Category Archives: crime

Book Review: The Ski Trip by Sarah Clarke

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⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Summary

When four friends go on a skiing trip to the French alps, their trip comes to a sudden end when one of their group dies while skiing. His wife travels to France to collect his body, but when she arrives, there are unexpected problems, that keep her in France longer than expected.

Zoe can’t help but wonder if her husband’s death was an accident or murder.

Published September 2023
Kindle edition, 333 pages

My Thoughts

This book had multiple suspects, an interesting story line, and unforeseen twists and turns. until the ending, which I found was quite predictable and disappointing. I did enjoy most of the story, but found some of the personalities annoying, and the relationships between those in the group, and their behaviours were a bit difficult to believe.

At times this was quite a tense psychological thriller, but it was spoiled by a predictable ending. I loved the first half of this novel, but the middle left me very cold and seemed to drag on a bit. There were times towards the end that I was tempted to give up and not finish.

Star Rating 

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unputdownable. Would read it again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic read. Not to be missed

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyable. Would recommend it.

⭐️⭐️ Wouldn’t read it again.

⭐️ Don’t recommend this book at all

💫 Half Star

The book mentioned in this post is of my own choice and has not been sent to me to review. My opinions are my own and I receive no renumeration at all for them.

To keep up with the latest book reviews, please pop your email into the box in the side bar. This will ensure you are notified of all updates.

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© 2024 Copyright. all rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com

Book Review: The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci

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The 6:20 Man
by
David Baldacci

Summary

Every day, ex veteran Travis Devine, takes the 6:20 train into Manhattan, where he works at the city’s largest investment firm. As he looks out the train window, at the homes of the rich and famous, he dreams of what life will be like for him in one of those houses, when he joins the wealthy set. He lives a mundane existence of travelling to and from work, and doing very little of any interest in the evenings.

From the morning that Travis arrives at work to find that his friend and co-worker has been murdered, in the building, his life changes, as he becomes mixed up in one drama after another. At the same time, he agrees to a clandestine role with a government agency who is investigating his firm. This role is dangerous and takes him from the lives of the wealthy, who he used to watch from the train window, to the country’s government agency where he immediately senses there is something that isn’t right.

There is also something that isn’t right at his firm. Along with the murder there are financial crimes, corrupt business men and other things happening that are definitely not above board.

To make things worse, he very quickly becomes a target for the killer who hasn’t yet been found.

Published July 2022. 432 pages.

My Thoughts

I rode every bump of this stomach churning thriller. It was like a roller coaster ride. I decided many times who the killer was, only to quickly realise I was wrong. I loved the character of Travis Devine. I found his back story and personality to be very believable and likeable.

I’m not particularly a Baldacci fan, but I’ve read a few of his books and enjoyed them. Parts of the story line were a bit unbelievable, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment. I had the feeling that this could be the first of a Travis Devine series. If so, I’d be happy to read about what happens next in his life.

Star Rating 

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unputdownable. Would read it again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic read. Not to be missed

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyable. Would recommend it.

⭐️⭐️ Wouldn’t read it again.

⭐️ Don’t recommend this book at all.

The books mentioned in this post are of my own choice and have not been sent to me to review. My opinions are my own and I receive no renumeration at all for them.

Have you read The Storm Sister? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I promise to always reply to comments made below.

To keep up with the latest book reviews, please pop your email into the box in the side bar. This will ensure you are notified of all updates.

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© 2023 Copyright. all rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com

Book Review: The Murders at Fleat House by Lucinda Riley

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The Murders at Fleat House
by
Lucinda Riley

Summary

The Murders at Fleat House is a gripping murder mystery, full of suspense. Fleat House is at St. Stephens, a private boarding school. The murder of a pupil is shocking and terrifying for the community, including the students and teachers.

At first the death is considered to be an accident, but police were not so sure, and started an investigation, headed by Detective Inspector Jazmin Hunter who had recently resigned from the force. She agrees to return for this case only, as it occurred close to where she now lives.

As important leads are uncovered, they seem to make things more complicated until a discovery at the school causes further complications.

Published in 2022. 576 pages

My Thoughts

This is a totally intriguing police proceedural crime novel, that I found difficult to put down. This book was a real page turner with unexpected cliff hangers. There were many twists and turns that couldn’t be foreseen, and I had no idea at all who the murderer was, until the very end.

I enjoyed the character of the Detective Inspector, who was very real and believable. I found the police proceedural part of the story more than interesting. The characters and conflicts added to the story of the murders.

A few characters in this story appeared in a previous novel about the author, which I have not read, but this novel is stand alone and doesn’t rely on the story line of the previous novel.

The author, Lucinda Riley died in 2021. The Murders at Fleat House was written in 2006, but had never been published. Her son published it posthumously.

Star Rating 

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unputdownable. Would read it again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic read. Not to be missed

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyable. Would recommend it.

⭐️⭐️ Wouldn’t read it again.

⭐️ Don’t recommend this book at all.

The books mentioned in this post are of my own choice and have not been sent to me to review. My opinions are my own and I receive no renumeration at all for them.

Have you read this book? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I promise to always reply to comments made in the section below.

To keep up with the latest book reviews, please pop your email into the box in the side bar. This will ensure you are notified of all updates.

Find me here: Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads


© 2023 Copyright. all rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com

Book Review: The Boy From The Woods by Harlan Coben

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Summary

“Thirty years ago, Wilde was found as a boy, after having lived alone in the woods, for many years, with no memory of his past. Now an adult, he still doesn’t know where he comes from, and another child has gone missing.

No one seems to take Naomi Pine’s disappearance seriously, not even her father-with one exception. Hester Crimstein, a television criminal attorney, knows through her grandson that Naomi was relentlessly bullied at school. Hester asks Wilde-with whom she shares a tragic connection-to use his unique skills to help find Naomi.

Wilde can’t ignore an outcast in trouble, but in order to find Naomi he must venture back into the community where he has never fit in, a place where the powerful are protected even when they harbor secrets that could destroy the lives of millions . . . secrets that Wilde must uncover before it’s too late”. – Goodreads

Published in March 2020, 371 Pages

My Thoughts

I’ve only recently come to Harlan Coben, having read a few of his books in the past few months and falling in love with his writing style and characters. From reading about Harlan Coben, I found out that Hester Crimstein is a character that turns up in a small way in a few of his stories. In this book she has a major part, and I can understand why readers have fallen in love with her. Hester is a sassy, bright, strong willed lawyer who has a major role in this story. I really can’t wait to read more about her in his other books.

The Boy From The Woods has a plot that gripped me immediately, and characters who had a very strong base and who kept my interest. For that matter, each of the Harlan Coben books that I’ve read, have been based on a strong storyline with great characters.

Reading this book felt like I was on a roller coaster. There was so much happening, and so much that was unexpected. Along with the story of a boy who was found in the woods years earlier, there was political scandal and intrigue, along with a teenager who had disappeared, and much, much more. I’m looking forward to reading more Harlan Coben books.

About The Author

Harlan Coben is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of the world’s leading storytellers. His suspense novels are published in forty-five languages and have been number one bestsellers in more than a dozen countries with seventy-five million books in print worldwide.- Goodreads

Star Rating 

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unputdownable. Would read it again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic read. Not to be missed

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyable. Would recommend it.

⭐️⭐️ Wouldn’t read it again.

⭐️ Don’t recommend this book at all.

The books mentioned in this post are of my own choice and have not been sent to me to review. My opinions are my own and I receive no renumeration at all for them.

Have you read this book? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I promise to always reply to comments made in the section below.

To keep up with the latest book reviews, please pop your email into the box in the side bar. This will ensure you are notified of all updates.

Find me here: Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads

© 2023 Copyright. all rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com

U: Unsolved by James Patterson and David Ellis #atozchallenge #audiobook

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The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge  is for bloggers who wish to participate by publishing a blog post every day in April except for Sundays. Each blog post will focus on a letter of the alphabet. For example April 1 will be A, April 2 will be B and on it goes. By the end of April, a blog post for every letter of the alphabet will have been posted. My theme for 2023 is Book Reviews.

You can read my reviews without worrying about spoilers. My reviews are quite brief and I give away nothing more than you would read on the back cover or on Goodreads.

Unsolved
Invisible $2
by
James Patterson and David Ellis

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summary

“For Dr. David Beck, the loss was shattering. And every day for the past eight years, he has relived the horror of what happened. The gleaming lake. The pale moonlight. The piercing screams. The night his wife was taken. The last night he saw her alive.

Everyone tells him it’s time to move on, to forget the past once and for all. But for David Beck, there can be no closure. A message has appeared on his computer, a phrase only he and his dead wife know. Suddenly Beck is taunted with the impossible- that somewhere, somehow, Elizabeth is alive.

Beck has been warned to tell no one. And he doesn’t. Instead, he runs from the people he trusts the most, plunging headlong into a search for the shadowy figure whose messages hold out a desperate hope.

But already Beck is being hunted down. He’s headed straight into the heart of a dark and deadly secret- and someone intends to stop him before he gets there”. – Goodreads

Published in 2019. Audiobook from Borrowbox

My Thoughts

I didn’t read Invisible #1, but Unsolved works well as a stand alone novel. In fact, I didn’t realise this was a second book in a series, until after I’d finished reading it. I have enjoyed the James Patterson collaborations that I’ve read so far, and this novel was no different. A fast paced, detective mystery with a great story line and a few unexpected twists along the way. There were also a few chills and shivers as I was reading.

Of course, as with most James Patterson books, it’s obviously written to a formula which is quite cliche – the FBI agent who goes against protocol, but because she has great results, she gets away with it.

 I enjoyed this novel very much. It was a quick read with an interesting plot and unexpected twists and turns. However, there is one thing that I didn’t like about this story, and that was the ending. It just didn’t feel right to me, and left me disappointed. Another reader could very well have a different opinion. The three and a half star rating was due to the ending. Without that ending, I probably would have given it four stars.

Star Rating 

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Unputdownable. Would definitely read again
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Fantastic read. Not to be missed.
⭐️⭐️⭐️Enjoyable read. Would recommend.
⭐️⭐️Wouldn’t read again
⭐️Don’t recommend this book again

Find me here: Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads

Images and author information: Goodreads

You can find my other blogs here:
Next Phase In Fitness & Life and Tracking Down The Family

© 2023 Copyright. all rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com

T: Tell No One by Harlan Coben #atozchallenge

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The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge  is for bloggers who wish to participate by publishing a blog post every day in April except for Sundays. Each blog post will focus on a letter of the alphabet. For example April 1 will be A, April 2 will be B and on it goes. By the end of April, a blog post for every letter of the alphabet will have been posted. My theme for 2023 is Book Reviews.

You can read my reviews without worrying about spoilers. My reviews are quite brief and I give away nothing more than you would read on the back cover or on Goodreads.

TELL NO ONE
BY
HARLAN COBEN

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Summary

“For Dr. David Beck, the loss was shattering. And every day for the past eight years, he has relived the horror of what happened. The gleaming lake. The pale moonlight. The piercing screams. The night his wife was taken. The last night he saw her alive.

Everyone tells him it’s time to move on, to forget the past once and for all. But for David Beck, there can be no closure. A message has appeared on his computer, a phrase only he and his dead wife know. Suddenly Beck is taunted with the impossible- that somewhere, somehow, Elizabeth is alive.

Beck has been warned to tell no one. And he doesn’t. Instead, he runs from the people he trusts the most, plunging headlong into a search for the shadowy figure whose messages hold out a desperate hope.

But already Beck is being hunted down. He’s headed straight into the heart of a dark and deadly secret- and someone intends to stop him before he gets there”. – Goodreads

Published in 2009. Paperback 70 pages.

My Thoughts

I’ve become a Coben fan over the last couple of years. Each of his books that I read, leave me wanting to read more. This very fast paced thriller had me interested until the last page. There twists and turns and then more twists and turns. The main characters, though flawed, were likeable and believable, even the more unusual characters.

Other than being a mystery/thriller, Tell No One is the love story of two children, who have been best friends since their childhood. The author has created a beautiful relationship and love between the two characters.

Quote

“There should have been a dark whisper in the wind. Or maybe a deep chill in the bone. Something. An ethereal song only Elizabeth or I could hear. A tightness in the air. Some textbook premonition. There are misfortunes we almost expect in life—what happened to my parents, for example—and then there are other dark moments, moments of sudden violence that alter everything. There was my life before the tragedy. There is my life now. The two have very little in common.”

About the Author

Harlan Coben is a #1 bestselling author and one of the world’s leading storytellers. His suspense novels are published in forty-five languages and have been number one bestsellers in more than a dozen countries with seventy-five million books in print worldwide.

Star Rating 

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Unputdownable. Would definitely read again
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Fantastic read. Not to be missed.
⭐️⭐️⭐️Enjoyable read. Would recommend.
⭐️⭐️Wouldn’t read again
⭐️Don’t recommend this book again

Find me here: Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads

Images and author information: Goodreads

You can find my other blogs here:
Next Phase In Fitness & Life and Tracking Down The Family

© 2023 Copyright. all rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com

M: Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan #atozchallenge

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The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge  is for bloggers who wish to participate by publishing a blog post every day in April except for Sundays. Each blog post will focus on a letter of the alphabet. For example April 1 will be A, April 2 will be B and on it goes. By the end of April, a blog post for every letter of the alphabet will have been posted. My theme for 2023 is Book Reviews.

You can read my reviews without worrying about spoilers. My reviews are quite brief and I give away nothing more than you would read on the back cover or on Goodreads.

THE MURDER RULE
BY
DERVLA McTIERNAN

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summary

“………a mother daughter story—one running from a horrible truth, and the other fighting to reveal it, that twists and turns in shocking ways, from the internationally bestselling author of The Scholar and The Ruin.
First Rule: Make them like you.
Second Rule: Make them need you.
Third Rule: Make them pay.They think I’m a young, idealistic law student, that I’m passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system.
They think I’m working hard to impress them.
They think I’m here to save an innocent man on death row.
They’re wrong. I’m going to bury him”. – Goodreads

Published in 2022. 295 pages

My Thoughts

After reading this author’s first three books, I waited impatiently for her fourth, and The Murder Rule didn’t disappoint at all. The story alternates between the present time and diary entries from 1994. It usually takes me a while to get into books that jump around in time, but this book had me from the start. In Murder Rule we have a story of corruption and violence, which causes much confusion to the main characters.

I’ve said very little about the plot or the characters, as I’d like prospective readers to start reading with very little knowledge of the plot as I did. This is a thriller with a strong main female character and many twists and turns.

If you like a crime thriller with an usual storyline and many twists and turns, then I would recommend this book as a great read.

About the Author

Dervla McTiernan is the author of three award winning books, the Cormac Reilly series – The Ruin, The Scholar and The Good Turn. The Ruin was published in 2018 and is the first in the detective Cormac Reilly series. The Ruin was a top ten bestseller and an Amazon Best Book of July 2018. Dervla was a New Blood Panellist at Harrogate Festival. The Scholar was published in 2019 and was a top five bestseller. The Good Turn was published in 2020.

My Star Rating

Please note that my star rating system isn’t at all based on literary merit, but is based on my enjoyment for the book.
For me a book that gets five stars, is a book that I really enjoyed, and found difficult to put down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Unputdownable. Would definitely read again
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Fantastic read. Not to be missed.
⭐️⭐️⭐️Enjoyable read. Would recommend.
⭐️⭐️Wouldn’t read again
⭐️Don’t recommend this book again

Find me here: Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads

Images and author information: Goodreads

You can find my other blogs here:
Next Phase In Fitness & Life and Tracking Down The Family

© 2023 Copyright. all rights reserved: bestbookishblog.com