Review: Countdown to Christmas

Countdown to Christmas by Jo Thomas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Chloe is a single mother. Her son Ruben has gone to stay with his father, and his father's new family in New York. It's the first Christmas Chloe has spent without Ruben and all she wants is for it to be over.

Then a mysterious heir hunter approaches Chloe, she may have inherited a tract of land in Canada which, if sold, would enable her to buy a home for her and Ruben. So Chloe travels to a small town in Canada, miles away from any cities and is overjoyed to discover that they too seem to be avoiding Christmas this year. The truth is somewhat more prosaic, Bea the owner of the town's café/restaurant is heavily pregnant with twins, since she is the one who organises all the Christmas festivities nothing has been done.

Soon, despite her 'Bah Humbug' feelings, Chloe is wooed by the townspeople, she quickly starts to take over Bea's duties in the diner, particularly after she is ordered to go on bed rest until the babies are born, and the townsfolk get invested in her homemade advent calendar which Ruben prepared for her. Chloe discovers that her land is crucial for the own's maple syrup cooperative, without it they wouldn't be able to distill the raw syrup they tap from the trees.

But just when it looks like Chloe could be getting her very own Hallmark Christmas it seems that she might not be the only heir - and he has no intention of selling to anyone except the highest bidder.

I love a schmaltzy Christmas film/romance as much as the next woman but this just felt too sugary, without enough grit to make it real. All the characters felt like stock romance characters, just there for one-dimensional purposes, including the obligatory grasping ex-wife. I feel blasphemous writing this, but it felt a bit lazy. And the ending ... ridiculous what about red tape? Also the idea that you can chop and change transatlantic flights that close to Christmas is laughable - most flights are sold out months in advance at Christmas.

Not one of Jo Thomas' better novels for me.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: Infinite Stars

Infinite Stars by David Weber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I saw this available on Kindle Unlimited, saw reference to several authors that I knew/had heard of and thought this would be a good way to read some new authors and some novellas by previous favourites. This is going to sound really petty, but the lack of a proper table of contents listing the novellas and their authors really put me off. I want to cherry-pick novellas, or at least know which storyverse they come from, instead the only table of contents is at the back and has no authors!

Which is a long-winded way of saying I only read the Orson Scott Card novella set in the Ender Wiggin universe.

Fleet School - Renegat by Orson Scott Card - three and a half stars
Ender/Andrew and his sister Valentine come to the colony of Tarragona at the request of the governor Dabeet Ochoa to speak for Kenneth Argon who died in mysterious circumstances from a hitherto unknown toxin at a time of great unrest in the colony.

Now whilst I understand that some of what Orson Scott Card is exploring is what makes something a someone, something sentient. However, I felt there were too many similarities to things that happened in Speaker for the Dead.

Also, I felt as though half the story had been lost in editing, leaving me a bit unclear as to what had happened.

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Review: The Lady from Burma

The Lady from Burma by Allison Montclair
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs Gwen Bainbridge are approached with an odd request. Mrs Remagen, the titular Lady from Burma, has a strange request. She is dying of cancer and, when the time is right, would like The Right Sort Marriage Bureau to find her husband, Professor Remagen, a new wife and she fully intends to take her own life once her affairs have been put in order.

In order to get to know the Professor better, Iris attends a lecture at the Royal Entomological Society (of which she is a member) where he is speaking and runs into an old flame, Trevor Forester, who was last heard of deep in the Amazon basin.

Meanwhile, Gwen is desperate to have her lunacy diagnosis overturned and retake her place as a majority shareholder in Bainbridge, Limited. Especially since her father-in-law's recent heart attack has left him temporarily incapacitated. However, her financial committee representative (the man who administers her not inconsiderable wealth whilst she is deemed incapable) Mr Parsons seems determined to thwart her at every turn.

When Mrs Remagen is found in Epping Forest with an empty bottle of morphine, a bottle of wine, and a book of poetry the assumption is that she took her own life. But the young Essex policeman who finds the body is unconvinced, not least by her shoes which are totally unsuitable for walking in a forest.

Although unravelling the solution to this mystery seemed a bit convoluted, I think the actual execution (if I can say that) seems more straightforward. However, the greater part of the novel appears to have been devoted to the romantic antics of both Iris and Gwen, and Gwen's lunacy hearings.

I liked this, but not as much as the previous books. I felt like some of the characters (eg the two detectives) were very broadly drawn caricatures and some of Gwen's actions were plain stupid (although necessary for the plot).

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Review: Detective Hillary Greene Books 6–10

Detective Hillary Greene Books 6–10 by Faith Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read 16 DI Hillary Greene novels practically back-to-back so the reviews will be of necessity a bit brief. If you are binge-reading like I am the reminders of what happened previously can be a bit repetitive, but I imagine it means a new reader could jump right in and get up to speed quickly.

MURDER AT HOME
Flo Jenkins is found murdered in her armchair, a paperknife sticking out of her chest. It was common knowledge the old woman only had weeks to live. Why kill a dying woman? DI Hillary Greene faces one of her toughest cases yet.

I did not see this one coming, and yet there was mention of the crucial fact at the start of the novel if I had but realised it was important. I assumed and you know what that does ...

MURDER IN THE MEADOW
Wayne Sutton is found dead by a stream in a beautiful meadow. His head has been bashed in and a red paper heart left on his body. Who would kill the handsome young artist, who had a reputation as a ladies’ man? Can Hillary get to the bottom of a complex case involving jealousy, love, and cold-blooded murder?

I initially remembered who was guilty but not why, but looked at a few other reviews and it all came flooding back. Once again, there is something mentioned at the start of the novel which is highly relevant to the motive for murder.

MURDER IN THE MANSION
Mattie Jones is found brutally stabbed to death in her palatial home. DI Hillary Greene discovers that the victim’s snobby attitude had made her many enemies. But who hated this wealthy woman enough to kill her? Hillary tackles one of her most complex cases yet. Could a blast from the past shed any light?

In addition, there's a sniper picking off police officers at random outside their stations, everyone is looking over their shoulders.

Meanwhile, Hillary's boss Mel is dealing with an horrific case which is falling apart on a technicality.

MURDER IN THE GARDEN
Edward Philpott is found bludgeoned to death with his own spade in his beautiful garden. Hillary’s only lead is a rival from the village flower show who used to argue with the victim about the size of their vegetables. But what dark secrets from the past and present does this village hold?

Edward's family life is tragic. His young daughter was widowed and she had her daughter have moved back in with him, now she has incurable cancer and only a few weeks or months to live.

Meanwhile, the station is rocked by the murder of Hillary's boss, was it the sniper who has been picking off random officers, or could it be linked to the case which went sideways? And if the latter, can they prove it?

MURDER BY FIRE
David Merchant’s body is found in a bonfire in his back garden. David was a publisher and devout Christian. Who would want to kill this seemingly very decent man? DI Hillary Greene faces one of her most puzzling cases as she struggles to find anyone with a strong motive to kill the pious publisher.

I felt, perhaps because I am reading this book 13 years after it was originally published and we as a society are more aware (still trying not to give away spoilers), that the 'big reveal' was obvious almost right from the start and hence I guessed the murderer fairly early on.

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Review: Murder of a Lover

Murder of a Lover by Faith Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read 16 DI Hillary Greene novels practically back-to-back so the reviews will be of necessity a bit brief. If you are binge-reading like I am the reminders of what happened previously can be a bit repetitive, but I imagine it means a new reader could jump right in and get up to speed quickly.

After having retired to avoid bringing herself and the Thames valley Police into disrepute if anyone discovered she had helped to cover up a pre-meditated murder by a former colleague, Hillary returned after 18 months and joined the cold case Crime Review Team.

The cold case in this novel concerns Rowan Thompson, a student who was found stabbed to death with a pair of dressmaking scissors in his student house. Although he had a steady girlfriend, Rowan was known to be liberal with his affections with rumours that he experimented with men as well as women and had been known to indulge with multiple partners. In addition, the autopsy found that Rowan had traces of an unknown drug in his system, was he a dealer for something cooked up by one of the chemistry students?

Meanwhile, Hillary's stalker is escalating and she appears to be making some rash decisions.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Review: Murder at Work

Murder at Work by Faith Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read 16 DI Hillary Greene novels practically back-to-back so the reviews will be of necessity a bit brief. If you are binge-reading like I am the reminders of what happened previously can be a bit repetitive, but I imagine it means a new reader could jump right in and get up to speed quickly.

Hillary has chosen to retire early to avoid bringing herself and the Thames valley Police into disrepute if anyone discovered she had helped to cover up a pre-meditated murder by a former colleague. Her boss is trying to change her mind by allocating her a murder investigation just two weeks before she retires.

Michael Ivers is found dead on a small industrial estate by the site security man, who just happens to be our old friend former DS Frank Ross who (as usual) has been cutting corners and making a quick buck on the side. Michael Ivers liked to flash the cash with flash cars and a series of short-term girlfriends. he was also known to have enjoyed more than the odd flutter and belonged to a London casino where he would take friends and acquaintances. Frankly he was such a nasty piece of work that the problem is finding someone who didn't want him dead!

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Review: Murder Never Retires

Murder Never Retires by Faith Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read 16 DI Hillary Greene novels practically back-to-back so the reviews will be of necessity a bit brief. If you are binge-reading like I am the reminders of what happened previously can be a bit repetitive, but I imagine it means a new reader could jump right in and get up to speed quickly.

After having retired to avoid bringing herself and the Thames valley Police into disrepute if anyone discovered she had helped to cover up a pre-meditated murder by a former colleague, Hillary returned after 18 months and joined the cold case Crime Review Team, assisted by two civilian interns and a retired police sergeant.

The cold case in this novel concerns Anna McRae, a young mother of three, who was found beaten to death in her kitchen with a rolling pin. She was having an affair with her brother-in-law so her husband and her sister are high on the list of suspects, although the husband had a rock-solid alibi.

Meanwhile, Hillary appears to have found an admirer, who has quickly turned into a stalker.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Review: Murder Never Misses

Murder Never Misses by Faith Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read 16 DI Hillary Greene novels practically back-to-back so the reviews will be of necessity a bit brief. If you are binge-reading like I am the reminders of what happened previously can be a bit repetitive, but I imagine it means a new reader could jump right in and get up to speed quickly.

After having retired to avoid bringing herself and the Thames valley Police into disrepute if anyone discovered she had helped to cover up a pre-meditated murder by a former colleague, Hillary returned after 18 months and joined the cold case Crime Review Team.

The cold case in this novel concerns Hillary's stalker and three other women who have vanished into thin air - were these his previous victims?

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Review: Murder in Mind

Murder in Mind by Faith Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read 16 DI Hillary Greene novels practically back-to-back so the reviews will be of necessity a bit brief. If you are binge-reading like I am the reminders of what happened previously can be a bit repetitive, but I imagine it means a new reader could jump right in and get up to speed quickly.

After having retired to avoid bringing herself and the Thames valley Police into disrepute if anyone discovered she had helped to cover up a pre-meditated murder by a former colleague, Hillary returned after 18 months and joined the cold case review team.

The cold case in this novel concerns Sylvia Perkins, a 75 year old pensioner, battered to death by what is thought to have been her own fire poker. Suspicion originally fell on her ne'er do well grandson Robbie who stood to inherit what little she had, but there was no evidence that he had been there. Another suspect was Sylvia's love rival for a dapper gentleman. Or was it her close friend and neighbour who blamed Sylvia for poisoning her beloved cat?

Whilst solving this crime (which I thought was relatively straightforward), Hillary is also dealing with the suspicious activity from her new(ish) intern Jake, a multi-millionaire entrepreneur with an ulterior motive for joining the squad.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Review: More Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up

More Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up by Alexandra Potter
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 10%.

Okay, before you jump down my throat for DNFing a book so early, in my defence the blurb said this was hilarious and un-put-downable. I can assure you it is neither. I didn't find anything funny, it just seems to be a first-person POV story/podcast with Nell talking to the reader.

It just didn't grab me, sorry.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Review: The Girl in the Eagle's Talons

The Girl in the Eagle's Talons by Karin Smirnoff
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 24%.

I truly loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo when it first came out, despite the dark nature of the book and I read the following two books with almost as much enthusiasm, although even then I thought it was becoming a bit far-fetched. I'm afraid that this book stretched my credulity to breaking point with a girl that can't feel pain (albeit I now realise she is the daughter of Lisbeth's brother who also couldn't feel pain).

Maybe its me, but the sheer awfulness of practically every character, the murders, the beatings, the abuse, made me not want to carry on reading. Also, the translation felt off, or maybe its that the storytelling jumped about so much with so many natural words that I couldn't work out what was going on.

Anyway, it felt like it was all going to get nastier and I don't want those sorts of images in my head. This is a thing I've found about authors who write horror or about serial killers, they have to escalate the atrocities to go one better than the last one and I can see that this is going the same way so I stopped at 24%. However, I am sure that people who enjoy dark detective stories with characters with special abilities will love this.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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