Review: Second Helpings

Second Helpings by Dylan Morrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Sam Adelson is struggling to keep his family-owned restaurant, Silverman's Deli, open after a vicious review by a famous restaurant critic. more known for bringing down Michelin-starred restaurants than 75 year-old delis in Cleveland. The worst of it is that Sam knows most, if not all, of the review is lies, he's scoured the receipts and there is no record of anyone ordering the particular combination of dishes that were reviewed. Furthermore, he knows there aren't rats or cockroaches.

Then one day a blast from Sam's past walks in the door. Jake Thompson. Sam's childhood sweetheart. A man Sam hasn't seen or heard from in over ten years, although Sam may have cyber-stalked Jake a little in that time. But rather than attack Sam for what happened all those years ago Jake seems more inclined to want to be friends ... or maybe more.

Gradually the reader learns what happened all those years ago, can this couple get over the events of the past and make a life together?

I really enjoyed this, I liked Sam and Jake, but I felt the inevitable conflict was obvious from the start which is why this is a three and a half star review.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: A Twist in the River

A Twist in the River by Stig Abell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

A woman goes missing beside the river, local residents and true crime podcast aficionados gather to help search for Claire, hoping desperately that she will be found alive.

A few days later Jake finds a woman's naked body in the river ... but it isn't Claire's. Soon the body count mounts but it is still unclear whether the women have been murdered or if they have coincidentally died of natural causes, because there are no signs of struggle, violence, or drugs in their systems.

Can Jake and his trusty team of sleuths solve the mystery?

As a serial moaner I have previously moaned about Jake's gang turning into Slough House, lurid descriptions of Livia's body and random descriptions of people's clothing for no reason. I am glad to say none of these pet peeves registered this time. Also, I didn't guess the culprit's identity until close to the end ... suddenly a few clues came together and I was just a few pages ahead of the reveal.

Overall, I enjoyed this mystery.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Her Slap Shot

Her Slap Shot by Emma Kate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Finley Blake is the first woman to ever be appointed head coach in professional hockey, and yes her dad is a big name in the industry but she earned her spot at Denver Yeti the hard way. Her ethos is all about accountability, don't lie about your fitness, don't hide injuries etc.

Beckett Kane is running out of time, yes he's won the league but he wants to lift that trophy with the captain's C on his jersey but his hip is causing him more and more difficulties, when he gets traded mid-season to the Denver Yeti it just makes everything harder.

Finley was against trading for Blake, even though she had been lobbying hard for a veteran defenseman to shore up their team, partly because he was her teenage crush, even helped her with her slap shot on one memorable afternoon, but she is overruled.

There is an instant attraction, but Finley knows the eyes of North America are on her, just one slip-up will have repercussions for all women in the industry, and Blake gets that.

I was enjoying this, the Yeti's PR team cook up a competition where players and staff are paired up to compete in a series of challenges, winners choose the charity the Yeti will support for the year. Of course Finley and Blake are paired up (although I think it would have been better if they were rivals) and end up spending a lot of time together practicing their 'talents' for the talent show, learning all about each other in a Mr and Mrs style quiz etc, and the attraction just keeps growing. So far so good.

What knocked this down from a four star to a three and a half were the smexy scenes. Just ick, ick, ick for me. Don't talk about her pretty p*ssy, call her a good girl and start trying to order her about on the first time - just no. There was just a whole chapter of me going ick ick ick. Luckily (for me) that was pretty much it. Overall, it felt like this was wedged in to meet some kind of spicy quotient and it didn't really mix with the rest of the book.

There's a bit of family angst with Finley's dad, and a bit of noble self-sacrifice, but I could live with that.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: A Degree of Murder: It's 25 years since they graduated...but revenge never gets old.

A Degree of Murder: It's 25 years since they graduated...but revenge never gets old. by Maz Evans
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The blurb

IT'S BEEN 25 YEARS SINCE THEY GRADUATED...BUT REVENGE NEVER GETS OLD.

The Class of 2000.
The Actress. The Techie. The Bimbo.
The Sportsman. The Bad Boy. The Writer. The Singer.
The Lecturer. The Musician. The Mature Student. The Weirdo.
But who is The Murderer?

I don't really know how to review this, not least because my ARC had some formatting issues which meant I didn't know whether paragraphs ended mid-sentence deliberately or because of formatting. In addition, the book jumps around from person to person and between graduation in 2000, the reunion in 2025 and the murder trial in 2026. None of the characters had a particularly strong tone so I didn't really know who was talking or which was their 2000 persona. There is also the confusion caused by not being told who has been murdered, who is accused of the murder and indeed, who is the narrator watching the trial.

In addition, despite being set in the UK this didn't really feel British (no I can't explain why and I had the same feeling about a book set in Australia so maybe it's a Me thing) maybe its because big graduation parties and reunions weren't really a thing when I was younger?

Anyway TL:DR the book was structured to keep the reader guessing.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Flowers in July

Flowers in July by Anna Maynard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mary Roberts is a trainee doctor, she was in a six year relationship with Felix, also a doctor, until she discovered another woman's G-string in their bed. Now she's single and homeless whilst simultaneously worrying about her sister (single mother of three) and mother (issues with men and alcohol).

To escape her temporary lack of a home (and Felix her ex) Mary signs up for a week long wilderness expedition medicine course, only to discover that Felix has also signed up - allegedly to persuade her (yet again) to give him a second chance.

Despite the wilderness course being waaaay outside her comfort zone, Mary finds the course leader Abel is a reassuring and empowering presence, in his company she feels capable of stepping outside her comfort zone. However, Mary worries that she is mistaking Abel's niceness for something more.

I really wanted to like this but it just felt a bit meh. Abel just seemed to fall in love with Mary for no reason and was just perfectly kind and nice and supportive ALL THE TIME - he had no nuance or shadow or (frankly) personality. Mary was just dense. Men don't platonically hug you and sleep in the same bed unless they like like you! Also, to complete the trifecta of characters I didn't warm to, Mary's sister got on my nerves. Mary sends her money every month which her sister never acknowledges, every time Mary calls there's some drama with her nieces and nephews, then she has the audacity to complain.

Anyway, I enjoyed the wilderness course part but after that (and there was a lot) it just felt like Mary was being obtuse and there was manufactured drama, which made it drag.

Sorry, not for me.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: Death at King's Cross: A Four Queens of Crime Mystery

Death at King's Cross: A Four Queens of Crime Mystery by Rosanne Limoncelli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Its May 1941, the world is at war. The famous novelist Agatha Christie is volunteering at a local hospital in the dispensary. The author Dorothy L Sayers is writing copy for the BBC. Ngaio Marsh has returned to New Zealand where she cares for her father and volunteers at a local hospice for recovering servicemen. Finally, Margery Allingham is in the countryside helping those who have been evacuated or just misplaced by the bombings of London. Each of these famous authors of detective novels comes across something disturbing: blackmail; a sister's disappearance; missing drugs; and ravings about Nazi-style brothels.

Meanwhile, DCI Lilian Wyles is called into the mysterious murder of a young woman at King's Cross station. She was found wearing a flimsy silk nightdress, a man's coat, and nothing else, not even shoes. Her appearance suggests she has been beaten and possibly starved. Then abruptly the murder is taken out of Scotland Yard's hands and taken over by MI5 - the dead woman was an MI5 operative undercover on a mission. When Lilian calls on the four famous novelists little does she know that each of them holds a small piece of a puzzle which could put all their lives at risk.

This is apparently the second book in the Four Queens of Crime Mystery series, I didn't read the first book and there is no need to have anything other than the knowledge that these four women wrote detective novels to be able to read and understand this. I assume some of the story is based on fact (ie that DLS worked for the BBC) and other parts are fiction.

I enjoyed this, despite the coincidences and not having read the first book, and would definitely read more in the series.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

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Review: In Your Court

In Your Court by Kit Haley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...#

For once the blurb really nails it.

A sweet, steamy AF contemporary MM romance! Find inside: truckloads of hot, witty banter, exploration of queer solidarity, lots of tennis details but very little actual tennis, and amusing Australian/American cultural confusion.

Matteo Russo is an Australian tennis player. He was extremely promising as a young player, won a few junior tournaments, but a car accident left him injured and ever since he has struggled to reclaim his previous rankings. To boot, Mat is the only tennis player to openly state he is gay, a statement that brought him a lot of nasty comments and has made him feel like The Gay Tennis Player - every press conference, win or lose, he gets asked whether his sexuality had anything to do with the result.

As a junior, Matteo's greatest rival was Miles Callahan, a tall arrogant American with model good looks and oodles of money at his disposal. Miles now has endorsements aplenty and is ranked world number 5 (or it could be 3 - I can't remember and can't be bothered to check). Of course what made it even more galling was that Miles ticked every box on Mat's mythical checklist for a boyfriend.

When the two of them meet at the French Open, Mat puts up a good fight, but loses two sets to one. When Miles makes a sneering comment Mat points out that Miles wouldn't find it so easy without his five star hotel, chauffeur driven car, sports therapist, coach, manager etc, etc and challenges him to live like a 'normal' player.

When Mat gets to London in preparation for Wimbledon he gets a text from a number saved in his contacts as 'Scrunchie'. It's Miles accepting the challenge, he's come to London determined to stick to Mat's budget, forgoing his team and comforts. But as they bond over laundry and start practising together Mat comes to realise that Miles doesn't seem him as broken or defective, Miles sees him as his most difficult opponent, one who is impossible to beat when at the top of his game.

Although the film Wimbledon gets slated in this book for being inaccurate, I must confess to loving it (even tried to watch it the other day but refused to pay £3.49 to stream a 20-year old film) and this gave off similar vibes. There's lots of family angst and I felt it went on a bit too long towards the end but I loved Mat and Miles, two genuinely nice guys.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.


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Review: Murder-on-Sea

Murder-on-Sea by Julie Wassmer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Christmas is coming in Whitstable and Pearl Nolan is eagerly awaiting her son Charlie's return from Germany for the holidays. Meanwhile, someone is sending poison pen Christmas cards to some of the locals with some harsh (if true) comments. However, things escalate when earl's accountant Diana collapses at a charity church fundraiser right in front of Pearl and DCI Mike McGuire. After she is rushed to hospital and later dies, it turns out that Diana was poisoned with antifreeze in her glass of Jenever - a tipple which she had brought to the church for her own personal use.

Suspects and motives abound. Diana was at odds with her new neighbours, a young couple who have built a treehouse which completely overlooks her house. She was heard having a heated argument/discussion with the local GP, and it was common knowledge that she subsidised her son and his family's extravagant lifestyle. Not forgetting of course that as the local accountant Diana knew everyone's financial business and may well have been privy to financial woes or even wrongdoing.

Since Mike was a witness he can't investigate the murder officially, but unofficially if he can help Pearl solve the case and get one over on the detective in charge of the case he'd be very pleased.

This was okay. I felt like there were a lot of red herrings thrown in simply to confuse matters, lots of strangers, lots of secret meetings, lots of secrets. Again, while the murderer's identity was plausibly explained I feel that could have been true about any of the other suspects. Also, and probably more damning, this morning (having only finished it at 11pm the night before) I wasn't entirely sure if the murderer was also the poison pen Christmas card writer - which again is because as a reader I didn't get that 'AHA' moment when all the random clues suddenly dropped into place and there could only be one suspect. Maybe that is more realistic but it didn't give me the moment of satisfaction I want from a mystery when it's solved.

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