Wendy Cartmell

Ragdoll by Daniel Cole

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A body is discovered with the dismembered parts of six victims stitched together like a puppet, nicknamed by the press as the ‘ragdoll’. Assigned to the shocking case are Detective William ‘Wolf’ Fawkes, recently reinstated to the London Met, and his former partner Detective Emily Baxter. The ‘Ragdoll Killer’ taunts the police by releasing a list of names to the media, and the dates on which he intends to murder them. With six people to save, can Fawkes and Baxter catch a killer when the world is watching their every move?
The book starts out with startling humour, making me compare it to a Stuart MacBride book. However, this wasn’t subtle humour, but right there in your face and to be honest it almost put me off continuing. But I’m glad I did. The humour settled down and the story raced along, from one twist and turn to the other. You have to suspend reality a bit with regards to the characters and their actions and just enjoy the story for what it is – a rattling good read!

View all my reviews

The Sixth Window by Rachel Abbott

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After eighteen months of grieving for her husband Bernie, killed in a horrific hit and run accident, Natalie Grey has found love with her husband’s best friend – Ed Cooper – and has moved herself and fifteen year old daughter, Scarlett, into his home. But Natalie begins to suspect Ed has a dark side – and even darker intentions.
Desperate to get her daughter to a place of safety, she and Scarlett move to a new home that holds secrets of its own. But has removing Scarlett from one potential threat placed her in far greater danger?
This was a really enjoyable read, despite the subject matter. With a deft pen and a penchant for always moving the story forward, Ms Abbott creates an excellent crime thriller, mostly told from the POV of the victims. However, an added layer is that Natalie’s husband Bernie was a policeman and Natalie’s new love is also a policeman. This added an extra frisson to the investigation into his death. The adjoining investigation into a predator grooming young girls and blackmailing them with their sexy photographs and eventually the sex act itself, was really well written, with a ring of realism that was upsetting to read. Ms Abbott never fails to deliver, and is well deserving of the accolades heaped upon her.

View all my reviews

Wrong Number by Carys Jones

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A missing husband. Mysterious calls. And the biggest lie of them all. Read with caution – you may never want to answer your phone again…Will and Amanda Thorne are living the dream until, one day, their phone rings. Within 24 hours, Will is missing and Amanda’s world is shattered. Who was on the phone? Where has Will gone? Amanda is determined to find her husband and is drawn into a world of drug dealers, criminal masterminds and broken promises. As the truth becomes clearer, she has to face the terrible possibility that she may never have known her husband at all…

Actually the ‘biggest lie of all’ is that line ‘Read with caution you may never want to answer your phone again’! I find it really irritating when books make bold claims that are clearly not credible. This was an okay read. I finished it. Did I enjoy it? Yes and no. The plot was too trite at times and I got annoyed with Amanda for being so bloody dumb! The hair brained chase up to Scotland was – well hair-brained. So, an okay read, which would have been better without the claims that it just couldn’t live up to and so in the end the book proved to be a disappointment. Oh, and don’t get me started on the end! But that’s all I’ll say as I don’t want to leave a spoiler.

View all my reviews

Don’t Look Behind You by Mel Sherratt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The small city of Stockleigh is in shock as three women are brutally attacked within days of each other. Are they random acts of violence or is there a link between the victims? For Detective Eden Berrisford, it’s her most chilling case yet. The investigation leads Eden to cross paths with Carla, a woman trying to rebuild her life after her marriage to a cruel and abusive man ended in unimaginable tragedy. Her husband Ryan was imprisoned for his crimes but, now he’s out and coming for her.
A well plotted police procedural with the theme of domestic abuse. Every woman DS Eden Berresford encounters has had some sort of abuse meted out to them. And then Eden comes under pressure of her own when the husband who disappeared two years ago, returns. Domestic abuse is a terrible thing and the author made a brave decision to examine it. However, for some reason I had difficulty in connecting with the victims. At times I felt Ms Sherratt was telling us all about how they felt, rather than showing us. This meant that at times there were large info dumps and backstories, which for me rather took away the pace of the novel. 4*

View all my reviews

My Sister’s Bones by Nuala Ellwood

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Sister’s Bones Nuala Ellwood
Kate Rafter is a high-flying war reporter. She’s the strong one. The one who escaped their father. Her sister Sally didn’t. Instead, she drinks. But when their mother dies, Kate is forced to return to the old family home. And on her very first night she is woken by a terrifying scream. At first she tells herself it’s just a nightmare, a legacy of her time in Syria. But then she hears it again. And this time she knows she’s not imagining it… What secret is lurking in her mother’s garden? And can Kate get to the truth…before she loses her mind?
I really rate this novel and my interest is being drawn more into psychological novels instead of straight police procedurals. The theme of this book is post traumatic syndrome. Who can get it? Can it be recognised? Can it be treated? The character of Kate is multi-faceted, yet real. Her dysfunctional family have obviously had a hand in moulding her character, but it’s her job as a war reporter that eventually breaks her. As she spirals out of control, she is still trying to get people to take her seriously about hearing screams in the night and spying a lone child in the garden of her mother’s house.
In a world where all is not where it seems, Kate struggles with her mental illness and her family to solve the mystery of the child she believes she has seen, but no one else does.
A seriously good book 5*

View all my reviews

The Book of Mirrors by E.O. Chirovici

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Do you trust other people’s memories? Do you trust your own? Should you? Princeton, 1987: renowned psychologist Professor Joseph Weider is brutally murdered. New York, twenty-five years later: literary agent Peter Katz receives a manuscript. Or is it a confession? Today: unearth the secrets of The Book of Mirrors and discover why your memory is the most dangerous weapon of all.
This book had an interesting premise, a tale told from three different viewpoints, each casting a little more light on the question of who murdered Professor Weider. It is a well-constructed psychological mystery which aims to highlight the difference in how witnesses remember things. But this is nothing new, we all know that if 10 people witness an event, you’ll get 10 different stories, each convinced they are right. Having said that, it is an enjoyable read. There has been an enormous amount of hype about this book. It was a good read, but a great one? Not for me. There are better books out there more deserving of the ‘great’ description. 3 stars.

View all my reviews

The Trapped Girl by Robert Dugoni

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When a woman’s body is discovered submerged in a crab pot in the chilly waters of Puget Sound, Detective Tracy Crosswhite finds herself with a tough case to untangle. Before they can identify the killer, Tracy and her colleagues on the Seattle PD’s Violent Crimes Section must figure out who the victim is. Her autopsy, however, reveals she may have gone to great lengths to conceal her identity. So who was she running from?
I really enjoy the Tracy Crosswhite books and this is up there with the best of them. With a convoluted plot and a cast of strong, believable characters, Robert Dugoni explores not only crime, but the human psyche. Fast paced and believable this is another winner!

View all my reviews

Untouchable by Ava Marsh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Stella is an escort, immersed in a world of desire, betrayal and secrets. It’s exactly where she wants to be. Stella used to be someone else: respectable, loved, safe. But one mistake changed all that. When a fellow call girl is murdered, Stella has a choice: forget what she’s seen, or risk everything to get justice for her friend. In her line of work, she’s never far from the edge, but pursuing the truth could take her past the point of no return.
This was a different kind of read for me, following the exploits of Stella and her colleagues as they are dragged into a sordid world for the sole reason of fulfilling their client’s worst, debased desires. Dragged into this world of sex and drugs, firstly for the money and then later to try and avenge her friend’s death, Stella begins to see herself for what she is becoming and she doesn’t like what she sees. But can she really extradite herself? Will she be allowed to? Stella was a confusing character, teetering on the edge of right and wrong. Most of the characters in the book were unlikeable but I began to have a grudging respect for Stella, a woman who knows what she wants, or at least she thinks she does! An intriguing read.

View all my reviews

Her Final Breath by Robert Dugoni

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite has returned to the police force after the sensational retrial of her sister’s killer. Still scarred from that ordeal, Tracy is pulled into an investigation that threatens to end her career, if not her life. A serial killer known as the Cowboy is killing young women in cheap motels in North Seattle. Even after a stalker leaves a menacing message for Crosswhite, suggesting the killer or a copycat could be targeting her personally, she is charged with bringing the murderer to justice. With clues scarce and more victims dying, Tracy realizes the key to solving the murders may lie in a decade-old homicide investigation that others, including her captain, Johnny Nolasco, would prefer to keep buried.
Okay, I admit it, I’m a huge fan of Robert Dugoni! And this book hasn’t done anything to change that opinion. He is a wonderful storyteller with just the right blend of personal angst of the detectives and unusual mysteries that they have to unpick the threads of. Tracy is far from liked in the department, especially by her Captain, who does all he can to discredit her and out manoeuvre her. But Tracy is nothing if not determined and will fight to her own final breath to bring justice for the victims of the Cowboy.

View all my reviews

A Tapping at my Door by David Jackson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When police are called to a murder scene in the Liverpool suburbs, even the most jaded officers are disturbed by what they find. DS Nathan Cody, still bearing the scars of an undercover mission that went horrifyingly wrong, is put on the case. But the police have no leads, except the body of the bird – and the victim’s missing eyes. And then the killer strikes again, and Cody realises the threat isn’t to the people of Liverpool after all – it’s to the police.
I found this book languishing at the bottom of my TBR pile and now I wonder how on earth I missed it! What a gem of a book, a great read that sucks you in and only spits you out at the end of the book suitably exhausted and fulfilled. Gritty, dark, determined Cody reflects the backdrop of Liverpool against which the book is set. I see the second book in the series is to be released in April and I for one can’t wait!

View all my reviews