Review: Lights! Camera! Mayhem!

Lights! Camera! Mayhem! by Jodi Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And so here it is the obligatory annual Christmas short story from St Mary's.

Film producer, Calvin Cutter, and actress Astrid Gustafsson return to St Mary's for historical research about their latest movie featuring Tempora the time travelling tourist (and tempura which I typed). As usual, Calvin doesn't let historical accuracy get in the way of showing off Astrid's unfeasibly tight silver jumpsuit as she karate-kicks her way through Troy before inevitably being rescued by Dirk Thrust as Achilles.

Of course young Adrian Meiklejohn is mesmerised by a six foot tall Amazonian Swede in skin-tight clothing and, rather foolishly, offers to show her a simulated time-travel device that St Mary's used to show educational holos to school of life in Troy (aka taken her in one of the pods to actual Troy and let her think she was watching a holo). And this is St Mary's so so many things went wrong.

This was just the thing to read after Christmas lunch when everyone is either asleep, washing up, or watching the King's speech.

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Review: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't even know where to begin with this one, just many thanks to Dear Author for the review which led me to pick this up.

Maggie Chase is a reclusive author of cosy mysteries featuring a cat. Her recent divorce has lost her the two friends she had in the world and she has become a bit of a hermit, only brought out of hiding by her publisher's dire threats if she doesn't attend their Christmas drinks party.

Ethan Wyatt writes military special ops/spy type thrillers for the same publisher. He seems to be a total PR construct from his mysterious past (was he special forces, CIA, Navy Seal?), his iconic leather jacket, his cheeky grin and his artfully styled hair. He also appears to be Maggie's enemy and consistently calls her Marcie.

Maggie is coerced into spending Christmas in England with what her publisher calls 'her biggest fan', only to discover that Ethan has also been invited. When they arrive at a 2,000 acre country estate Maggie is astonished to discover that her biggest fan is none other than Eleanor Ashley, celebrated octogenarian author of ninety-nine crime thrillers and Maggie's favourite author.

The other guests are a motley crew consisting of a Duke and Duchess, Eleanor's long-lost niece, her son, her lawyer, the butler, a Detective Inspector, another crime writer, and a Doctor. When a snow storm hits and the guests are stranded the scene is set for some kind of mystery - and indeed Eleanor goes missing on the first night, from her locked study . Dum. Dum. Dum! Maggie is convinced that this is some elaborate contest devised by Eleanor, perhaps to reveal who of the three authors could continue writing her award-winning mystery series, based on her previous novels. But when there are multiple attempts on people's lives it seems there maybe a killer amongst them.

I can't even describe why I liked this so much. Maybe because Ethan was such a sweetheart and the reader can see that he like likes Maggie right from the get go. Maybe it was the Downton Abbey meets Cluedo setting. There are all the stock shady characters. The hidden clues (reminiscent of Jennifer Lynne Barnes' Inheritance trilogy), and the flashbacks to previous meetings between Maggie and Ethan.

Only one niggle, an Englishman would boast about attending Eton School not Eaton school.

Loved it.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Review: Murder in the Tuscan Hills: It's murder in paradise! A BRAND NEW brilliant cozy mystery from bestseller T A Williams for 2025

Murder in the Tuscan Hills: It's murder in paradise! A BRAND NEW brilliant cozy mystery from bestseller T A Williams for 2025 by t a williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dan and his faithful Labrador Oscar are called in by the Italian police when an English journalist is found murdered in a vineyard owned by an aged American rock star. The rock star owns the swanky Podere Dei Santi hotel near the vineyard and there are a number of non-Italian guests which Dan's friends in the local police force would like his help in interviewing.

Not only are there three 'gentlemen' and their bodyguards who look suspiciously like Mafioso, there is also a Anglo-Italian restauranteur, a French wine merchant, the surly vineyard manager, and numerous other suspicious characters, but it is the restauranteur's companion who causes Dan the greatest surprise.

Whilst Dan and the police are still searching for a motive for killing the journalist, the body count mounts - can they uncover who did what and why?

I flip-flop on this series, sometimes it feels like cosy mystery by numbers and I began to suspect that making the books available on Kindle Unlimited might be an incentive to just churn them out in a formulaic fashion. However, I really enjoyed this book, the reveal of the murderer was a result of painstaking interviews, picking up on clues, reinterviewing witnesses etc. The plot was plausible and overall probably my favourite in the series.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: The Christmas Party

The Christmas Party by Carole Matthews
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Since this book is over a decade old I won't worry about spoilers.

The book practically takes place over the space of two days. The day of the Fossil Oil Christmas Party and the following day, Christmas Eve.

Louise Young is a single mother who has got a job as PA to one of Fossil Oil's up and coming executives, Sales Director Tyler Benson. Suspend disbelief that a young woman who worked at a bank pre-motherhood and then filled shelves in Boots suddenly lands a plum PA job in a fancy international oil firm - even if it has recently relocated its head office to Milton Keynes. Tyler Benson has a roving eye and a wandering hand, something that Louise is trying to avoid, although like men of that sort he doesn't get the message when she starts wearing baggy clothes. Tyler bases his success on the back of one of his junior sales team Josh Wallace, although she has only seen him a few times, Louise thinks Josh is nice, but she knows her friend Karen from Customer Accounts is hoping to hook up with him at the party.

Tyler is married to Kirsten who is starting to feel disillusioned with life. She has given up her career as a teacher to follow Tyler as he gets moved from one city to another at no notice and has nothing to show for it, no children, no career, no friends outside Fossil Oil, no home of her own. She also knows that Tyler has been unfaithful on numerous occasions and she is determined to get him to commit to making big changes in their lives. She also suspects, from the way Tyler drops her name into conversation, that he is having an affair with his new PA Louise.

Melissa is married to Lance Harvey. At sixty-six he is head of the UK branch of Fossil Oil and has been steadfastly resisting attempts to get him to retire. Melissa too has given up everything to follow Lance around the world, her two sons were put into boarding school from a young age because all the changing of schools was playing havoc with their education. Now they have little or no contact with their father and pursue 'worthy' or at least less 'worldly' careers (typical middle class wealthy kids type occupations - managing an orphanage in Nepal (because of course an orphanage in Bristol would be too too dull) and teaching surfing in summer and snowboarding in winter). Although they are both American, having lived in London for two years Melissa would quite like to stay there if Lance would retire. His drinking has become problematic and Melissa (who has always advised him and explained some of the more complicated deals to Lance) is having to shoulder an increasingly heavy burden and she is concerned that Lance will make some terrible faux pas that she cannot fix.

All is set for a night of heavy drinking and debauchery as the entire office is driven to an upmarket hotel for dinner and dancing.

Can I just say that this is subtitled (or whatever its called when they add a comment after the title) "The festive, feel-good rom-com" - my rule of thumb is that whatever follows the colon after the title is inevitably a lie and this rule holds true here. I did not feel good and frankly it wasn't much of a rom-com, although I'll concede it was festive. It felt like a scene from Dante's Inferno (I am exaggerating a little) with bodies writhing in every cupboard and under tables in various states of undress, there was a trick (sawing a person in half) performed by a drunk magician which could have seriously injured someone, there was so much drunkenness that a fire was started in the main room and no-one noticed, someone vandalised a very expensive car (like £10,000s of damage), cheaters were cheated upon, I think someone died of a heart attack, there was drunk driving, I could go on.

Thank goodness I only paid 99p for this.

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Review: The Mystery at Rake Hall

The Mystery at Rake Hall by Maureen Paton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Its 1947 in post WW2 Oxford. C.S. 'Jack' Lewis (author of many religious works as well as The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is teaching and has become concerned because one of his brightest students, Susan Temple has ceased attending lectures and for the last few lectures she looked 'different'. Ever wary of being seen to take an interest in young women whilst being a single man, Jack makes discreet inquiries.

Meanwhile, Susan, who is pregnant after being taken advantage of while drunk, has decided to enter Rake Hall, a local home for unwed mothers. She has taken Lucy Standen into her confidence. Lucy's father Alfred is a Scout (sort of servant) at Oxford and didn't report Susan when he saw her leaving a gentleman's rooms after curfew. When Susan allegedly leaves Rake Hall without notifying Lucy she is concerned and reaches out to Jack. Together they uncover a black-market trade in adoption of babies.

I recently read a murder mystery featuring Virginia Woolf and it didn't really work for me. Strangely, although this follows a similar premise, a famous real-life writer solving a mystery, I liked it much better. Although I felt it a bit obvious with some of the inferences that events/thoughts influenced C.S. Lewis' Narnia series (just look at the names of the other characters) - which reminded me of that advert way back suggesting that George Lucas based his Star Wars characters on people he saw on campus while at college, I really enjoyed it.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: If the Crown Fits

If the Crown Fits by Leané Giliomee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lara is a thief, she has been engaged to steal a necklace from the royal palace but is caught and the Prince Regent offers her a strange trade. She can walk away with her life if she pretends to be the reclusive Princess Eloisa and meets Eloisa's betrothed, Prince Cai of a neighbouring Kingdom. Their marriage was intended to cement an alliance, but the Prince has asked Lara to steal a magical item that Prince Cai will be carrying.

While both parties are travelling to the agreed meeting point of Eloisa's palace, Lara's group is set upon by bandits and she escapes only to run into Cai's group, travelling in disguise. With no clue as to the other's real identity there are lots of opportunities for confusion and for romance to blossom.

I quite enjoyed this. I don't read much fantasy these days and I have to say this ran along fairly standard lines, I wasn't at all surprised by the big reveal, and I also wouldn't be surprised if the Prince Regent didn't turn out to be not as bad as we think he is.

Probably my only complaint was that it felt like this was meant to be an epic fantasy novel but (maybe because of word constraints) got cut down so about halfway through the novel there seemed to be a lot of going to this manor house for a discussion and then going to another place for another meeting - which could have been (maybe) covered by a sentence or a paragraph saying over the next few days/weeks they criss-crossed the land meeting with lords likely to be sympathetic to their cause, or who they could blackmail into supporting them.

Overall, pleasant enough and I would be happy to read the next book.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Review: It's a Love Story

It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jane Jackson was a child star on a TV series about a group of kids who have a band (I was thinking the female equivalent of Screech from Saved by The Bell), the kid with goofy braces and a big smile who always gets into trouble/sits on a cream pie - you get the picture. She also had a catchphrase for whenever she did something stupid.

Nowadays, Jane is a Creative Executive at Clearwater Studios and she's found a script that makes her heart sing. Unfortunately, her boss has also shared the script with award-winning film-maker Dan Finnegan, her one-time crush and now arch-enemy. He torpedoed her last script and now he seems to be determined to do the same with this one, contradicting everything she says and insisting that the film is small and quiet. Unfortunately, Jane's boss thinks small and quiet won't sell, they need action and explosions, so unless Jane and Dan can find a way to create a draw for the film its canned. So Jane tells a white lie, well exaggerates massively. She tells them that she is friends with Jack Quinlan, hottest popstar of the moment and she can persuade him to write a song for the film. Jane does know Jack, they sang together once on the hit single released by the TV show, its just that Jack and Jane were singing on behalf of the two 'leads' of the show (going with my Saved by The Bell comparison, they would be Zack and say Kelly) who were attractive but couldn't actually sing. Unfortunately, Jack also humiliated Jane on what turned out to be the worst day of her life and arguably coloured all her beliefs about love and self-worth thereafter.

When Jane asks for Dan's help getting hold of Jack, he lets slip that Jack is playing a festival in Dan’s hometown on Long Island, and Dan's brother is part of the backstage crew. It's also Dan's parents' wedding anniversary and his brothers have planned a week of celebrations so Dan offers to let Jane tag along.

What can I say? I love Annabel Monaghan novels, I loved Dan, I loved Jane and while I thought the conflict at the end was a bit dramatic I could see from where it stemmed. Also, for some reason I thought the romance might be with Jack and so I was prepared to be disappointed - spoiler - I wasn't.

Another banger!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Death At The White Hart

Death At The White Hart by Chris Chibnall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jim Tiernan, landlord of the White Hart pub, has been found dead, his body tied to a chair with stag's antlers attached to his head in the middle of an isolated country road.

Nicola Bridge has just moved back to her childhood home of Fleetcombe in Dorset from Liverpool, where she was a high-flying police detective, with her husband and teenage son. She was expecting life to be a bit lower key than a big city so she is shocked to find her first case is a macabre murder. Also the post she was sold/wooed with turns out to have been significantly embellished, her 'Police Station' is in a former bank and she has two staff, Mel who appears to never leave the station and Max an over-eager green trainee detective.

It seems as though there is no shortage of suspects. Jim appears to have been a serial philanderer, he was in trouble with the brewery for allegedly skimming money from the till, there was intense rivalry for trade between The White Hart and the only other pub in the village. Add in all the other inhabitants who are downright lying about their whereabouts on the night in question or not telling the whole truth and Nicola has a lot on her hands. Is this murder linked to a similar series of murders back in the 1920s - back then they hanged a man for the murders but his family always protested his innocence? The truth may hinge on what a young girl saw when she was hiding in the playground late at night.

When I saw the author created Broadchurch and the book was praise by Gillian McAllister (love her books) I requested an ARC and I did not regret it. This was engaging, clever, twisty, and although I can say the murderer/motive were a surprise they were also logical and I had had my suspicions along the way.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Starting Over in Starshine Cove

Starting Over in Starshine Cove by Debbie Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Twenty years ago Connie Llewelyn was a celebrity chef, an enfant terrible, she partied hard, went from restaurant to club to business meeting, she was rude to her staff, and pretty hard on herself. Then, when arguably at her lowest ebb (although potentially about to sign the biggest contract of her career), on a too fast, self-destructive, drive to nowhere, she crashed her car just outside Starshine Cove in Dorset and met Simon the love of her life. Tragically, five years ago, Simon was killed in a car accident taking his pregnant sister to the hospital, leaving Connie to bring up their three children alone.

Connie's life is much lower key these days, she runs the local cafe and holds gourmet dinner nights a few times a year. She is the beating heart of the magical community that is Starshine Cove, the first to volunteer, organiser of local events etc etc.

When Connie goes to collect her daughter Sophie from catering college to bring her and her new BFF back to Starshine Cove for a few weeks of practical experience, Connie is surprised to discover that Sophie's friend Marcy's father is none other than Zack Harris, the TV producer who was offering her a life-changing contract before she met Simon and moved to Starshine Cove (BTW I am finding it incredibly difficult to type Starshine Cove despite having read and reviewed all four books, not only do I get Starshine all kinds of muddled up but my fingers insist on typing Cover instead of Cove). Zack is similarly a widower, his wife having died of cancer ten years ago, raising two daughters alone. When his plans to visit his other daughter Amy fall through, Zack decides to spend a week or two in Starshine Cove, maybe help out with the upcoming Spring Feast Night.

There was always a spark between Connie and Zack and, although she's put on a few mum pounds since her sylph-like twenties while Zack is even more devastating gorgeous with a few streaks of grey in his luxuriant hair (think Pierce Brosnan or George Clooney), Connie feels a similar spark when they meet with their daughters over dinner and every time they meet in Starshine Cove.

This was a pleasant second chance romance, there is some angst, but I think it is justifiable given the different ways in which society views fifty year old women versus fifty year old men, Connie sees the women Zack dated before he got reacquainted with her and they are all twenty years younger and stunningly attractive, how can she compete?

I thought the start was a bit confusing it seemed to go from present day to twenty years ago when the events were actually sequential - maybe its just me.

Apologies if any of this is incoherent, I'm writing this review at 2:30am full of cold and unable to sleep a week before Christmas.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: There's Something About Mira: A Novel

There's Something About Mira: A Novel by Sonali Dev
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mira Salvi is a medical professional engaged to be married to a surgeon. Her parents are very strict, Indian nationals who came to the USA. Because of an incident in her past, Mira has spent her entire adulthood bending over backwards to please her parents/do everything they tell her to do, even after they ostracise her twin brother when they discover he is gay.

Mira and her fiancé were due to spend an engagement moon (never heard of the idea before) in New York but yet again he is too busy with work and she decides to go alone - something that would normally be way outside of her comfort zone. While in New York, Mira falls over and finds an unusual ring on the street, threaded on a chain. Something about the ring speaks to Mira and she is determined to find its owner, so she does what every young person these days would do - she uploads a video to social media. Her brother's fiancé's family run a chain of high end jewellery stores and he quickly identifies that the ring is Indian in origin, made of the highest quality gold and was one of an interlinking pair.

A journalist, Krish Hale, contacts Mira through a vague connection to her brother's fiancé who he met at a wedding. Krish offers to help Mira find the ring's owner if she lets him write a story about their search. Mira finds Krish obnoxious at first, and puzzling because despite his name and his colouring he doesn't appear to know anything about being Indian.

Their search takes them across New York and eventually to India where they discover the sad secret behind the interlinking rings.

I just loved this, TBH I don't think anything was a great surprise, Mira's secret, Krish's secret, the story behind the rings, but it was all done very well and without anyone drastically changing personality.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.


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Review: How to Steal a Galaxy

How to Steal a Galaxy by Beth Revis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ada Lamarr is that stock character, the bounty hunter with a heart and integrity - think Hans Solo. A former inhabitant of Sol-Earth which is now almost uninhabitable.

The book opens after her last heist, to steal a prototype nanobot which the government intends to let loose on Earth. The nanobots are designed to clean up the polluted waters, however after Ada delivers the prototype her contact informs her that there is a secondary programme which is definitely not altruistic in nature. They need her to make contact with a government operative, Rian White, who has been shepherding the plans to release the nanobots through to delivery, without knowing that they are a Trojan Horse.

Ada's contact arranges for her to attend a swanky ball at the Museum of Intergalactic History on Rigel-Earth where the gazillionaire mogul Strom Fetor (think Elon Musk) is going to announce the launch of the nanobots and claim credit for saving Sol-Earth, whereas he is actually going to be holding the planet to ransom - very similar to what he did with the radiation sickness vaccine which he sold for exorbitant prices and thereby caused the unnecessary deaths and suffering of millions. Whew that was a long sentence. Rian will supervising security at the event where many priceless Earth artifacts will be auctioned off to raise funds to save Earth.

Think Ocean's Eleven (and any of the sequels) scenario. Misdirection, multiple players, multiple goals. Or maybe the film Out of Sight with George Clooney as the thief and Jennifer Lopez as the cop pursuing him.

I think I could have enjoyed this. However, this book is definitely part two. I felt I had missed out by not having read the first book as there was no real context for the love/hate relationship between Ada and Rian. Also, the story ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, not in a 'are they alive or dead?' kind of way, but more in a 'and what happens next?' way.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: The Wimsey Papers—The Wartime Letters and Documents of the Wimsey Family

The Wimsey Papers—The Wartime Letters and Documents of the Wimsey Family by Dorothy L. Sayers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A short anthology of fictional letters written by D.L. Sayers during WW2 as part of the war effort. TBH there really wasn't much in there for Wimsey fans - probably of more interest to WW2 buffs.

Wouldn't recommend buying.

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Review: Anyone But Him

Anyone But Him by Ronali Collings
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ingrid is a mother, works full-time as a partner in one of the big four accountancy firms in London, and has to do all of this pretty much single-handedly since her husband seems to spend his life on various holidays and retreats 'finding himself'. Also, despite being a partner, Ingrid still seems to do all the work while her less able colleagues get the kudos and her performance appraisal is never better than average. Add in an interfering (but well-meaning) Sri Lankan mother and her life feels like one big struggle.

When Ingrid's husband comes home after his year long sabbatical to tell her he wants a divorce, half the house, and custody of their daughter, Ingrid calls a code red with her sisters. She can't believe he thinks he can walk all over her. Ingrid's sisters send her away for what she expects will be a pampering spa retreat, only to discover that it is instead more of a wellness retreat all micro dinners and ten mile yomps in the Lake District. When she gets lost, a charming stranger helps her out and lets her stay the night in his cottage there is definitely a spark.

When Ingrid returns to London she discovers her mysterious good Samaritan Jacob is the new Investment Bank consultant on her big new project. But is getting involved with a younger man a good idea at this time?

I was going to say it was an unrealistic portrayal of life in a big UK accountancy firm but I see the author worked in international tax for sixteen years for PWC so I guess she knows what she is talking about - glad my firm isn't like that!

This was okay. Jacob was a bit of a Unicorn, just too perfect. There was some pointless drama with his mother and I am left with the feeling that somehow Ingrid wouldn't have turned her life around if it hadn't been for Jacob's support - ie not that she did it on her own.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Forever Yours

Forever Yours by Debbie Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Eighteen years ago Gemma Jones decided to give her baby up for adoption. A child of a single mother with substance abuse and mental health problems, and currently living with foster parents, Gemma wanted something better for both herself and her baby.

Gemma is now a history teacher at a school in Liverpool. To stop herself from speculating about young children she made a choice to teach sixth formers a long time ago, but of course now that has backfired because her daughter will shortly be turning eighteen and could (theoretically) be one of her students.

Her mother's issues have given Gemma anxiety, something which she self-soothes with counting items and memorising facts. Now as an adult Gemma is alone, self-sufficient, and avoids allowing other people to get close. She even moves jobs every few years and has worked all over the UK.

But this year events conspire to force Gemma out of her shell: a new student who looks uncannily like Gemma; a colleague who makes it clear he fancies her; a woman she meets at yoga; and her elderly neighbour who needs help walking her dog.

How very typical, I no sooner finish a book about a woman who was given up for adoption by her sixteen year old mother than I start a book about a woman who gave up her child for adoption at sixteen.

I have read and really liked a lot of Debbie Johnson's previous books but I have to say that this one was not among my favourites. First, Gemma's habit of counting things and reciting random facts was really irritating (although a shoe-in for a pub quiz), I get that it was a manifestation of her anxiety but my eyes glazed over every time she started.

Second, there seemed to be a little bit of contradiction about Gemma's childhood, at times the reader is told that she was too embarrassed to invite school friends home and consequently never went to their homes either. Also that she couldn't afford things so never went out or did things like other kids. Yet at other points in the story she talks about going to a friend's house and going to the cinema with a friend - and not as if these were the only times she had ever done such things. It was as though Debbie Johnson couldn't keep up the characterisation and/or it didn't fit with the plot at other times.

Third, Gemma seemed to do a lot of navel-gazing self-diagnosis, pages and pages of her dissecting her behaviour and that of her friends and family. Also (this may be point four), if you have no friends and essentially no family, why wouldn't you stay in touch with your foster mother and your social worker who both helped you enormously? It seems like a huge self-sabotage to cut off people and then whine that you are all alone.

Anyway, I liked it but I didn't love it.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Bumped for release.

[EDIT} Well how odd! I have just received this as an ARC and read it thinking, 'I 've read something very similar before - when I review it I must check to see what that book was, was it by Debbie Johnson?' and by gosh it was because I read this book two years ago! I feel it may have been toned down a bit (or I am calmer) as I didn't find it as annoying as I clearly did two years ago.

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Review: The Blitz Detective series: Books 1, 2, 3, 4: The Blitz Detective, The Canning Town Murder, The Custom House Murder, The Stratford Murder

The Blitz Detective series: Books 1, 2, 3, 4: The Blitz Detective, The Canning Town Murder, The Custom House Murder, The Stratford Murder by Mike Hollow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Blitz Detective - Four stars
Its 1940 and the Blitz has begun. For Detective Inspector John Jago it brings back unpleasant associations from his time in the trenches in WW1, being bombarded day and night. During the height of the bombing of East London an ARP Warden finds a man dead, slumped over the steering wheel of a van, it appears he has committed suicide, but on closer inspection he has also been stabbed in the heart.

The victim, Charles Villiers is a local Justice of the Peace and owns a printing factory nearby. However, before DI Jago and his new assistant Detective Constable Peter Cradock can get a police photographer and coroner to view the body the van is hit by German bombs and explodes!

When Jago starts to investigate Villiers it appears he wasn't a very nice man. His wife was clearly put upon, his son feels relief that his father is dead, his brother barely speaks to him, he's known to chase his female employees (and worse) and a lot of the people Jago speaks to suspect that he may have been involved in something 'dodgy'.

I did have trouble keeping the various characters straight in my head at times, especially when the story just leaps into a discussion between (say) Albert and Gus and you can't for the life of you remember who either of them are. Also because the man was such a pill there are clearly a lot of people with motive.

On reflection, perhaps the motive was a little far-fetched, and the final discovery overly dramatic, but it all hung together.

On to the second book.

The Canning Town Murder - Four stars
The second outing for the Blitz detective. After a night of bombing an ARP clean-up crew find a woman's body amongst the wreckage, the only trouble was ... the body wasn't there when they cleared the site earlier that evening.

Detective Inspector John Jago and Detective Constable Cradock are called in to investigate. The woman is Mary Watkins, an HR administrator for a local factory which, among other things, is manufacturing transistors for secret government work.

Jago's investigation encompasses Fifth Columnists, black marketeering, blackmail, bigamy, and just plain greed.

This series is growing on me nicely, some personal development between Jago and the American journalist and good historical detail.

Apologies for the brief review, I've returned from holiday with half a dozen books to review!

The Custom House Murder - Three and a half stars.

The third book in a series set during WW2 focusing on a police detective DI John Jago, based in West Ham (one of the poorer areas of London).

In this instalment, a young lad looking for shrapnel after the all-clear is sounded finds a dead body in a public air-raid shelter. The victim turns out to be an English teacher and a pacifist, yet he was found in possession of a gun.

As John unravels the mystery of the murder his investigation is crossed by several pacifists, a love triangle, profiteering, and a budding romance for his sidekick PC Cradock. And let's not forget Cradock's first ever solo investigation - looking into a rogue trader who took a £5 deposit from one of DDI Soper's golf buddies to build an air raid shelter but never came back.

I thought I had uncovered the identity of the murderer. I was wrong. I enjoyed the mystery, I could complain that everyone seemed connected (and arguably they might never have connected the dots without a few coincidences) but then suburbs of cities are often like villages with everyone being connected in some way, so I'll let it slide.

However, I did find the lengthy discussion about god and belief a bit irritating - hopefully since I have read a later book which didn't dwell on religion this was just a one-off.

Anyway, off to read the next book.

The Stratford Murder - 4 stars
An ARP warden and a volunteer fireman find the body of a young woman in a dingy flat, strangled with a pair of the new nylons that have just been invented in America.

Detective Inspector John Jago is struck by the similarity with a string of murders of prostitutes a few years back by a person or persons unknown that the press dubbed the Soho Murderer - could this young woman be a prostitute?

When Jago discovers her identity there are more questions. Why did a married woman move out of her mother-in-law's house to rent a dingy flat? What happened to her wedding and engagement rings? Who is the father of her unborn child? Had she turned to prostitution? Was her death linked to the theft at the cinema where she worked as an usherette? Jago hears conflicting stories about the victim and he must sift the truth to catch the killer.

I liked this, I don't want to call them red herrings because I don't think they were there to mislead the reader, more we see potential evidence and review it alongside Jago.

I have also really started to enjoy the historical facts interwoven into the stories, I am not familiar with West Ham as an area but I love the descriptions of the buildings and the politics of the era, many of which have almost been forgotten.

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Review: The Stratford Murder

The Stratford Murder by Mike Hollow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An ARP warden and a volunteer fireman find the body of a young woman in a dingy flat, strangled with a pair of the new nylons that have just been invented in America.

Detective Inspector John Jago is struck by the similarity with a string of murders of prostitutes a few years back by a person or persons unknown that the press dubbed the Soho Murderer - could this young woman be a prostitute?

When Jago discovers her identity there are more questions. Why did a married woman move out of her mother-in-law's house to rent a dingy flat? What happened to her wedding and engagement rings? Who is the father of her unborn child? Had she turned to prostitution? Was her death linked to the theft at the cinema where she worked as an usherette? Jago hears conflicting stories about the victim and he must sift the truth to catch the killer.

I liked this, I don't want to call them red herrings because I don't think they were there to mislead the reader, more we see potential evidence and review it alongside Jago.

I have also really started to enjoy the historical facts interwoven into the stories, I am not familiar with West Ham as an area but I love the descriptions of the buildings and the politics of the era, many of which have almost been forgotten.

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Review: An Instruction in Shadow

An Instruction in Shadow by Benedict Jacka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Stephen's mother left when he was a baby, his father disappeared three years ago. Since then he's been living hand to mouth, gradually improving his Drucraft and finding wells for a magical corporation. He has discovered that he is the unacknowledged and oldest grandchild of a new, but powerful, magical family, but his grandfather wants nothing to do with him and has named one of Stephen's half-brothers as his heir. His other two half-siblings are actively attempting to eliminate him from the running, despite Stephen having no interest in becoming the head of the House.

When one of Stephen's old friends starts running his mouth off at work about Stephen having magical powers the police are called and Stephen loses his job, it seems like all he faces are bad options, a suspicious offer from a man called Byron who seems to hold sway over Stephen's half sister, dodgy off-the books well raids, or acting as a security guard for his half-brother.

Stephen learns more about the politics of the world he has been thrust into, but can he keep himself alive?

So hard to review.

I loved this, and yet, did it get us anywhere? This most definitely felt like the middle book in a series, but it also feels too big a story to get wrapped up in just three books. I wonder if, like Alex Verus, Stephen is gradually creating friendships and alliances which will help him win through eventually.

Can't wait for the next book.

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Review: Three Is the Luckiest Number

Three Is the Luckiest Number by Catherine Cloud
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blake Samuels and Elliot Cowell got together at training camp, but they both knew their relationship couldn't continue once they were drafted. As it happens, fate had them playing for a New York and a New Jersey hockey team - so close and yet so far.

As the years pass Eliot and Blake move on, but something keeps drawing them back to one another, Blake's younger brother is drafted to Eliot's team, when tragedy and professional disappointment strikes they are always each other's first call.

I enjoyed this but I didn't love it. Maybe reading too many of her books too close together has left them a little same=same and honestly the abrupt non-ending (the happy for now if you like) is really bugging me.

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