, addictive psychological thriller from debut author S. E. Lynes.

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

What do people do when they get lonely? They stick to the closest person to them, no matter what kind of person is that.

Shona thinks she has everything. She works as a journalist, has the most amazing boyfriend in the world, lovely little daughter, enough money to live a normal, but not comfort life. She has a perfect family. And when Mikey suggests that they should move to the coast so he would be able to work on an oil platform, she agrees. There is perfect little cottage to live in. But with Mikey two weeks at home and two weeks on the platform, Shona becomes lonely. She tries to make some new friends but not everyone is friendly there. And then she meets Valentina. An Australian woman who has a son same age as her daughter. And they connect immediately. Valentina is a person very much alike her in the spirit. Someone to cheer her up when she feels miserable, to help her when she needs a friend. A person that she can trust, or at least she thinks so.

The Silent Dead by Tetsuya Honda-Book Review

When a body wrapped in a blue plastic tarp and tied up with twine is discovered near the bushes near a quiet suburban Tokyo neighborhood, Lt. Reiko Himekawa and her squad take the case. The victim was slaughtered brutally---his wounds are bizarre, and no one can figure out the "what" or the "why" of this crime. At age twenty-nine, Reiko Himekawa of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police's Homicide Division is young to have been made lieutenant, particularly because she lacks any kind of political or family connections. Despite barriers created by age, gender, and lack of connections, she is mentally tough, oblivious to danger, and has an impressive ability to solve crimes. Reiko makes a discovery that leads the police to uncover eleven other bodies, all wrapped in the same sort of plastic. Few of the bodies are identifiable, but the ones that are have no connection to each other. The only possible clue is a long shot lead to a website spoken only in whispers on the Internet, something on the dark web known as "Strawberry Night." But while she is hunting the killer, the killer is hunting her... and she may very well have been marked as the next victim.

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

I am a person who is always open and willing to try new things. I am always willing to read about different cultures and different surroundings. So when Titan Book offered Japanese thriller for reviewing, I said YES. Got very excited when I started reading and the excitement kept me to the very last page.

The main character here is Reiko, a young female detective in the Tokio Police Department, probably the youngest in her team. Many of the police officers, mostly men, have a problem when a woman is in charge and do not count to ten before they express their opinion. Reiko is not just an ordinary police officer, she graduated as the best in the class and she is really smart. But being a woman in Japanese culture is not an easy thing at all. She has to face her parents, especially her mother who does everything she can to find her a suitable husband and sees her as a failure in the marriage department. She has to face her past and try to forget an attack that no woman should face ever in her life. A rape is bad enough for the victim herself, no need for the judgment of the society that sees her as damaged.

Vacations Can Be Murder by Jane DiLucchio - Teaser Spotlight

Hi guys! Today I have the pleasure to post a teaser spotlight for a mystery book. Vacations Can Be Murder came out on June 1-st and if you are a fan of mysteries and murders (on paper of course) then this is a perfect read for you. Summer is already here and if you want a mysterious read for the beach, look no further. I am sure you're going to love it. 

Vacations Can Be Murder by Jane DiLucchio

Series: A Diega DelValle Mystery, #3

Published on 01.06.2016

Genres: mystery

Format: e-book and paperback

Buy on amazon.co.uk or Buy on amazon.com 

Book Description:

When Diega DelValle and three of her friends go on an impromptu vacation in Talkeetna, Alaska, Diega envisions an enjoyable summer break from teaching along with time to heal from a break-up. However, even before the friends arrive, this small town on the edge of Denali National Park becomes a less than an idyllic vacation spot. Gail, a Talkeetna native, dies on the mountain. Melissa, Gail's cousin and a former student of Diega's, arrives in Talkeetna and raises doubts about the death being accidental. Due to Melissa's pleas for help, Diega and her friends are thrust into an investigation of a small town and its inhabitants - an unsavory pastime that turns deadly. 

Author Bio:

Jane DiLucchio is the author of the Diega DelValle and Kate Matthews Mysteries. A retired college professor, Jane enjoys reading, card games, amateur farming and travel. She lives in Southern California with her wife and their two furry children.

Links:

Website: www.janedilucchio.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jane.dilucchio.mysteries

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/803861.Jane_DiLucchio