Chameleon

Stephanie Patrick has been retired for two years at the age of twenty-seven.  Now, a man she only knows as Alexander has shown up at her home with pictures of her brother’s family.  Magenta House wants her for one more job.  Can she refuse?

In London, at Magenta House, Alexander informs Stephanie that a man who entered the U. K. recently had been carrying weapons grade plutonium.  He had suffered a self inflicted heart attack when pulled for closer inspection.  Apparently there were other couriers carrying the same thing throughout the world.  Where were they going and what were the ultimate plans?

Alexander knows that the plutonium had come from the former Soviet Union, and they have the name of the man behind the scheme.  Koba.  However, there are two men by that name.  By the time Stephanie is ready, they hope to have determined which one is the culprit.

She returns to Scotland and the rigorous training of Iain Boyd.  It is going to take some time to rid her of her softness.  She also has a tutor to expand her knowledge of Russian.

Her first job takes her to New York City.  She makes a connection with Konstantin Komarov.  Stephanie aka Petra’s first task is to steal a disc containing information.  Things go from bad to worse when she finds the owner of the disc and his bodyguard assassinated.  The disc is not in the safe, and men are about to enter the flat!  That same night another man was taken out.  He was going to be her connection to Koba.  What is going on?

Back in London, Stephanie demands independence from Alexander and Magenta House.  Alexander is reluctant, but grants it.

Stephanie is off to Moscow to broker a deal, and then back to London to finalise it.  She gets to know Komarov better.  They are becoming very close to one another.  Can she trust him?  Can she trust anyone?

Once again author Mark Burnell has written a tense thriller.  It is full of action from beginning to end.  You will not want to put this book down, nor wait for the sequel.

The Back Road

Tom Douglas has left the Met and moved to Cheshire so that he could be near his eight year old daughter, Lucy.  He is on the hunt for a new job, preferably not in policing.  His friend Steve has dropped by on his way home, and informs him of a hit and run on the nearby back road.  A fourteen year old girl was run down.  She’s in a coma, and the doctors are unsure whether she will make it.

That same evening, Tom was invited to a dinner party by neighbours who had just finished renovating their home.  There are about a dozen guests, which will allow Tom to get to know his new community.  Things go well until talk turns to the girl involved in the hit and run.  Alcohol fuels various discussions afterwards.

Several days later, the mother of the injured girl tells one of the ICU nurses that her daughter had made a new friend on Facebook, who was going to be coming to school for the coming year.  She also tells the nurse that the police have found out that the friend didn’t exist!  It is now known that the victim had been abducted!

As the mystery progresses, author Rachel Abbott, tells stories about each of the dinner guests.  The reader wonders which of them was the driver of the car, and who was responsible for the abduction.  The ending will come as a surprise for the reader.  Quite a good read and a real page turner.  This was a book, which I found hard to put down.  I look forward to reading the sequels.

The Rookery

Penny Green is on the way home from the library when she is knocked over and a lad steals her handbag.  Inside the bag are notes and diaries of her father’s.  A man gives chase and she follows.  When they meet in Seven Dials, the lad is nowhere to be found.  The man who chased him had given up.  Moments later a cry of “murder” is heard nearby.  The boy who had stolen her bag was the victim.

Speaking to people at the scene, Penny learns that there had been two other similar murders in the area called St. Giles Rookery recently.

The following morning, Penny goes to the police station to make a statement to Inspector Fenton.  She questions him about the other two killings.  As she leaves the station, Fenton arrests Reuben O’Donoghue, the man who had helped her, for the murder.

Penny starts her own investigation and learns that each of the victims had a connection to one another in small ways.  Could their killer be known to all of them?  She prepares notes on what she has learned and presents it to the police, but will they act on them?

O’Donoghue is later released, but as a result of the things that Penny has heard about him, she has started having second thoughts about him.

She meets with Inspector James Blakely, of Scotland Yard, informs her that he has taken over the case.  Two days later, another man is murdered in his pawn shop.

Later, Blakely receives letters from two different men.  One suggesting that O’Donoghue is the killer, and the other telling Blakely that he is the killer.  How will Blakely find out the truth?  The writer named the sister of the latest victim, and a few days later, she too, was murdered.  How many more will die before Blakely catches the killer?  Or will he?

Blakely has one suspect in mind, while Penny has another.  Which one will it be?  Author Emily Organ has a few plot twists before revealing the killer.  A jolly good read.

A Spy for the Redeemer

Owen Archer is still in Wales, where his father-in-law had gone on a pilgrimage to.  Sadly, Sir Robert died, but was happy at the end.  Owen has just found out that the stonemason he had hired to prepare the tomb cover for Sir Robert had just recently hung himself, without finishing the cover.  Will he be delayed in getting home to York as a result?

The local archdeacon tells Owen that the stonemason was murdered.  He also claims to have the killer in custody.  The archdeacon insists that Owen is at the centre of the murder, so he insists that Owen stay to help find the truth.

Back in York, Owen’s wife, Lucie, has to travel from the city, to inform her aunt about her father’s death.  She finds her aunt not well in mind and body.  Unfortunately, the estate is attacked by armed horsemen just before Lucie and her aunt were to return to York.  The raiders made off with some valuables.  Could they have been helped by someone who lives on the estate?

A man has been arrested for the murder.  The suspect’s brother is the man that Owen was supposed to sail home with.  When Owen and his man, Iolo, go to speak to the parents of the stonemason, they are attacked and injured.

Meanwhile, back in York, Lucie hears rumours that say that Owen is going to become a traitor to the king.  In addition, people are talking about her supposed paramours that she is taking advantage of while Owen is away.

Will Owen make it safely back to York, or will he join the Welsh rebels?  And what if the people trying to destroy Lucie?

Author Candace Robb has the answers in the remaining pages of this medieval thriller.  A quite enjoyable read.

Cut to the Bone

DCI Kate Riley has a new case on her hands; a missing young woman.  Since it is early morning, she gets DS Zain Harris to open the investigation.  Harris learns that the missing woman, Ruby Day, is a vlogger.  The parents had called 999 to ask for the police.  They have no idea how Commissioner Justin Hope became involved.  He was the one who assigned the case to Kate.

Later that morning, the parents received an anonymous video of Ruby running for her life.  The parents think that the boyfriend could be behind the video.  He too, is a vlogger, and Ruby was planning on dumping him.  Shortly after that, the video is posted online.

As they continue with their investigation, they are sure that those they question are lying or leaving things out of their stories.  The next video posted online is extremely shocking.  The team will have to up their game before someone else becomes a victim.

Author Alex Caan has developed a thriller that involves international corporate greed, which involves the PMO.  However, the end result is completely shocking.  The reader will find themselves on the edge of their seat as they turn the final chapters.  A thoroughly engaging read.

A Season of Knives

Is Sir Robert Carey wanting a bribe for the victuals at the castle in Carlisle, or is he wanting to take over the contract himself.  He has the men who are currently in charge of the contract unsettled.

Carey also has heard that reivers are preparing to possibly kidnap Elizabeth Widdrington as she returns to her home.  What can he do, since he has no men available.  They are busy bringing in the hay.  However, he is able to assemble a small group of soldiers and ride out, hoping to prevent a catastrophe.

While Carey is away dealing with the men who would attack Elizabeth, his man Barnabus, is thrown into the dungeon at Carlisle Castle, accused of murder.  Richard Lowther, the man who wanted the job that Carey now has, is the man behind the accusation.  What can Carey do to prevent his own neck being put in a noose?

Things are thrown into disarray when the lover of the murdered man’s wife confesses, and then moments later she also confesses.  With two confessions, which he knows are both lord, how will Carey get at the truth?

Author P. F. Chisholm has Carey come to the truth in an unusual way.  It will prove to be a costly way, but the truth will out.  A good, quick read.

Without a Trace

DCI Kate Daniels has travelled from Northumbria to the Met in London with DS Hank Gormley to offer their services in light of a plane crash in the Atlantic.  A plane on which her loveJo Soulsby, was on.  Will the Gold Commander at the Met allow her and Hank to participate?  Would her own governor allow it?

Of course Detective Chief Superintendent Bright denied her request.  Not put off, Kate, with Hank in tow, heads off to Terminal 5 at Heathrow.  There it is confirmed that Jo had boarded the plane.  But Kate refuses to give up, thereby putting both her job and Hank’s on the line.

Understanding where his protégé was coming from, Bright relented and arranged for both Kate and Hank to join the Met team.  An airport security official tells the pair that two women did not board the flight.  Could one of them have been Jo?  She doesn’t know.

CCTV coverage shows that Jo didn’t check in luggage on her connecting flight out of Newcastle.  Shortly after this, USA Homeland Security requests Kate to immediately become a part of the inner circle.  Why?

With an intense murder case having occurred back in Newcastle, Bright orders one or the other back.  Both refuse, thereby putting their jobs and pensions on the line.

Meantime, Kate is ordered undercover by her Homeland Security connection.  Will her history with Jo endanger her?

What follows not only endangers Kate, but also her team.  Author Mari Hannah’s story takes a sudden turn when she throws a wrench into Kate’s investigation.  This turn is unexpected for the reader and leads to a tragic incident.  Will there be a sequel in this series?

Scared to Death

DS Kay Hunter and DC Ian Barnes have been instructed by DI Sharp to attend the scene of a murdered girl.  When they get there they are informed that the parents of the seventeen year old had just paid a ransom, only to find their daughter dead.  They had not involved the police.

Back at the station, Hunter is informed by SIO Sharp that DCI Larch was going to be following the case closely.  Along with Barnes, DC Carys Miles plus PCs Gavin Piper and Debbie West would make up the investigation team.

When a man hangs himself, and leaves a note incriminating himself for the death of the girl, Hunter isn’t convinced.  Could there be another person who is the mastermind?  Barnes agrees with her.  Hunter’s fears are confirmed when the dead man’s message is  not recognised by the mother of the kidnap victim.

How do they find the real killer?  Author Rachel Amphlett’s thriller grows in tension as the reader becomes aware of a second kidnapping, which the police are unaware of.  When will they become aware of it?  Can they pin the murder on the one suspect that they do have?  Amphlett’s thriller is a real page turner and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

An Unholy Alliance

Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael have just commenced morning service when they are interrupted and requested to attend another church.  There the Chancellor informs them that a body of a friar has been found in the university chest on top of the documents.  How he got there is unknown.

Examining the locks on the chest, Matthew discovers a small blade on one of them.  Earlier he had noticed a small cut on one of the hands of the friar.  He deduces that the blade had poison on it, and that caused the death.

The Chancellor instructs Matthew and Brother Michael to investigate the death, plus the death of his clerk who had died and been buried.  Could his death have been caused by the same poison?  Matthew is aghast that he will have to examine a body that has been buried.

As the pair go back to their college, they are told of a murdered woman.  She had been found in a nearby churchyard with her throat slashed.  Matthew notices a mark on one of her feet.  He had seen a similar mark on another murdered woman recently.

The next morning, a dying woman is found in the orchard of Michaelhouse.  Matthew is called to help, but she is at death’s door.  She tells him that it was not a man who did this this to her.

As their investigation continues, more mysterious events occur and more questions arise.  What ensues in author Susanna Gregory’s medieval mystery involves subterfuge, kidnapping, satanism, witchcraft and of course murder.  Matthew and Brother Michael make a formidable team of detectives.  An enjoyable read.

Crimson Rose

Will Shakespeare has a bit part in One of Kit Marlowe’s plays.  He is to fire a gun.  Unbeknownst to him, the gun is loaded with shot, and he kills a member of the audience; in fact his own landlady!

Hugh Thynne, High Constable of London immediately began an investigation.  He arrests Shakespeare and takes him to the Clink.  Marlowe thinks all will be well in time.  He begins his own investigation by questioning Shakespeare in jail.  He then bribes the jailer to let him take Shakespeare out of the Clink.

Recreating the shooting, Marlowe determines that Shakespeare couldn’t have shot the woman.  However, it isn’t long before Thynne is after Marlowe, himself.  A man has been murdered and Marlowe’s knife was found lodged in his back.

How will Marlowe get out of this mess?  Author M. J. Trow’s thriller has several adventures ahead for Marlowe and Shakespeare.  Trow presents a surprising conclusion and hints of more adventures to come for Marlowe.   A good, enjoyable, fun, and quick read.

A Plague on Both Your Houses

Matthew Bartholomew is part of a procession involved in the burying of Sir John Babington, the Master of their College, Michaelhouse.  He had died as a result of suicide and must be buried in unconsecrated land.  Matthew is not impressed when Thomas Wilson says a few words.  Wilson had been one to disagree and contest anything that Babington did.  Wilson became Master a week later.

Sir John had been in the process of writing a book on the law.  He was enthusiastic about the topic, so why had he ended his life?

While at the meal celebrating Wilson’s appointment, a monk comes to Matthew to tell him that one of the commoners who lived at Michaelhouse had died.  When Matthew exams the body he can’t find anything, but he discovers something unusual under the bed.

The following morning, an incident occurred, which set a whole new light on the death.  A commoner in the room next to the dead man has been murdered.  What’s going on?  Matthew and Brother Aelfrith begin an investigation into what has happened.  Aelfrith tells Matthew of a conspiracy of Oxford scholars to cause the downfall of the university in Cambridge.  This could be what is behind the deaths.

However, the bishop suppresses any thoughts of an investigation.  The story stalls, and by December the plague has arrived in Cambridge.

Would the plague stop the mysterious deaths?  Author Susanna Gregory’s mystery filled story does have plenty more deaths - and they for the most part are related to the plague.  However, there is also plenty of treachery, conspiracy and greed involved.  Matthew has more than the plague to deal with, which puts not only his life, but also the lives of his loved ones in jeopardy.  A thoroughly enjoyable read.  

As Matthew deals with the plague, one cannot help but relate it to the current Covid situation.

The Rhythm Section

Keith Proctor has approached a prostitute by the name of Lisa.  When he calls her Stephanie Patrick, he ends up getting beaten.  The following day he speaks to her again.  This time he mentions the fact that she had lost her parents and two siblings when a plane crashed in the Atlantic.  He also tells her that it was no accident.

And so begins the narrative of Stephanie Patrick.  At twenty-two, she was a hardened woman.  An incident with a john, forces her to run from her pimp, and turn to Proctor for help.

Once she is with him, she turns reluctant to stay, even after he outlines what he knows about the crash that killed her family.  The man who had put the bomb on the flight is living in London.  He doesn’t know who it is, but an agent with MI5 has provided him with information.  Can she trust Proctor?  Can he trust her?

After recovering from a bout of flu, Stephanie studies the material Proctor has available.  She begins to trust him, but one evening she’s upset by him and leaves his flat.  When she returns, she finds him dead and the flat tossed.  She grabs his hidden laptop and floppy disks and makes a run for it.  She then sets to work.

All her plans are for nought when she is intercepted as she is about to put her plans into play.  She is then disappeared and re-made.

What ensues is a fantastic story, a real thriller.  You will find it very hard to put this book down!  Top notch!  Author Mark Burnell has hit it out of the park with this thriller; I can hardly wait to get my hands on the sequels.

The Herald of Hell

May, 1381 and tensions are building in England.  Fourteen year old Richard II is the king, under the regency of his uncle, John of Gaunt.

At his church in St. Erconwald, Athelstan is watching a rehearsal of a midsummer play, when Sir John Cranston’s messenger, Tiptoft approached telling him that his presence is requested at the Gokden Oliphant.  Upon arrival there, he finds turmoil, which could turn into one of the young women being lynched.  Fortunately, Athelstan is able to prevent that from happening.

Further investigation reveals that a man has been hung inside the brothel.  The victim had worked for Thibault, one of Gaunt’s men.  Thibault presents Athelstan with a note the victim had written.  It states that he had heard the Herald of Hell outside his house, so rather than wait for death, he would die of his own choosing.

Thibault tells them that the victim was carrying a secret manuscript.  He has been unable to find it.  However, Athelstan knows where it might be hidden, and does find it.  Thibault wants Athelstan to translate the secret document.  He thinks that it contains plans for the upcoming rebellion.  Athelstan suspects murder rather than suicide.  On the other hand, how could it be murder?  The room was locked on the inside and the window was sealed.

Later, Athelstan receives a warning that there is someone amongst the Upright Men, who is going to approach the young king and kill him.  Cranston is also made aware of this situation.  Why has Gaunt headed to the Scottish Marches at this unstable time?

It is going to take Athelstan some time to get to the crutch of the matter.  How many will die before he solves the killing?  Author Paul Doherty has written a tangled tale of murder, conspiracy and death, which build up to the peasants’ march on London.  A very good read full of tension.  How will those under threat survive?  I look forward to reading the next book in the series to see if the answers reside there.

Murder on the Lake

Skelgill is out attempting to fish on Derwentwater during a bit of a blow without having any luck.  He pulls into the lee of Grisholm, a small islet.  There he sees a woman who calls for help.  She is with eight others on a writing retreat.  One of their company has died and they have no method of communication.

Having met with the rest of the people inside the building on the islet, he finds that they have no idea how the man died other than a possible heart attack.  He returns to the dock to retrieve his phone and flashlight from his boat, only to find that it is gone!

Fortunately the following morning the boat is found and DS Leyton and DS Jones both arrive with help to rescue the stranded crew.  However, they find that a woman is dead from amongst the group.  They now have two dead bodies.

Back at the office, Leyton informs Skelgill that there is no organisation that supposedly put the retreat together.  There seems to be more questions than answers as they look into the deaths.  A trip to London by Skelgill and his two sergeants discovers basically nothing.  However, an incident in London results in Skelgill being put on leave.

How will the cases be resolved now?  Author Bruce Beckham has provided a good number of suspects in this mystery, and surprisingly the solution will come as the result of a fishing expedition.  Another quite enjoyable and entertaining read.

Limelight

Inspector James Blakely of Scotland Yard has approached Miss Penny Green one evening in London to inform her that the actress Lizzie Dixie has been murdered.  Green is shocked to hear that because Lizzie Dixie had drowned five years earlier on the Princess Alice when it had sunk in the Thames in 1878.

Green has been let go as a reporter from the Morning Express due to the influence of the Commissioner of Scotland Yard.  Blakely promises to put in a few good words with the commissioner if Green agrees to help him.  He will also give her exclusive access to information about the case.  However, she declines on the grounds that there is no chance of being reinstated as a reporter.

Green decides to do some investigation on her own into why Lizzie had disappeared for five years only to reappear to be murdered.

Fortunately, Green is offered her old job back, but she doesn’t get the task of reporting the story about Lizzie.  She begins to work with Inspector Blakely, who takes her to the place that Lizzie had been murdered.  Why had she hidden for five years and why would someone kill her now?

After an explosion on a train in the underground, on which Green was travelling, she receives a letter warning her to stay out of the investigation.  Is it a warning about the bombing or about Lizzie’s murder?

The tenor of the investigation changes when Lizzie’s daughter, Annie, is shot while performing a horse riding act.  Fortunately, it is just a shoulder wound, but her back and neck are also hurt in the fall from the horse. Why was she targeted?  Is it the same person who shot and killed Lizzie?

Not long after this, Blakely is taken off the case, and replaced by Chief Inspector Cullen.  Will Cullen be able to find the killer?  

Author Emily Organ’s first mystery in this series is a good puzzler.  The killer comes as a bit of a surprise.  A good quick read.

Murder on the Edge

DI Daniel Skelgill and DS Emma Jones have successfully put another case to bed, and are having breakfast when DS Leyton informs them that a climber has died north of Keswick.  Skelgill immediately attends the scene and orders in a scene of crime team.  The dead man doesn’t have appropriate climbing clothes nor climbing gear other than a rope, which is wrapped around his neck.

If he’s not a climber, how did he get there, and why are there no injuries, which would go with a fall?  When Skelgill  goes to the victim’s home, he finds nothing that will help.  An old crone that lives nearby tells him that witches have taken him.

The pathology report indicates that the victim died of asphyxiation, and not by the rope around his neck.

Then another body is found in similar circumstances.  Skelgill quickly determines that the rope around the neck of this man is from the same climbing rope.  From the length of the rope used on the two victims, DS Leyton points out that there could be two more victims to come.

Fortunately, they manage to identify both bodies.  The only things that they have in common is that they are loners and neither is a climber.  DS Jones suggests that there might be a sexual aspect to the killings.  Skelgill is unsure what to make of that idea.

Then a third body is discovered.  Once again the body has the same rope on it.  DS Leyton wonders if the local tarns play a role as each body has been found near one.  Who is next on the list of the killer?

Author Bruce Beckham has hinted at who the killer might be, but not the why.  DI has an idea, but it may mean that his life will be in jeopardy.  Beckham has the solution as to how Skelgill will get out the mess before his chief hands the case over to DI Smart.  A good quick read in this series.

Leave the Grave Green

Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid has been sent to the rainy, wet Chiltern Hills because a body has been pulled out of a lock in the canal.  He had been strangled before being tossed in the canal.  His parents-in-law are musicians of some standing, therefore the reason that Scotland Yard has been called in.

It doesn’t take long for Kincaid to learn that the victim’s wife despised him.  The following morning he is joined by his DS, Gemma James as they begin the investigation.

The pathologist informs Kincaid that the victim did not die by drowning.  Indeed he was likely dead well before he went into the water.  So, did he die by accident, or was he pushed?

Author Deborah Crombie presents four potential suspects as Kincaid and James continue their investigation.  However the true culprit isn’t found until the last moment.  A good, quick read.