amothersmusings1's reviews
1939 reviews

I went into this book not quite aware what an open relationship entailed, other than the obvious and I can honestly say I’ve learned so much regarding the procedures and the emotions of people who live in these relationships. Hearing all the young dating terms these days, for example - exclusive, open, ghosting, cuffing, friends with benefits etc, I knew I was behind the times but this book really opened my eyes but in a highly entertaining way.  It was interesting to read why some people prefer not to be monogamous and listening to their thoughts and feelings I now understand why. 

 

I instantly fell in love with Fliss and Holly, both in such different relationships and not realising deep down what it is they really want from their partners and life. Holly became such a strong person and I was pleasantly pleased with how her life finally turned out. 

 

Chloe Seager is a new author for me but now I’ve found her I’ll be buying all her books, such fun to read and genuinely written with modern day characters, attitudes and situations. “Open Minded” was refreshing, witty and authentic, that actually feels like the people involved are your friends too. You’ll be nodding your head in agreement, shaking it in disbelief, laughing at some comedic scene and shedding tears of happiness.  A five star read for me! 

“Critical Incidents” is book one in author Lucie Whitehouse’s ‘Robin Lyons’ series and is a cracking start to a potentially exciting set of crime thrillers. 

 

Set in the Birmingham area, ex DCI Robin Lyons is a strong willed, minded and determined single mother, who having been suspended from the Met for misconduct, is now back living at home with her parents.  Slightly flawed, with several chips on her shoulder regarding her personal life, she won’t stop fighting her corner for the decisions she made before she was dismissed. Although this is only a small part of the story, it was an interesting thread, which lead to an interesting conclusion at the end of the book.  Now working in her good friend’s private investigation business, chasing benefits frauds, a missing girl and the potential murder of her best friend, Robin can’t help but play by her rules and it’s this side of her, that shows the reader exactly how she ended up in the position she is, with the Met. 

 

A very compelling story which moves at a steady pace to keep the momentum moving along nicely. I liked Robin and her lovely daughter and I’m looking forward to seeing how she fares in the next in the series -  “Risk of Harm”. 

 

#CriticalIncidents - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

 

This intensely emotional novel starts with a haunting first chapter describing in Tom’s own despairing words, how he tragically found his murdered younger brother, Callum. Set in the Wiltshire countryside, this story is so much more than just the mystery of a murdered young boy but a deeply heartfelt tale of revisiting your youth and the child in you that you must abandon forever. Tom and Anna are back living at home, both for completely different reasons. One is caring for their dying father the other is being cared for by their mother following major surgery.  As they both re count their childhood and subsequent years as an adult, the mystery surrounding Callum’s death slowly starts to reveal itself. With a couple of side stories focusing on friends and other family members, which are equally as intriguing, this book is an addictive read that I found very hard to put down at bedtime. 

 

I have to admit to having a tear in my eye dung the latter chapters, where the true events of the past were revealed. What a truly sad story of how a family, righting their wrongs, faced such devastation. “Broken Shadows” gave me pause for thought about life, family dynamics and my own mortality.  

 

#BrokenShadows - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

 

I’ve been following Lin Le Versha’s Steph Grant series since the first book and all of them have been very entertaining, with some intriguing but different themes in each, tackling modern and up to date criminal activity. “Blood Ribbons” is the fourth book in the series and works excellently as a standalone too.  

I loved the dual timeline, with Duncan’s diary giving the reader the 1944 period and due to the detailed observations, it honestly felt like you were in Arnhem sharing in the ill fated mission. It was an emotional recount and reminds you exactly what our men went through, emotionally and physically. It was very well researched and the plot of how Duncan’s diary interweaved with the present day and the college trip to revisit Arnhem, was perfectly played. 

I like Steph and Hale’s working and personal relationship, it creates a unique bond that allows them to share their professional talents with Steph’s knowledge of the students she’s works with. Once again, Derek the dog plays an integral part and although he doesn’t appear in the story quite as often as he has in the other books, his role was still invariably crucial. 

Linda Le Versha’s writing is simply addictive and I genuinely have a lot of time for this author. I always look forward to reading her books and can’t wait to see what’s in store next for the ‘Stephale’ partnership. 

#BloodRibbons - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

For some reason I had it in my mind, that this was to be a gentle rom-com novel. However, I soon realised that the aptly named “Last Chance in Paris” was a powerful, poignant and a profoundly emotional story, that hooked my heart from the very first page. 

I loved all of the characters, each with a special back story that brings them to Paris, all for different reasons. How they all unknowingly interconnected with each other was exceedingly clever and displayed a very talented author to be able to create such seamless relationships. Grief, pain, love, lost years and displacement through war, all featured within the characters lives and created for me, an instant affinity with them. There are a few emotional triggers that may affect some readers but are conducive to the reason why the characters are included in the story and these are handled with care and respect. 

As I turned the final page, I gave a huge heartfelt sigh for this beautiful novel, feeling happy sadness but also bereft that the story had finished and to how one of the character’s story ended. 

I had to take a long pause before picking up another book to read, to give this book the respect it deserved. I really did enjoy “Last Chance in Paris” and I’d happily recommend it, you won’t be disappointed.  

#LastChanceInParis - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“A Soul for a Soul” is book five in Carol Wyer’s Detective Kate Young series, set in Staffordshire and sees Kate promoted to DCI William Chase’s now vacant position and DS Emma Donaldson as acting DI. It was nice to see Kate taking over from her beloved colleague William and Emma in her new role adapting to the responsibilities of investigating a double murder. This also sees Emma facing changes in her personal relationship with fellow officer Morgan. 

 

I enjoyed the intermittent chapters from the killer’s viewpoint and this added a tense, engaging element that comes from a warped serial killer’s mind.  

 

Kate is an interesting character who hears voices in her head from deceased people and often plays out those conversations, in their voices, out loud when alone. This made the book very unique, as William and Superintendent Dickson haunted her thoughts with very conflicting advice as she went about her unorthodox policing. Her whispering monologues kept the ‘syndicate’ plot line moving and although I personally felt it was a bit too overwhelming it worked for the story to progress. 

 

Although the reader is brought up to date within the first couple of chapters as to the previous events that this book continues with, I do feel there would be more enjoyment from reading the series, even if only the previous book “A Truth for a Truth”, to get a true connection with Kate’s mindset and the power the ‘syndicate’ wields.  Perfect for crime readers who like something different from their thrillers and I look forward in the future to following up on the cliff hanger we were left with at the end of this book. 

 

“Heir to Murder” is book five in Tony Bassett’s ‘Detective’s Roy and Roscoe’ series set in the West Midlands. Having read book four I was interested in reading this one but it can be easily read as a stand-alone too. 

 

I felt this story read like a traditional ‘whodunnit’ -  cosy but with guts (brain guts to be exact) and with characters of the murdered victim’s family typical of nobility, this gave the investigation a few swerve balls and red herrings. DS Sunita Roy used her usual determined mindset, refusing to let her suspicions go and it was when she travelled to Spain in a connected thread to the murder, that we saw her real detecting skills come in play. This was the best part of the investigation for me and I enjoyed the contrast to the policing  back home. 

 

With a mixture of cosy dialogue and setting, brutal murders, interesting characters and a dogged detective, “Heir to Murder” is a classic English police procedural and I’d be keen to continue reading this series. 

“Blunt Force” is the sixth book in Lynda La Plante’s ‘Jane Tennison’ series, the prelude books to ‘Prime Suspect’. 

 

Having followed Jane’s progress throughout her early career, I’m always interested to see what challenge the author has next for her. No matter what case she is given to solve, her unique problem solving and dogged determination can often be detrimental to her desired rise in ranks but she never leaves a case not fully solved, dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s. Her people skills are a joy to read, whatever their rank she isn’t frightened to tackle any misogyny or put her point across regarding any suspicions she may have of the case. 

 

Now although this book is part of the ongoing series, this was a bit different to La Plante’s normal style of writing, since predominantly there was only one plot throughout and that was the brutal murder of Charles Foxley. No previous sub plots to tie in, no interweaving threads the other officers are working on. Subsequently this makes an ideal standalone and actually read like a real ‘whodunnit’. Only at the end of the book do we read a couple of scenes that sees some justice being dealt, leftover from the previous book “The Dirty Dozen”, which was actually quite satisfying. 

 

I really did enjoy this book and loved the intense concentration on the one case only, the eccentric world of theatrical agents and their clients and the less than salubrious world of BDSM. Highly recommended for fans of the series or one off visitors to La Plante’s writing. 

 

#BluntForce - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

“Hangman Island” is book seven in Kate Rhodes’ DI Ben Kitto series, set on the Isles of Scilly and having read every single one to date, I can confirm that yet again this is another engaging, atmospheric crime novel that can be read (as all of them can) as a standalone or enjoyed in order as intended. 

 

In this story the scenes are set predominantly at sea rather than the normal settings on the islands. Focusing wholly on the heroic work of the RNLI, we learn first hand how incidents at sea are handled in such a small community and sadly how murder can strike literally anywhere. 

 

I liked Sam Austell and the intermittent chapters featuring his thoughts and emotions at being an ex-con, returning to small island life and its islanders bigoted views. DI Ben Kitto and his faithful adopted dog Shadow, once again have their work cut out, with another race against time to stop further murders. Ben and his unofficial canine partner, together with his police sergeant Eddie Nickell, whose cousin is missing at sea, work all hours to eliminate suspects and solve the mysterious messages sent to many of the RNLI volunteers. With a nail biting second half to the book, it made for an exciting denouement that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

 

These books have always reminded me of Ann Cleaves’ ‘Shetland’ series with its tight knit communities and limited policing.  I’ve learnt so much about the Isles of Scilly through reading Kate Rhodes’ books, from not knowing they even existed to learning about the prehistoric burial mounds, Bronze Age standing stones and Iron Age stone houses to mythology and maritime heritage. This equally brings pleasure as it combines historical knowledge of the setting with how the modern day crimes connected to his history. 

 

#HangmanIsland - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Hangman Island” is book seven in Kate Rhodes’ DI Ben Kitto series, set on the Isles of Scilly and having read every single one to date, I can confirm that yet again this is another engaging, atmospheric crime novel that can be read (as all of them can) as a standalone or enjoyed in order as intended. 

 

In this story the scenes are set predominantly at sea rather than the normal settings on the islands. Focusing wholly on the heroic work of the RNLI, we learn first hand how incidents at sea are handled in such a small community and sadly how murder can strike literally anywhere. 

 

I liked Sam Austell and the intermittent chapters featuring his thoughts and emotions at being an ex-con, returning to small island life and its islanders bigoted views. DI Ben Kitto and his faithful adopted dog Shadow, once again have their work cut out, with another race against time to stop further murders. Ben and his unofficial canine partner, together with his police sergeant Eddie Nickell, whose cousin is missing at sea, work all hours to eliminate suspects and solve the mysterious messages sent to many of the RNLI volunteers. With a nail biting second half to the book, it made for an exciting denouement that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

 

These books have always reminded me of Ann Cleaves’ ‘Shetland’ series with its tight knit communities and limited policing.  I’ve learnt so much about the Isles of Scilly through reading Kate Rhodes’ books, from not knowing they even existed to learning about the prehistoric burial mounds, Bronze Age standing stones and Iron Age stone houses to mythology and maritime heritage. This equally brings pleasure as it combines historical knowledge of the setting with how the modern day crimes connected to his history. 

 

#HangmanIsland - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️