Wendy Cartmell

The Sound of Rain by Gregg Olsen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Former homicide detective Nicole Foster has hit rock bottom. Driven off the force by her treacherous partner and lover, she’s flat broke and struggling with a gambling addiction. All Nicole has left is the dream of a warm bed at a homeless shelter and the haunting memories of three-year-old Kelsey Chase—whose murder case ended her career.
As Nicole obsesses over the old facts, she realizes everything about that case felt off: a disinterested mom, a suicidal pedophile, and too many questions left unanswered. When the little girl’s grieving father begs Nicole for help, she’s drawn back into the investigation…and given one shot at redemption.
But the deeper Nicole digs, the more evil she uncovers, including betrayals that hit painfully close to home. Will a shocking discovery be the key to finally getting justice for Kelsey and resurrecting her own life?
This was a fascinating look into gambling addiction and also into human nature. All the characters have flaws, some greater than others and to be honest it was a wonder how Nicole survived her boyfriend and her sister. As a result this book became more about the characters and less about the mystery and ended up being a cross between a psychological thriller and a crime thriller. That said, it was entertaining and an enjoyable read.

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Not Just Evil: Murder, Hollywood, and California’s First Insanity Plea by David George Wilson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Twelve-year-old Marion Parker was kidnapped from her Los Angeles school by an unknown assailant on December 15, 1927. Her body appeared days later, delivered to her father by the killer, who fled with the ransom money. When William Hickman was hunted down and charged with the killing, he admitted to all of it, in terrifying detail, but that was only the start. Hickman’s insanity plea was the first of its kind in the history of California, and the nature of the crime led to a media frenzy unlike any the country had seen.
There are two important elements in this book. One is the account of the true crime and the second is the social aspect where the author explores the reaction to the trial by the movie makers in Hollywood, as well as the general public. Did our modern media set monsters loose among us, or merely bring them out into the open? As the author points out this is still something that we grapple with today. The latest craze being put under the microscope are the bloody and violent computer games and a large part of society blame them for the disruptive youth of today.
At times the book read like a university dissertation, making it rather dry, but on the whole it was really interesting to read a well-balanced, factual account of a true crime and its effect on society.

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Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Annie’s mother is a serial killer. The only way she can make it stop is to hand her in to the police. But out of sight is not out of mind. As her mother’s trial looms, the secrets of her past won’t let Annie sleep, even with a new foster family and name – Milly. A fresh start. Now, surely, she can be whoever she wants to be. But Milly’s mother is a serial killer. And blood is thicker than water. Good me, bad me. She is, after all, her mother’s daughter.
This is one hell of a novel. I was compelled to keep reading until the early hours of the morning. The tension ratchets up as Millie/Annie gets closer to the time of her mother’s trial. But it’s not just that that Millie is battling with. It’s her upbringing and her genes that make her doubt herself, miss her mother while at the same time hating her. She feels guilty for not doing more sooner, if she had perhaps less children would have died. But she also realises that mother taught her lessons that she can now use to her advantage. By turns emotional and shocking, this really is a tour de force of a psychological novel. I loved the short, sharp writing style. In fact I loved everything about this novel. A fantastic read!

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Girl in Danger by Leigh Russell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When an anonymous source promises her a scoop, Lucy can’t resist the chance to make her name. The deeply unsettling meeting with her informant indicates that there may be more at stake than she’d suspected. Returning home with questions instead of answers, Lucy finds her apartment ransacked and Nina gone. Lucy knows her friend is in danger, but the police are unwilling to help. When her informant is found dead, she realises she may be next. Lucy has something the killer wants and he’ll do anything to get it back…
Leigh Russell is a prolific author and this is the second book in the new Lucy Hall series. I like the slower pace of these novels, which offer a good old fashioned mystery that Lucy has to unravel. There are shocking scenes and at times brutality, but the pace is less frenetic and more considerate. I loved the descriptions of Paris which came alive as a city full of light, but one that is not without its darker side.

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Worth Killing For by Ed James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On a busy London street, a young woman is attacked in broad daylight and left bleeding to death on the pavement. Among the eyewitnesses are DI Simon Fenchurch and his wife. Fenchurch pursues the attacker through a warren of backstreets and eventually arrests a young hoodie with a cache of stolen phones—an ‘Apple picker’ on the make. The case should be closed but something feels off…Was this really just about a smartphone? Why did the victim look nervous before she was targeted? And why don’t the prints on the murder weapon match the young man in custody?
A complex crime thriller that keeps you guessing to the end with a plot that has lots of twists and turns. The only trouble I had with this book was that I found I didn’t really get into the head of Fenchurch or his wife. That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy the book – I did. But I think I should have read book 1 first, to really understand their characters and what they’d been through. So I’d recommend reading the series in order.

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Local Poet by Paul Trembling

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

ROB SEATON KILLED A WOMAN. Rob doesn’t know Laney Grey. But when she steps out in front of his van and dies on impact, his life will never be the same. The police declare him innocent, but how do you deal with the guilt? He has to know who she was, why she chose to die, and why he had to be part of her death. To understand her, he must learn to read her poetry. To know her, he must unravel the mysteries of her past.
This was a very readable novel. It wasn’t a gritty crime drama, rather more of a whodunit with poor old Rob being pushed from pillar to post as he tries to find out why Laney walked in front of his van. With English my subject at uni I loved the poetry aspects of the book and the way Rob used them to find out about Laney and her background. More feel good than gruesome, this was a very satisfying read.

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Hide and Seek by M.J. Arlidge

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Prison is no place for a detective, Helen Grace was one of the country’s best police investigators. Now she’s behind bars with the killers she caught. Framed for murder she knows there is only way out: stay alive until her trial and somehow prove her innocence. But when a mutilated body is found in the cell next door, Helen fears her days are numbered.
This was a different setting for a crime novel and one I enjoyed. At times the officers and inmates were rather clichéd, but the short sharp punchy style of writing tended to override that niggle. A good plot with lots of twists and turns.
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Streets of Darkness by A.A. Dhand

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The sky over Bradford is heavy with foreboding. It always is. But this morning it has reason to be – this morning a body has been found. And it’s not just any body. Detective Harry Virdee should be at home with his wife. Impending fatherhood should be all he can think about but he’s been suspended from work just as the biggest case of the year lands on what would have been his desk. He can’t keep himself away.
Wow, this was a great read. I really enjoyed the dark, gritty side of Harry and of Bradford, juxtaposed with his love for his wife and the way his life was torn apart by race and religion. He loves his brother, but battles with the life he has chosen. His loves his family but battles with the rejection after his marriage. He loves his job, but battles with authority and the restraints placed upon him. With Harry violence and anger is never far from the surface. With shades of Luther (my all-time favourite police drama) this is a superb book full of conflict and a plot that twists and turns.

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Baby Doll by Hollie Overton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You’ve been held captive in one room. You’ve been mentally and physically abused every day since you were sixteen years old. Then, one night, you realise your captor has left the door to your cell unlocked. For the first time in eight years you’re free. This is what happens next.
I found this psychological thriller to be compulsive and page turning. Told from various points of view throughout the book it centres on Lily and Abby Riser, twins who were parted in High School when Lily was abducted and disappeared. Eight years later she returns having been held captive near to her home town. There is a lot of emotional fall out in this book. Really, a lot as you would expect. The repercussions run through the family and their closest loved ones and no one has been left unscathed by this truly horrible crime.
I thoroughly enjoyed this close look at family dynamics as each person finds a way to cope with the crime and its aftermath. The writing was powerful; emotive without being over emotional and repetitive. I will definitely look out for Ms Overton’s next offering.

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The Deadline by Ron Franscell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A dying convict’s last request thrusts small-town newspaperman Jefferson Morgan into a deadly maelstrom as he explores a fifty-year-old case of child murder — a wound his town still isn’t ready to scrape open. Under the heaviest deadline of his life, and amid threats from unexpected foes, Morgan must struggle with his own conscience to tell a story no matter the consequences, dig deep into the town’s past, and unveil a killer who’s managed to remain hidden in plain sight for almost 50 years.
This book is, at its heart, a great story, really well told. Each character is finely drawn and believable. The reader roots for Jeff as he struggles to keep his newspaper going, cope with the death of his young son and keep his beleaguered wife happy. Ron Franscell is a great story teller. The pace is excellent, the twists believable and the plot sweeps you onward from beginning to end. A great read from a great author.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley.

The Deadline is available from Amazon here.

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