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Japan

Butter

Asako Yuzuki

Review	Butter, Asako Yuzuki	Karen Chisholm	Friday, September 13, 2024
Blog	#amreading, #amlistening, 30th August	Karen Chisholm	Tuesday, August 6, 2024
Blog	Updates - Week Ending 31st August	Karen Chisholm	Monday, January 15, 2024

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Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies, Catherine Mack

Karen — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 03:26:12 +0000

REVIEW

Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies, Catherine Mack

Reviewed By

Karen Chisholm

Friday, September 13, 2024

To be honest - read the blurb on this and nearly made it a hard pass. But I do love Only Murders in the Building, so I am relieved I paid no attention to my initial reservations, started reading and a few chapters in, was highly amused and very engaged.

On one hand it's all a bit silly - Eleanor Dash is a breathless, disorganised, needy writer who finds herself on a book tour surrounded by a busload of groupies (known as the BookFace ladies), a number of other authors somewhere on the unpleasant to unmemorable scale, an ex-flame, an ex-boyfriend (two different men), a stalker, assorted other people and her sister Harper Dash. Harper is also Eleanor's long suffering personal assistant, a woman who is in desperate want of a new career path. All of them are being shepherded around the place by a tour guide who seems to be a dab hand at reading from Wikipedia pages.

The central thing with Eleanor is that her ex-boyfriend wound up as the major character in her Vacation Mysteries series, claimed a huge part of the royalties, having done not a lot else except annoy her since then. It's a long story, the book explains it very well, and her ex-boyfriend is an annoyance that Dash could well do without. So much so that she's already planning the death of Connor Smith, and the entire series if that's what it takes to be rid of him. With the stress on a literary death that is. According to Smith, however, somebody is taking a somewhat more physical approach.

If it sounds complicated it kind of is, but then again it's not. The whole thing rocks along at a lunatic pace, with comic asides, a bit of steamy rekindling of romance (not between Connor and Eleanor despite what he thinks he's capable of), some dodging and weaving around manic fans and glorious food / hotels. Oh and there's three bodies by the end of it all. All the while touring six cities which are wonderfully evoked on the page. When there's room, what with the dead bodies, the food, the weird conversations, the confusion, the infights, and the personality clashes that should have been declared a fire hazard.

Needless to say this is comedy, and it works, in that it's subtle when it's not in your face, it's hilarious when it's not being subversive and it's very centred around a woman who is part diva / part victim. The resolution, when it arrives, makes perfect sense, and to be honest, probably could have been deduced if you're into that sort of thing. But if you're a voyage beats the destination reader, there is so much here to keep you laughing, guessing, laughing a bit more, smiling, hungry, wondering about what women see in some men, or what some men see in some daft as a brush women, or whether a tour to Italy always has to come with a side serving of death and destruction, EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION, SOMEONE DIES was just the thing.

BOOK DETAILS

BOOK INFORMATION

Author

Catherine Mack

ISBN

9781035032099

Year of Publication

Series

The Vacation Mysteries

Book Number (in series)

BLURB

Ten days. Eight suspects. Six cities. Five authors. Three bodies. One trip to die for.

Eleanor Dash, author of the Vacation Mysteries series, is on a book tour on the gorgeous Amalfi Coast when she finds life imitating art as her ex-boyfriend is targeted by a killer. Eleanor’s sleuthing skills are about to be put to the ultimate test as, among the literary rivals, rabid fans, a crazed stalker and former flame Oliver, suspicions on tour are flying faster than paperbacks off a bestseller shelf. But who is really trying to get away with murder?

The first in an irresistible new series, Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is The White Lotus meets Only Murders in the Building and is destined to be the hit of the summer!

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Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies

USA

Canada

Catherine Mack

Comedy

Review

Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies, Catherine Mack

Karen Chisholm

Friday, September 13, 2024

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Unblessed, Roger Simpson

Karen — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 12:42:04 +0000

REVIEW

Unblessed, Roger Simpson

Reviewed By

Karen Chisholm

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

UNBLESSED is the latest in the Jane Halifax series of books, featuring the TV series character of the same name. A forensic psychologist, Halifax has worked with all sorts of criminal types - from serial to opportunistic killers, and in the last book, herself, when she suffers from sudden onset amnesia as a result of a car accident. You don't need to have read the earlier books in the series necessarily, although Halifax has got a bit of baggage that she's carting around with her which is not always fully revisited in each outing.

In UNBLESSED she's in the US visiting her stepdaughter Zoe, when she finds herself dragged (kicking a lot) into the case of a tech mogul who is initially suspected of killing off her business partner and his girlfriend (who is also the CFO of the company). Now Sarah Noble is, in many ways, a typical tech mogul. She's on the autism spectrum, renowned for her constant wearing of headphones to block out the world and her astounding mathematical aptitude. She's got a company that is working with the American Defence force in the area of missile defence systems. Working with weapons systems, there are complications like the official secrets act, federal government and agency oversight, and some complicated contractual obligations and implications. Although it was an argument much closer to home that threatened the end of the company. Her now dead business partner attempted a takeover / to remove Noble, a problem that conveniently went away when he died in a mysterious plane crash. Needless to say, Noble has a perfect motive and the ability to hack the plane's guidance system.

Halifax finds herself court appointed to care for the sometimes mercurial, always tricky, moody, and flat out a bit odd Noble in a series of very luxurious locations, with an increasingly unnerving range of threats getting closer and closer.

To say there's a lot going on in this plot might be setting too low an expectation. Along with the plane crash, there's a tanking share price and a market that had already been twitchy about the battle for control. The work is extremely secretive and sensitive - the interception and redirection of missiles - which according to a badly timed whistleblower's accusations, may not be as solid as investors have been led to believe. Then there's Noble herself, and the struggle that Halifax has in trying to get her to cooperate with the conditions of the court imposed care and therapy orders. Noble's her own worst enemy frequently, maintaining a manic work schedule, alongside some serious depressive episodes, alienating everyone who seems to be trying to help her, and refusing to acknowledge the reality of a situation that keeps changing anyway. Add to that drugs, Hollywood connections, people wandering about shooting guns, and an armed drone attack, and, well it's no exaggeration to say there's a lot going on.

Reading UNBLESSED was a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand there is so much to this, you'd think it would be moving at a serious pace, juggling enough balls to keep a reader on the edge of their seats. Too often though, it slowed to snail's pace, bogged down in repetitiveness and side lines. Whilst the Halifax / Noble dance was all a bit predictable, the biggest problem for this reader was the way that big things just seemed to disappear into the ether. There is also Noble's tendency to move around a lot, which meant that the action seemed to be constantly packing up and going somewhere else, a metaphor that never quite became clear. Perhaps the biggest problem of all was that there were such big stakes in this mysterious weapons system, that one of the aspects of the plot around this just. never. made. sense. And came and went in the blink of an eye. As that resolution kind of collapsed into place, this reader was left wondering why the very long build up.

Book Source Declaration

I received a copy of this book from the publisher or author.

BOOK DETAILS

BOOK INFORMATION

Author

Roger Simpson

ISBN

9781761102608

Year of Publication

Series

Jane Halifax

Book Number (in series)

BLURB

Jane Halifax will need all her forensic experience to unlock the secrets of one of the world’s most formidable a Silicon Valley billionaire whose ex-business partner has just been murdered … A thrilling journey into the dark places where genius, money and murder meet.

It’s been ten years since Jane was in New York, but within hours of arriving in the city for a well-earned break and to catch up with her step-daughter Zoe, she’s dragged into a case … and finds herself up against one of the toughest minds she’s ever had to crack.

Sarah Noble is the darling of the tech world – the genius behind an AI defence system that hijacks enemy missiles and turns them against those who launched them. But when Sarah’s estranged business partner is killed in a mysterious plane crash, suspicion immediately falls on one of the few people who could hack the plane’s guidance system and had a motive to do Sarah herself. Brilliant, ruthless, erratic, addicted – but is she a murderer?

Against her better judgement, Jane Halifax agrees to profile Sarah – and is immediately sucked into a world beyond her control, where money is no object, murder a tool of trade and the stakes go straight to the heart of the United States itself.

The latest unputdownable Jane Halifax thriller takes us deep into the smartest – and deadliest – places in the where Silicon Valley and the US defence industry combine, billions of dollars are made, and souls are for sale.

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Review	Unblessed, Roger Simpson	Karen Chisholm	Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Blog	Updates - Week Ending 25th August	Karen Chisholm	Monday, January 15, 2024

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The Crag, Claire Sutherland

Karen — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 06:37:24 +0000

REVIEW

The Crag, Claire Sutherland

Reviewed By

Karen Chisholm

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

In Claire Sutherland’s debut crime novel, a body is found on an isolated track on the Wimmera Plains, where Mount Arapiles towers over all. Full Review at Newtown Review of Books

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher or author.

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Author

Claire Sutherland

ISBN

9781923022881

Year of Publication

BLURB

Will the mountain give up its secrets? While walking on an isolated track in the windswept Wimmera, rock-climber Skye discovers the body of a young woman. The body has injuries that suggest a rock-climbing accident, but it's been found more than 5km from the nearest cliffs at Mount Arapiles.

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Review	The Crag, Claire Sutherland	Karen Chisholm	Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Blog	#amreading, #amlistening, 20th August, 2024	Karen Chisholm	Tuesday, August 6, 2024
Blog	Updates - Week Ending 19th July	Karen Chisholm	Monday, January 15, 2024
Blog	Updates - Week Ending 16th August	Karen Chisholm	Monday, January 15, 2024
Blog	Updates - Week Ending 25th August	Karen Chisholm	Monday, January 15, 2024
Blog	Updates - Week Ending 31st August	Karen Chisholm	Monday, January 15, 2024

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The Lonely Australian of the Asian Night, Gregory Pakis

Karen — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 06:53:33 +0000

REVIEW

The Lonely Australian of the Asian Night, Gregory Pakis

Reviewed By

Karen Chisholm

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

A short story, THE LONELY AUSTRALIAN OF THE ASIAN NIGHT packs a punch in a few pages. With the proviso that you're going to be spending some time in the head of a deeply miserable bloke - one who was a boxer, a grafter and a bit of a loser to be honest. In Melbourne, in his teens, he'd been a chancer, then was a boxer with a bit of promise. But the gym he went to closed, and he slid. Back into nothing, a bit of petty crime, some standover work, and a life on the run from Melbourne.

Running as far as Asia he tried India and hated it, tried Vietnam and couldn't settle, Thailand and now Siem Riep in Cambodia. Dive hotels, hostels, pinching stuff from unsuspecting tourists, not above roughing up the occasional one for cash, he's floating. Sitting in a room in the not worst hotel he's ever been in, hiding out from Interpol, the local police, and himself to be honest, the story takes you deep into the mind of a man who has no idea what he's doing or why.

Short, concise, a character study of misery and poor choices in 7 pages, THE LONELY AUSTRALIAN is dark, hopeless, compelling and discomforting. And then it ends. With the reader and the central character, Paul, wondering exactly here he's going from here, or how he's going to get there.

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher or author.

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Author

Gregory Pakis

Year of Publication

BLURB

Hookers and hawkers.

Mosques and mosquitos.

Paul has had enough of Southeast Asia.

He's only here ‘cos it's cheap.

And he's on the run from police after leaving Australia.

No, that place wasn't much better either.

Well, it was when he was young. When his life was full of promise.

An up-and-coming boxer. And he had friends. And fun.

Then a bit of bad luck later and he found himself on the run in outback Australia.

Paranoid. Hiding from shadows.

The heat. The dust. The sweat.

Next stop, Southeast Asia.

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The Lonely Australian of the Asian Night

Gregory Pakis

Review	The Lonely Australian of the Asian Night, Gregory Pakis	Karen Chisholm	Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Blog	The Lonely Australian of the Asian Night - Media Kit	Karen Chisholm	Monday, July 29, 2024

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The Call, Gavin Strawhan

Karen — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 06:01:47 +0000

REVIEW

The Call, Gavin Strawhan

Reviewed By

Karen Chisholm

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

THE CALL is a debut crime novel from NZ author Gavin Strawhan and I checked that statement more than a few times whilst reading. It won the Allen & Unwin Fiction Prize in 2023, I did not need to check that. THE CALL is such a strong debut it's hard to know where to start, but let's echo the blurb "Gripping and suspenseful with a killer ending, THE CALL propels the reader into the world of a terrifying new kind of gang..."

Gripping - this is a story featuring Auckland cop DS Honey Chalmers, who, after surviving a very nearly deadly attack by members of a ruthless gang of criminals, finds herself having to return to her childhood home to care for her mother. A local entity in her own right, now suffering from early Alzheimer's, it's hard for both Chalmers and her mother to come to terms with the changing dynamic of their relationship. Complicated when Chalmers meets up again with her oldest friend Marshall, a man who now has a history of his own.

Suspenseful - on a whole lot of fronts. Chalmers is dealing with some complicated feelings about Marshall, now finding herself very attracted to him, much to her mother's disgust. Honey's sister Scarlett committed suicide many years ago and Marshall was the last person to see her alive, Allegedly Scarlett's love interest, he'd supposedly broken her heart, but there's a lot more to that story that neither Chalmers or Marshall are fully aware of. Meanwhile, there's a car lurking around that most definitely shouldn't be there, and two men Chalmers recognises all too well. Looks like the situation in Auckland has come with her.

Killer ending - in a nutshell. It turns out that the informant who lead Chalmers into a very dangerous gang's proximity, Kloe Kovich, had run from the same members that stabbed Chalmers. She'd left her three kids in the care of her sister, who is married to a gangland entity, staying out of touch and under the radar. But now she's lobbed into the orbit of Marshall and Chalmers, bringing a lot of dangerous trouble down on their collective heads.

Terrifying new gang - made up of 501 deportees with pasts and not a lot to lose. 501 deportees are New Zealanders sent home from Australia on "character grounds". This includes completion of prison sentences served in Australia, and the worst of the worst have no grounds for appeal. Arriving home in NZ, they have territory to claim, criminal activities like importing massive amounts of illegal drugs to get sorted, and an unexpected mastermind driving their activities.

There's a lot going on in THE CALL, all of which slots together seamlessly, creating a tense, fast-paced and very engaging storyline full of action, drama, a bit of romance, some clarification of the past, and doubt about the future. Chalmers is a great character, fleshed out well in this novel. She's brave, complicated and conflicted about a lot of things. Her future as a cop after the stabbing attack that very nearly killed her; her sister's death and the events that lead up to it; her mother's medical condition and what the future holds for a very independent and forthright woman; an increasing attraction to the man who was a friend, then became a family enemy, and is now very much a love interest; and her sense of obligation to Kloe. Wrapped up in a very keen desire to see a gang of dangerous, vicious criminals stopped in their tracks.

In other words, THE CALL's got it all in spades. But there's nothing formulaic or expected about where this novel heads. Great characters, great action, killer ending. More please.

BOOK DETAILS

BOOK INFORMATION

Author

Gavin Strawhan

ISBN

9781761188459

Year of Publication

BLURB

A brilliant debut crime novel centred on a 501 deportee gang, set in a remote coastal New Zealand town

After surviving a brutal attack, Auckland cop DS Honey Chalmers has returned to her hometown to care for her mother. The remote coastal settlement of Waitutu holds complicated memories for Honey, not least the tragic suicide of her younger sister, Scarlett.

Honey is hardest on herself. She let herself get too close to a gang informant. She got sloppy. The Reapers are a 501 gang of Aussie imports, ruthless and organised, and she's pretty sure the informant, mother-of-three Kloe Kovich, paid the price. But when a couple of gang enforcers turn up in Waitutu, Honey realises they are hoping she will lead them to Kloe. But if Kloe is still alive, can Honey save her this time around?

When Honey catches up with her oldest friend, Marshall, her feelings are complicated. As teenagers they were inseparable, but Marshall was the last person to see Scarlett alive, and there are rumours they were sleeping together, that he broke her heart. Honey fears Marshall is not who she wants him to be. Eventually she learns the awful truth about the events that led her sister to take her own life.

When Kloe arrives in town, Honey and Marshall must work together to try and keep the hapless Kloe out of the hands of those who want her – and Honey – silenced.

Gripping and suspenseful, with a killer ending, The Call propels the reader into the world of a terrifying new kind of gang – and introduces a major new talent in crime writing.

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Review	The Call, Gavin Strawhan	Karen Chisholm	Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Blog	Updates - Week Ending 31st August	Karen Chisholm	Monday, January 15, 2024

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Yes

The Body at Back Beach

Karen — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 03:13:05 +0000

REVIEW

The Body at Back Beach

Reviewed By

Karen Chisholm

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

K.J. Sweeney's debut novel is set in a tight-knit seaside community in New Zealand, when, after some stormy weather, Helena Statham comes across a skeleton that's been exposed because of a coastal landslip. It's turns out to be the skeleton of a young woman, likely to have been buried for around 30 years, a period of time before Helena and her family moved to this area, but a timeframe in which many of the locals are still alive, and can remember what was going on around then.

The police are called, a taskforce is established and an investigation gets underway, but Helena despite never imagining herself much of a sleuth, has time on her hands due to decreased working hours and she feels the strange pull of connection to this young woman, whoever she is.

Flagged by many as a cosy mystery, that description fits with the idea of the amateur sleuth and a long-dead missing woman. There's nothing particularly confrontational about this crime scene, except the idea that a young woman could simply vanish from view and nobody seemed to think twice about it. It's also cosy in that the style is very much that of a lot of telling, and not much showing at all. The pace is glacial in some areas, where the identification of this woman seems to take quite a while given the timeframe is clear, and the community pretty small. A potential motivation and a suspect pool slip easily into place, and Helena continues with her prodding, poking and talking to everyone method of investigation that does sometimes seem to take quite a long time to go anywhere.

THE BODY AT BACK BEACH is more likely to appeal to fans of something slower, with a lot of dialogue and a gentle processional style progress. There is time here for some character development, and Helena is a woman of a certain age, with a happy home life, a career that's been enjoyable, who now seems to be looking to shift her focus to something else. Dare we say it, but perhaps something with a slight edge, which she seems to be doing, within the setting of an archetypal small town and community.

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher or author.

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Author

K.J. Sweeney

ISBN

9781509254873

Year of Publication

The Kamogawa Food Detectives

BLURB

Helena Statham never imagined herself as a sleuth. But when she stumbles upon the body of a young woman while on a walk, she can't resist the urge to discover who she was and how she got there. Even if it means upsetting the tight-knit community of the small New Zealand town she lives in, and uncovering secrets that have long been buried.

Thirty years ago, a young woman went missing, but no one tried to find out what had happened to her. As Helena investigates deeper, she learns more about what took place back then, putting herself in danger now.

Join Helena on her journey as she becomes an unlikely amateur detective, determined to uncover the truth and bring justice to the long-forgotten young woman whose story has been buried in silence for far too long.

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The Body at Back Beach

Review	The Body at Back Beach	Karen Chisholm	Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Blog	#amreading, #amlistening, 30th August	Karen Chisholm	Tuesday, August 6, 2024
Blog	#amreading, #amlistening, 2nd September	Karen Chisholm	Tuesday, August 6, 2024
Blog	Updates - Week Ending 31st August	Karen Chisholm	Monday, January 15, 2024

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The Kamogawa Food Detectives

Karen — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 02:09:58 +0000

REVIEW

The Kamogawa Food Detectives

Reviewed By

Karen Chisholm

Monday, September 2, 2024

Nothing like Japanese crime fiction to remind you to expect the unexpected, although to be fair, I wasn't too sure what to expect when I plucked this book from the want to read lists. I also, freely confess, I have no memory of it going onto that list so something must have tweaked interest more than once. Published in 2013 it's obviously been lingering for quite some time, there are now 11 books in the series, but it looks like only the first two have been translated so far.

This first novel, THE KAMOGAWA FOOD DETECTIVES, introduces the reader to Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare. Together they run an unbranded, hard to find restaurant that obliquely advertises their side gig of a detective agency, which is dedicated to recreating dishes that only exist in their client's memories. Often holding the key to happy times, memories of childhood, friends, family and important moments in their past, the dishes are varied, the memories sketchy and Nagare often has to get quite creative in recreating them.

What happens is that if a client can find the restaurant, they are normally served a set menu of food which is always wonderful, and gratefully received, and then sit with Koishi to describe their desire. This often involves recounting the circumstances, location and involvement of others, as well as the reason they want to return to that moment. From there Nagare takes over, often travelling to conduct his research, working in the restaurant kitchen and eventually, on the return visit of the client, presenting them with the results of his labours. Payment is never preset, client's pay what they feel the service has been worth.

So not what you'd expect, not what I'd ever have thought I'd enjoy reading. But it was thoroughly enjoyable (and more than a bit hunger inducing). Gentle, sweet and slow paced, this won't be for everyone, but if you're of a mind for something different then it could be just the thing. (You might want to get in a supply of really good Japanese food before you commence.)

BOOK DETAILS

BOOK INFORMATION

Author

Hisashi Kashiwai

Translator

Jesse Kirkwood

ISBN

9780593717714

Year of Publication

2013

Series

Book Number (in series)

BLURB

What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time?

Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner serves up deliciously extravagant meals. But that’s not the main reason customers stop by . . .

The father-daughter duo are ‘food detectives’. Through ingenious investigations, they are able to recreate dishes from a person’s treasured memories – dishes that may well hold the keys to their forgotten past and future happiness. The restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to vanished moments, creating a present full of possibility.

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The Kamogawa Food Detectives

Japan

Hisashi Kashiwai

Review

The Kamogawa Food Detectives

Karen Chisholm

Monday, September 2, 2024

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The Sentence is Death, Anthony Horowitz

Karen — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 05:19:08 +0000

REVIEW

The Sentence is Death, Anthony Horowitz

Reviewed By

Karen Chisholm

Friday, August 30, 2024

2nd in the Hawthorne & Horowitz story, THE SENTENCE IS DEATH continues the author's insertion of themselves into a fictional detective story, featuring the investigative skill of PI Daniel Hawthorne and Horowitz's sometimes less successful conclusion drawing.

If you're new to this series, and the concept, then it would be well worth going back to the opening salvo, THE WORD IS MURDER. That should help with the background, even if a tendency for "What the" / "Why the" moments continue. Best not to reason why and just press on is my motto, because even with this whole thing being profoundly meta, it works if you surpress the urge to make sense of the central conceit.

Just to make the whole thing even more unexpected, Horowitz, whilst ably assisting (? getting in the road of Hawthorne's investigating) he's also working on live filming of the TV series FOYLE'S WAR at the same time. Like I said, just go with it...

Hawthorne is an ex-cop (isn't everyone), who is often called in as a consultant when the police are baffled by a case. In this outing, successful celebrity divorce lawyer Richard Price has been blugeoned to death with a ridiculously expensive bottle of wine in his bachelor pad. Which is a bit odd as he's husband is part of the investigation, and Richard doesn't drink. Then there's the three digit number painted on the wall by the killer. Right from the out this is obviously going to be a tricky case to solve - lawyers / lots of potential enemies / and a past death of a close friend that could very well have something to do with all of this - only what and how or who is far from clear.

So unclear that whilst Hawthorne and Horowitz are diligently following the leads, it starts to look very like Hawthorne's got a bit that he's hiding about his own life, and Horowitz finds himself left to draw some very dramatic, and eventually utterly wrong, conclusions about the case in his own right.

Which, to be fair, is a bit of a pattern it seems. Horowitz does a good line in leaping to conclusions in the two novels in this series so far, with Hawthorne doggedly following the evidence and understanding implications a little more clearly than the slightly erratic author. Which is part of the shtick after all, and enormous fun when listened to in audio format, as the author himself explains, eventually, what he missed and how.

The whole concept of this series works, particularly if you aren't thinking too hard about it. Which is easy to do as the story progresses here. The audio reading style is laid back and unfrilled, meaning these are really easy to listen to, and to follow along with. The plots are pretty twisty and there's quite a bit of tooing and froing here between witnesses in the past (there's a sub-thread about the death of an old friend of Pryce's in a cave exploring accident many years before) so Hawthorne and Horowitz (okay well mostly Hawthorne) has a chance to explain the dreadful accident, and the brutal death.

It's a fun series, and highly recommended in audio form.

BOOK DETAILS

BOOK INFORMATION

Author

Anthony Horowitz

ISBN

B07H5PTRPC

Year of Publication

2018

Series

Hawthorne & Horowitz

Book Number (in series)

BLURB

"You shouldn’t be here. It’s too late…"

These, heard over the phone, were the last recorded words of successful celebrity-divorce lawyer. Richard Pryce, found bludgeoned to death in his bachelor pad with a bottle of wine – a 1982 Chateau Lafite worth £3,000, to be precise.

Odd, considering he didn’t drink. Why this bottle? And why those words? And why was a three-digit number painted on the wall by the killer? And, most importantly, which of the man’s many, many enemies did the deed?

Baffled, the police are forced to bring in Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne >and his sidekick, the author Anthony, who’s really getting rather good at this murder investigation business.

But as Hawthorne takes on the case with characteristic relish, it becomes clear that he, too, has secrets to hide. As our reluctant narrator becomes ever more embroiled in the case, he realises that these secrets must be exposed – even at the risk of death…

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United Kingdom

The Sentence is Death

Anthony Horowitz

Review	The Sentence is Death, Anthony Horowitz	Karen Chisholm	Friday, August 30, 2024
Blog	#amreading, #amlistening, 6th August 2024	Karen Chisholm	Tuesday, August 6, 2024
Blog	Updates - Week Ending 31st August	Karen Chisholm	Monday, January 15, 2024

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Death Under a Little Sky / Death in a Lonely Place, Stig Abell

Karen — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 03:08:22 +0000

REVIEW

Death Under a Little Sky / Death in a Lonely Place, Stig Abell

Reviewed By

Karen Chisholm

Thursday, August 29, 2024

Having read these books pretty much one after the other, I'm going to do a combined review. This is a new series, DEATH UNDER A LITTLE SKY was released in 2023, and DEATH IN A LONELY PLACE in April 2024. Both book feature recently resigned Police Detective Jake Jackson whose leaving the force was precipated by a couple of major life changes. Firstly his uncle died, leaving him a remote property in the middle of the countryside, a place that is offgrid, offroad and very much out of the world he's been used to in London. At the same time a teetering marriage lurched to divorce, a previously loving relationship not able to survive ongoing fertility problems, and a general movement apart.

So Jackson finds himself living in this extensively, but oddly, renovated house in the middle of a large land allotment, off the road (he and all visitors must walk in and out), offgrid (officially, unofficially he has a pirated supply) but without telephone or internet access. The house also, weirdly has no laundry / bathroom which leads to some rather unusual innovations on the part of Jackson. There's a small village nearby which is full of the requisite eccentricities that seem to come with small English villages (an unofficial after hours pub for example), and a very attractive local vet - newish to the area herself, with a young daughter and a busy practice.

The stories lean slightly to the "poke the bear" and "sniff about annoying people" side of the scale, but each central plot is confrontational in it's own way - the first being the discovery of the bones of a young woman in a yearly village ritual that normally revolves around hunting for some fake bones, leading to some awful discoveries about the treatment of many more women. The second is sinister again with a clandestine group serving the whims of Britain's elite - some very unsavoury, and frankly disgusting whims into the bargain. In both cases Jackson finds himself working with the local cop in charge to discover the truth, bringing threats and chaos into what he'd hoped would be an idyllic country life.

Reading these two pretty much one after the other probably wasn't the best idea - there are a lot of similarities that really stood out by doing that. Jackson's life is content, and quiet, yet he's got that longing for a family he couldn't have with his first wife. There's the will they / won't they love interest with the vet that becomes a can they / how do they relationship, instantly threatened by every nefarious type involved in all the cases. There's a lot of family jeopardy here which is realistically and quite well portrayed, but the pattern stands out a bit by the second book. As does the romantic will they / won't they stuff which is well done but a bit repetitive.

The subject matter of these is slightly on the darker side, but the delivery isn't overtly confrontational without downplaying the horrible things that people do. The second book does include child exploitation and sexual abuse, but overall I found them believable and very readable. Just wish I'd not had an attack of the greedies and read them both one on top of the other.

BOOK DETAILS

BOOK INFORMATION

Author

Stig Abell

ISBN

9780063380998

Year of Publication

2023

Series

Jake Jackson

Book Number (in series)

BLURB

A detective ready for a new life…
For years, Jake Jackson has been a high-flying detective in London. But then one day he receives a letter from his reclusive uncle – he has left Jake his property in the middle of the countryside. For Jake, it is the perfect opportunity for a fresh start.

A rural idyll the stuff of dreams…
At first, life in the middle of nowhere is everything Jake could wish for. His new home is beautiful, his surroundings are stunning, and he enjoys getting back to nature.

A death that disrupts everything…
But then, what starts as a fun village treasure hunt turns deadly, when a young woman’s bones are discovered. And Jake is thrust once again into the role of detective, as he tries to unearth a dangerous killer in this most unlikely of settings.

BOOK INFORMATION

Author

Stig Abell

ISBN

9780063381117

Year of Publication