You Can't Hide - Karen Rose

In my desperation for another crime novel to devour, I found this, another sex/crime novel by Karen Rose, who I have previously been slightly scathing about. Mostly because my crime novels don't need a love story but anyway, this one follows Tess Ciccotelli, a cold hearted psychiatrist whose patients are being driven to suicide and all the clues point to Tess.

Dect, Aiden Reagen (brother of Abe who previously featured in another of Roses novels and a pretty terrible cop) certainly believes Tess to be guilty and despite the fact that he would love to sleep with her, her also hates her, thinks she is a total bitch. However literally nobody else will hear the idea that Tess could be a killer (kind of?) as she is such a stand up girl! The DA, the supervisor, Reagens partner, her friends and family, her partner. Literally nobody thinks she could be to blame, which is lucky because guess what? She isn't. Phew.

So Dect. Reagen takes a leaf out of his brothers book "Police Morals and Rules" and starts to date Tess on the side, whilst also protecting and investigating her, queue, lots of pointless dramas and a pissed off murderer who wants Tess to just GO AWAY. 

I liked this one, despite the fact that Reagen should of been suspended, at least, he wasn't the worst cop ever,  I liked Tess's friends, hell, I even liked Tess. It was a fantastic plot, dark and dangerous and although Rose had thrown in her trademark sex scenes, I found it easy to look past them. I didn't at all, expect the end, in a good way and I read it fairly quickly as it had me so involved!

Four stars. A decent, well fleshed out thriller. 

Friday on my Mind - Nicci French

Oh look its the return of the worlds most troubled therapist, Freida Klein. Seriously the woman should carry a warning. This time Freida is the main suspect in the murder of ex boyfriend, Sandy. After his body is discovered in the Thames, Freida finds herself with blood on her hands that somebody else painted there. 

So, as sensible and rational thinking as ever, Freida decides to abscond from the police and try to solve Sandy's murder herself whilst also, hiding from the police. And of course although Freida swears blind she won't involve her ragtag group of friends and relatives in her crazy decision, she constantly involves them and puts them into difficult circumstances left, right and center. 

As well as becoming a children's Nanny with no references, c.v or DBS check, she also becomes a murder detective, interviewing various people and attempting to assign blame. 

Yep, Freida is busy, busy in this novel, as ever. 

I still despise Freida, she annoys the hell out of me and I struggle to sympathize with her at all, but yet again, it is such a fantastically crafted plot, intriguing and brilliant, supported by the usual's, mainly the fabulous Josef, that it doesn't really matter whether or not I like Freida, because I like the world the French's have crafted together. Obviously, Dean Reeves is lurking away, only this time, he is a little more brazen than ever before. Special mention goes to Dect. Sarah Hussain who the reader can really sympathize with as she spends much of novel thinking "what the hell" every time Freida does or says something. 

Four stars for the fifth book in the crime series, hopefully by the time Freida reaches Sunday, it'll be wrapped up perfectly. 

Killing Kate - Alex Lake

Killing Kate follows, predictably, Kate! On holiday with the girls trying to escape a break-up with long term ex, Phil. She returns home to news that the murder of a woman who bore resemblance to Kate, has now become the case of a serial killer and his next victim looked much the same. 

Kate is understandably, unnerved and begins to feel that she is being watched and contemplates that she could. perhaps, be next.

But who could be the culprit? Desperate ex Phil who literally, will not leave her alone. Whatever the male equivalent of a bunny boiler is, Phil becomes that. Or is it her harmless work flirtation, who seems to know a great deal about the ins and outs of the murders? 

Meanwhile we get flashback chapters, the friendship group of three, actually used to have four, until Beth was driven away by a traumatic set of events. 

I got this book completely wrong, my money was on the wrong culprit and I could never have imagined the way the end unfolded. My only problem was really that whilst I loved the first half of the book, I hated the second half, I felt that careful Kate became reckless despite the serial killer ramping up his murder toll and although it was a good twist, I wasn't a huge fan.

It was a two star for me, but I think that's probably personal preference. 

Saving Sophie - Sam Carrington

I'd say crime is my favorite genre based on the books I read, I love a good murder novel, with a bit of stalking, or a kidnap. Saving Sophie starts with a murder, then stalking, then kidnap. So basically all the things I look for in a crime novel. 

Saving Sophie follows Sophie Finch and her mum Karen. Sophie is your typical teen, splitting her time between work, college and socializing with her friendship group, until that is, Sophie's oldest friend Erin is found, murdered. Sophie has no memory of the night Erin was killed, but deep down, she knows something. Mum Karen is desperate to both protect Sophie and expose what she believes Sophie is hiding, however Karen has problems of her own, shes agoraphobic and can't set foot outside (or sometimes even near) her porch without having a crippling panic attack.

I liked Sophie, she was vulnerable but at the same time, gritty however, she is a complete fool, hiding things she should of exposed to the police MUCH sooner and the same goes for her Mum, who seemed to value preserving her reputation over solving the murder of her goddaughter. Also the novel gives you the general impression that mostly all teenagers are selfish and bitchy. It was relatively creepy and had a nicely tied up and well explained plot with a sad ending. 

Three stars!  

The Light Between Oceans - M L Steadman

Note, this is my second favorite book I have read this year. A deep and rich narrative following Tom and Izzy, a married couple who live on the desolate isle of Janus, where Tom is the Keeper of the Lighthouse. However the picturesque life on Janus is marred by several things, isolation, back breaking work and Izzy's devastating miscarriages. 

After a heartbreaking still birth, as Izzy buries the body of her baby, she hears another baby cry. Desperately racing to find the child she and Tom discover a baby girl in a wrecked boat, laying beside the body of her dead father, as Tom deals with the wreckage Izzy scoops the baby up into the house and forms a plan that will change the rest of their lives.

Convincing Tom not to report what has happened and to keep the child as their own, they name her Lucy and begin the start of a wonderful life together.

However, as the truth begins to haunt them and their life balances on an edge, Tom is faced with a difficult decision and his choice is heartbreaking to read.

This book is so beautiful, so haunting and by the end it had me in tears. Tom and Izzy are complete opposites and yet you remain torn between the both of them and their actions from start to finish. 

5 out of 5. A stunning and moving read.       

The Widow - Fiona Burton

Another crime, another missing child, this time a thriller being compared to The Girl on The Train. Here's the scoop, The Widow is bloody weird. Literally the character of The Widow, Jean Taylor, i found to be more unsettling than that of her dead husband who was accused of the kidnap and murder of a young child. 

Throughout Jeans narrative we discover she is a woman who was easily manipulated by her creepy and insidious husband and as a persistent reporter pushes into Jeans life, literally, she finds herself again being manipulated, however as more and more of Jeans story is revealed and we discover just how much she knew about what her late husband was up to, we realize that Jean is not the naive pushover she has painted herself to be. 

It is a carefully crafted novel, focused on a harrowing case and told by a protagonist you never quite understand with excepts from the police officers involved and the reporter desperate to cover the story. 

It also explores some serious questions about how the media is handled in these kinds of real life cases, the desperate and devastated mother who becomes the newspapers golden girl, the mistakes made by the parents which the media glosses over and the difficulty in solving a crime and handling a case with the impact of social media. 

4 out of 5 for me, dark, chilling and misleading. 

Turbo Twenty Three - Janet Evanovich.

Evanovich no longer gives a shit if you want more Stephanie Plum, she is pumping them out regardless and because I love all things Plum, I keep on reading. In the midst of hunting down yet another dumbass criminal, Larry Virgil, Stephanie, true to form, happens across yet another dead body, not just any body, a body covered in ice-cream, stuffed in the back of a truck. 

Luckily this murder is linked to love interest number 1 Ranger and his security firm and this means that Stephanie gets to climb aboard the Rangeman team and go undercover, in an ice cream factory. Love interest number 2 is hanging around aswell. 

The problem is that in the world of Plum, there is never any character development, Stephanie is still torn between two men and playing them both, Sidekick Lula is still doin' Lula, sassy and big. Office manager is still Connie. Grandma Mazur is still getting herself into all kinds of hilarious drama in a variety of not age appropriate attire and Stephanie's Mom is still ironing and reaching for the cabinet. Again i'll keep reading Plum, with the dream that maybe one day, Evanovich will actually force Stephanie into making some big choices. Another 3 stars, its an easy fun read but I don't think Evanovich will ever recapture the early brilliance of Plum and surely she is running out of T words at this point right?