Murder in Containment

A vigilante killer DS Kathleen Doyle has been after has just been arrested, however as he is being taken to the lockup he dies.  Could he have taken something?  Her husband, DCI Acton doesn’t want her bothered with the case due to her pregnancy.  Meanwhile, her good friend DI Williams wants her help to investigate a possibly corrupt DCI.

The murder of a Scene of Crime Photographer makes Doyle ask Acton to assign her to the case.  Fortunately for her, he acquiesces.  Doyle is sure that the victim’s next door neighbour is lying about something.  Doyle is stunned when an elderly male neighbour dies the day following the start of her investigation.  Also, another neighbour Doyle had interviewed turns out to be involved in another case that Acton is investigating.  What is going on?

Doyle discovers photos that the deceased photographer had taken, which seem to indicate that other dead people really aren’t dead.  And, during an interview, it is revealed to Acton that there is a potential threat to his rural home.  Then an attempt is made on Doyle’s life in a church.  Fortunately she was wearing a Kevlar vest.

Things go sideways then, and author Anne Cleeland has several twists to put into play.  A fast paced, thoroughly enjoyable read.

Eye of the Red Tsar

Prisoner 4745-P has been summoned from the Gulag in Siberia; as to why he has no idea.  Pekkala, as he had been christened, discovers from his brother that Stalin is the one who has ordered his release.  Pekkala’s brother informs him that Stalin wants him to investigate the killings of the Tsar and his family.

Pekkala, his brother and Comissar Kirov travel to the mine shaft where the Romanov family had reportedly dumped into.  Bodies are found at the bottom of the shaft.  Pekkala is sure that it is the Romanovs, but one body is missing; that of Alexei.  The trio set off to the house where the Romanovs had been killed.

There Pekkala will find answers to the mystery behind the Romanovs, but at what cost to him?  Author Sam Eastland’s thriller is well told, I was taken in right from the get go, and couldn’t it down.  An excellent read.  I’m looking forward to reading the sequels.

Orkney Twilight

Sam has just turned 18 and is travelling to Orkney with her father.  She has known all her life that he is an undercover cop, but she really doesn’t know a lot about his work.  She wonders at the reason for him wanting to holiday in Orkney.  She asks her friend Tom, an aspiring journalist, to come along.

In Stormness, Sam is sure that she saw her father pick up a book at a drop.  Was he a spy, to?  While out for a walk, Sam and Tom discover a place where somebody had been lying, and observing their cottage.  Why would someone be doing that?  In a pub, she sees a strange man that looks out of place on the island.

Tom is sure that Sam’s father is meeting a woman on the island.  Sam is shocked when they discover the truth.  But why would the woman be passing him an envelope?  What Sam learns about her father goes far beyond what she expected.

Author Clare Carson’s thriller starts very slowly, but becomes action packed in the last third of the book.  A good read.

Dead in the Dark

DI Ben Cooper has been handed an interesting missing persons case; a man whose wife had disappeared ten years ago has now gone missing.  He had been arrested for her murder, but with no body, the case couldn’t proceed.

Meanwhile DS Diane Fry is investigating a murder elsewhere.  The victim was a Polish migrant worker.  Could it possibly be a hate crime?  Fry’s team is also working on a case of migrant slave trafficking.  She is told to liaise with Cooper because the next raid could be on his patch.

Surprisingly Cooper’s and Fry’s cases are intertwined.  Solving them is the problem.  Author Stephen Booth ‘s murder mystery seems to progress slowly, although the timeline is less than a week, it ends in a flurry of action.   An enjoyable read.

Still Dark

Detective Superintendent William Lorimer had watched in horror as a man killed his own daughter and then took his own life.  Lorimer now wasn’t sure that he wanted to continue policing.  He is sent to a place for treatment of his PTSD.  It is there that he sees a face on the television news that stirs a memory of a previous case.

Lorimer turns to his protege, DC Kirsty Wilson for help. But who could a lowly DC turn to for help?  He also asks his psychologist friend Solomon Brightman for help; Lorimer wants to visit a patient in a state mental hospital.

Refreshed from his treatments, Lorimer is eager to return to the cold case.  Fortunately his superior decides to put him in charge of the case.  Another of his protégés, DCI Niall Cameron will be on his team.  Surprisingly Cameron brings Lorimer information about a corrupt high level officer who has a connection to a drug lord.  Lorimer realises that the information could have far reaching implications.

Before long Lorimer’s team was gathering information on a potential suspect.  Could they catch him before he killed again?

Once again author Alex Gray has written a tremendous thriller.  I was drawn in right from the beginning.  It is an intense mystery that kept me completely engrossed.  I can hardly wait to get my hands on the sequel.

The Time of the Wolf

Hereward has been forced away from the court in London and heads north to Eoferwic. Before getting there, he saves a young monk by the name of Alric from northmen. Arriving in Eoferwic, the pair hope that their past is truly behind them, but it isn’t long before their enemies find them.

Meanwhile in London, King Edward is busy building a great cathedral, which is to be his legacy.  Around him the Earl of Mercia and Harold Godwinson bicker about who is to succeed the failing king while overseas to the north, King Harald plans an invasion, intent on taking the throne of England. Across the channel, William, Duke of Normandy also has his eyes on the throne of England.

Having been found by their enemies the two friends must escape for their lives. In Flanders Hereward is trained further in combat by a fellow Mercian, Vadir and also in godly behaviour by Alric. Will the pair ever make it back to England?

Early in January 1066, Edward died and shortly thereafter, Harold was crowned King of England. In late September, Viking invaded northern England. Well warned, Harold marched north with a vast army and defeated the Vikings at Stamford Bridge. Only days later, he was informed that William had invaded the south of England. Harold marched his exhausted army south, only to be defeated at Hastings. William now had control of England.

The time was now ripe for Hereward to return to England, to fight the Norman invaders. He could not do it alone. Who will join him? Author James Wilde’s historical novel is moving and intense. Hereward was an English hero, who fought for his country against the Norman invaders, and Wilde tells the story well. I look forward to reading the sequel.

Fatal Pursuit

St. Denis Chief of Police, Bruno has been called out to a rural home where an older man appears to have died from a heart attack.  Bruno has some concerns after examining the man’s work area.  He is also assigned to deal with a family feud.

Later, Bruno is shocked to find out that there is evidence that the heart attack victim may have been poisoned with cyanide.  It is at this same time that Bruno is informed that there is a money laundering scheme going on in the area.  It seems to involve a missing Bugatti.  His former lover, Isabelle will be coming to lead the investigation.

Things take a drastic turn when the prime suspect is found dead in his swimming pool. At that point, the pace of Martin Walker’s murder mystery picks up leading to a surprising conclusion.  Another very good read by this author.

The Circus Train Conspiracy

When a circus train derails in northern England, Inspector Colbeck requests the opportunity
to go investigate , however Superintendent Tallis denies him the request.  It isn’t long before the railway requests Colbeck to investigate the accident.  A second telegram from a former policeman with the circus also requests their help because he has discovered a woman’s body in a shallow grave nearby.

When they get to the scene, Colbeck is sure that the train was derailed by a disgruntled former employee.  Or could it have been caused by a rival circus?  Meanwhile Sergeant Leeming, finds out that the woman in the grave had been poisoned and not been in the grave for long.

Before too long, Colbeck is convinced that the target of the derailment was definitely the circus and not the railway.  A second attack once the circus returns to its journey proves his point.  As Leeming and Colbeck continue their investigation they find possible links between the two cases.  Will they find one perpetrator?

Author Edward Marston’s historical novel shows how police could investigate crimes in an era devoid of modern technology.  A good, quick read.

Fools and Mortals

Richard Shakespeare is an actor in his brother’s theatre group based just outside London.  He is tried of the girl’s roles he plays and feels that he isn’t paid enough.  Fortunately his brother has promised him a man’s part in his next play.

Richard is to be disappointed for he is to play a man who plays a woman badly.  Upset, he leaves after rehearsal and accidentally meets up with a girl he has fallen in love with.  Silvia is a lady’s maid who is bored with her lot in life.

The theatre group is devastated when two of William’s new plays are stolen.  One of their own is the guilty party, and he is going to give the plays to the owner of the newly built Swan theatre.  Richard proposes that he steal the plays back.  Will he be able to do it and as a result get to play Romeo?

The theft gets Richard into a whole lot of trouble.  But as in Shakespeare’s play, “All’ Well That Ends Well”.

Author Bernard Cornwell has taken a shift in his writing of action packed historical novels to one, which is much more subdued.  I must admit that I found it difficult to find myself involved in the story until well into the book.  A good read after all.