Publication Day - Book Review ~ Missing by Erin Kinsley

TITLE - Missing

AUTHOR - Erin Kinsley

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SYNOPSIS -
A MOTHER WALKS INTO THE SEA . . . AND NEVER COMES BACK. WHY?

One perfect summer day, mother of two Alice walks into the sea . . . and never comes back.

Her daughters - loyal but fragile Lily, and headstrong, long-absent Marietta - are forcibly reunited by her disappearance.

Meanwhile, with retirement looming, DI Fox investigates cold cases long since forgotten. And there's one obsession he won't let go: a tragic death twenty years before.

Can Lily and Marietta uncover what happened to their mother? Will Fox solve a mystery that has haunted him for decades? As their stories unexpectedly collide, long-buried secrets will change their lives in unimaginable ways.

I found this a slow read, but it was still enjoyable. To start with I did not really warm to Marietta, the Sister from Overseas, who loved to travel rather than stay put in one place. She had wanderlust.

Then there was Lily, who seemed to be left to deal with everyone to deal with their Mother who had gone missing. It was then discovered that Alice (their Mother) had drowned. It appeared to be a suicide but no-one knew why she would have done this to herself.

The story then merges with a cold case that is being investigated by DI Fox. The story of an infant found murdered many years ago. It was good how the author merged the two stories together. 

None of it was predictable, and it was good how the two cases were blended by the author. This is a book full of secrets, lies, family drama and family relationships. Well thought out and complex, making it a good read.

Book Review ~ Blood Brothers ~ Colleen Nelson #YoungTeens #DundurnGroup

 TITLE - Blood Brothers

AUTHOR - Colleen Nelson

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SYNOPSIS - 

A Winnipeg Free Press Bestseller! * In the Margins Book Award, Top Ten Selection * CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens (Fall 2017) Selection
Close as brothers, Jakub's and Lincoln's lives diverge when Jakub gets a private school scholarship and Lincoln is lured into a gang.

Fifteen-year-old Jakub Kaminsky is the son of Polish immigrants, a good Catholic boy, and a graffiti artist. While his father sleeps, Jakub and his best friend, Lincoln, sneak out with spray paint to make their mark as Morf and Skar.

When Jakub gets a scholarship to an elite private school, he knows it's his chance for a better life. But it means leaving Lincoln and the neighbourhood he calls home.

While Jakub's future is looking bright, Lincoln's gets shady as he is lured into his brother's gang. Jakub watches helplessly as Lincoln gets pulled deeper into the violent world of the Red Bloodz. The Red Bloodz find out Jakub knows more than he should about a murder and want him silenced - for good. Lincoln has to either save his friend, or embrace life as one of the Red Bloodz.

Publisher: Dundurn Group Ltd
ISBN: 9781459737464
Number of pages: 240

This is a book, I believe, that is aimed at young teens. Having read it, it's a good read as an adult too and to me, very current in the subject matter. The two main characters are Jakub (Koob) and Lincoln (Linc). They are best Friends and it's a well written relationship. 

It shows how two youngsters, both on the right path, can all of a sudden be separated by one taking the wrong path. 

It is something we read about in the papers weekly; gang life and lives being taken. It's very well written and I'd like to think that if a teenager read this it would give them some incite into what happens if you take the wrong path and how lives, yours included, can change. There were some strong characters in this book, and some vulnerable and easily influenced. It's heartbreaking in places.

I found the story very believable, and would like people to share this book with their teens. 

Book Review ~ Do Not Disturb by Claire Douglas ~ Penguin UK

 

TITLE - Do Not Disturb

AUTHOR - Claire Douglas

PUBLISHER - Penguin UK

BUY LINK - Click here

SYNOPSIS - 

COULD YOUR DREAM HOME BE YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE?

After what happened in London, Kirsty needs a fresh start with her family. And running a guesthouse in the Welsh mountains sounds idyllic.

But then their first guest arrives.

Selena is the last person Kirsty wants to see. It's seventeen years since she tore everything apart.

Why has she chosen now to walk back into Kirsty's life? Is Selena running from something too? Or is there an even darker reason for her visit?

Because Kirsty knows that once you invite trouble into your home, it can be murder getting rid of it . . .

I thought I was going to be reading a crime novel/thriller, but the first 50% of the book was more like a family saga, with many characters introduced , like Cousin Selena and her Daughter Ruby, Kirsty's Brother Nathan and his Wife Julia. Plus there's the guests in the Bed and Breakfast too. I enjoyed all the family dynamics of this mixed up family. There were many strong characters in the book. The only person I really warmed to was Kirsty, who seemed strong and all things to everybody.

I didn't enjoy the way the chapters were written, with some going backwards and forwards by a week or a month or six days. I didn't see the need for this as it didn't add anything to the story. 

The death I was waiting for finally comes at 51% of the book (I was reading it on my kindle), and the book moves from family saga to crime novel. It did blend between the two "genres" quite well though. The "whodunnit" suspect, kept changing as I read on. There must have been at least 7 suspects. The author delivers the culprit right and the end. One you don't see coming. 

The book deals with many sensitive issues such as suicide, mental illness, marital issues and many other subjects, without spoiling it. 

I did enjoy the book but I found it took a while to get going. I would certainly read more by this author again. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher Penguin UK, for allowing me to read and review this novel 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Claire Douglas always wanted to write novels and, after many years of trying to get published, her dream came true when she won the Marie Claire Debut Novel Award in 2013 with THE SISTERS.

Her subsequent novels LOCAL GIRL MISSING, LAST SEEN ALIVE and DO NOT DISTURB all reached the Sunday Times top ten bestsellers list and are published in over fifteen countries. LOCAL GIRL MISSING was the bestselling crime debut of 2018 in Germany. Her fifth thriller, THEN SHE VANISHES is due for release in Ebook end of June 2019 and in paperback August 2019.

You can find Claire on Twitter at @DougieClaire, instagram as clairedouglasauthor or visit her Facebook page clairedouglasauthor

Dark Corners by Darren O'Sullivan - Psychological Thriller ~ Book Review

TITLE - Dark Corners

AUTHOR - Darren O'Sullivan

BOOK LENGTH - 400 pages

Buy Link - Click here

SYNOPSIS 

You thought you’d escaped your past

It’s been twenty years since Neve’s best friend Chloe went missing. Neve has never recovered and promised herself she’d never go back to that place.

But secrets can come back to haunt you

When Neve receives news that her first boyfriend Jamie has gone missing, she’s forced to return. Jamie has vanished without a trace in a disappearance that echoes the events of all those years ago. Somebody is watching and will stop at nothing until the truth about what took place that night is revealed …

Darren O'Sullivan was a new author to me, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. All I knew was I loved a good psychological thriller and hoped that this would be one for me. 

I was not disappointed. 

The main character for the book was Neve. I instantly warmed to her as there was something vulnerable about her. After her best friend went missing when they were young, she escaped her home town saying she'd never go back. She started a new life, and eventually became a part owner in a cafe with a friend.  Her demons would not go away. Her life was becoming a mess. Strange things were happening. Then her first love Jamie went missing and she knew she had to go home. 

The Author has developed some great characters in this book. Neve definitely being my favourite. I enjoyed how the relationship between Neve and her estranged Dad was written. It was very heartwarming.

The way the book went back in time and then brought us back to the present, was very well written and it helped you to connect with all the characters. There were several characters in the book, but it never got to the stage where you were confused about who was who, due to the way it was written. 

There were so many twists and turns in the book, with a big one at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and recommend it to those who like psychological thrillers by Authors like Louise Jensen and Teresa Driscoll. I am now seeking out more books by this Author. 

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in return for an honest review. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Darren O'Sullivan is the author of #1 bestsellers, OUR LITTLE SECRET, CLOSE YOUR EYES and CLOSER THAN YOU THINK. His latest, DARK CORNERS came out April 2020.

When Darren isn't writing, he is usually rolling around on the floor, pretending to be a pirate with his 5 year old.

You can follow him on Twitter/instagram @Darrensully or on Facebook via his author page Darren O'Sullivan-author