Bonnier Zaffre Archives - Debbish Archive

Book review: A Taste of Blood by Lynda LaPlante

Thursday, August 24, 2023 Permalink

Book cover - A Taste of Bloody by Lynda LaPlante

I think I’ve mentioned in my last couple of reviews of this young Jane Tennison series, that we must almost be at a point where we first met DCI Jane Tennison in the Prime Suspect series. Here it felt were getting closer as A Taste of Blood features an ‘early’ mobile phone… albeit one that acted more like a pager; and Jane and her colleagues get briefed on this FABULOUS new forensic tool – DNA!

I discovered my posits were correct (as they always are of course! 🙄 ) as I saw the author herself mentioned on Twitter that there will be ONE more in this series!

Book review: She’s Not There by Joy Fielding

Saturday, January 27, 2018 Permalink

I’ve read almost all of Joy Fielding’s books, though Goodreads tells me I’ve read only two (so most must have been read before I started tracking them there as I once owned far more than that). I came across her book See Jane Run back in the early 1990s and devoured everything she wrote and had written for the next decade (or two).

I requested this book without knowing it wasn’t a new release and it was apparently published in 2016 though completely slipped through my reading radar / net thingy. And it was the perfect way to start the long weekend in Australia.

Book review: Don’t Wake Up by Liz Lawler

Wednesday, January 10, 2018 Permalink

I read A LOT of mysteries, thrillers, crime fiction and the like. It’s rare that there’s something completely new… in fact, I sometimes read so many involving protagonists forced to return to a scene / their hometown where a sibling / friend (etc) disappeared decades earlier, I tend to mix-up the plot in question.

That’s not to say I don’t still enjoy those books. I obviously request them so there’s something about long-held dark secrets that leap out at me… in a non literal sense of course. This debut novel by Liz Lawler, however offered up something a little different. It starts with a fathomless crime; one that is a little far-fetched and hard to believe.

Book review: Know Me Now by CJ Carver

Monday, December 11, 2017 Permalink

I’ve now read all three books in this series by CJ Carver and think this latest is probably my favourite. The first, Spare Me The Truth was very much scene-setting – in which we meet former former spy Dan Forrester who doesn’t seem to remember his old life. We soon learn why and, though his memory’s not entirely returned, we get more of a sense of his past and who he is now in the second book of the series, Tell Me A Lie.

And I think Carver’s now cementing that in this third book, also featuring Detective Constable Lucy Davies.

Book review: Genuine Fraud by E Lockhart

Tuesday, November 14, 2017 Permalink

I’d heard a lot – and good things – about E Lockhart’s We Were Liars so the opportunity to read her* latest novel was just too tempting.

And Genuine Fraud is an interesting read. Full of potential. Well written. VERY cleverly constructed. But – depending on your expectations – may fall a little short when it comes to the plot. It’s good (though I note many reviews commented on it being a re-imagining of The Talented Mr Ripley) but if you’re expecting some mystery or some suspense… it’s not really there. At least not in the way you’d expect.

Book review: Sweet Little Lies by Caz Frear

Friday, October 20, 2017 Permalink

I adored this novel. The plot is great, but it’s our lead character, Cat and her voice… which in essence reflects Caz Frear’s writing that I really loved. I’ve mentioned this before, but I only notice prose or an author’s writing if it’s really good or ~~bad~~ a bit ordinary / lazy. Otherwise I get wrapped up in the plot and it fades seamlessly into the background.

But in this case I was really drawn to Cat and the way her mind worked. To her thinking and her internal dialogue. In fact, perhaps I’m a little biased in that respect because Frear writes exactly how I would like to write. If I wrote.

Book review: All the Wicked Girls by Chris Whitaker

Sunday, September 24, 2017 Permalink

It’s 1995 in Grace, Alabama and Summer Ryan has already disappeared by the time this book opens but we’re in her head at various times as the months before her disappearance take shape.

And we’re left to wonder if Summer’s joined the ranks of the Briar Girls… five seemingly good church-going girls from Briar county who’ve disappeared; or if this is something completely different.

Book review: Evil Games by Angela Marsons

Saturday, February 18, 2017 Permalink

I hadn’t realised this was: 1. the second in a series; or 2. a re-release when I requested it. Neither mattered, though I’d be keen to read number one, not to mention numbers three and four which I believe are already available.

Book review: Tell Me A Lie by CJ Carver

Friday, January 13, 2017 Permalink

I read CJ Carver’s Spare Me The Truth last year and enjoyed meeting former spook Dan Forrester and ‘maverick’ cop Lucy Davies. I hadn’t realised it was to be a series but should mention that it isn’t necessary to have read the first book before tackling this one. In fact, there was minimal reference to events of the first and Carver is able to quickly provide necessary context without including a lot of backstory.