Presumed Dead by Shirley Wells

I received this book from the Author as part of the First Reads promotion on the Goodreads website.

Having developed a taste for crime mysteries lately I was very happy to hear that I would be receiving a copy of this book to read and review. It's the second in the Dylan Scott Mysteries, the first being  'Dead Silent' which I have yet to read but this was not a problem in picking up the story and characters involved in it.

Dylan Scott has problems. Dismissed in disgrace from the police force for assaulting a suspect, he has no job, his wife has thrown him out and-worse luck-his mother has moved in. So when Holly Champion begs him to investigate the disappearance of her mother thirteen years ago, he can't say no, even though it means taking up residence in the dreary Lancashire town of Dawson's Clough for the duration.

Although the local police still believe Anita Champion took off for a better life, Dylan's inquiries turn up plenty of potential suspects: the drug-dealing, muscle-bound bouncer at the club where Anita was last seen; the missing woman's four girlfriends, out for revenge; the local landowner with rumored mob connections-the list goes on. But no one is telling Dylan all they know-and he soon finds that one sleepy Northern town can keep a lot of secrets.

So when I read that I thought it sounded interesting and I was curious about which track the author would take as there aren't really that many reasons for someone to go missing like this are there?

The storyline switches between Dylan's efforts to reunite with his estranged wife Beverley while spending time with his son and away from his mother and his time involved in trying to discover Anita Champion's last movements and what may have happened to her. We follow his movements up and down the country and even a visit abroad or two. Each location described well and full of characters that are easy to read about and a few that become favourites as you read more about them, both who they are and, for some, why they are the way they are now.

We learn more and more about Anita's lifestyle and although the ending was a cliche, it wasn't one I saw coming, I totally missed a very subtle hint about what had happened to Anita which made the reading of this book very enjoyable as it wasn't at all obvious what had happened.

There's a great flow to the writing and it's a great read which I thoroughly enjoyed, now I guess I should go find myself a copy of 'Dead Silent' to read as well!

The Colour of Death by Michael Cordy

I was sent this book as I'm part of the Transworld book group (see here for details)

When I was selecting the books I would read as part of this group I decided to pick a favourite author, 1 from each of my favourite genres and the last would be something new to me but which appealed in some way and this is that book.

In a residential neighbourhood of Portland, Oregon, an unknown young woman uncovers a shocking crime scene by inexplicably sensing the evil within its walls. To the police, she is a mystery. She can’t even tell them her own name. They christen her Jane Doe.

Suffering terrifying hallucinations, Jane is assigned to Nathan Fox, a forensic psychiatrist struggling with his own demons. Together they must piece together the jigsaw that is Jane’s identity.

Then a sequence of brutal killings terrorizes the city and Fox learns Jane is the only cryptic link between the unrelated victims. To solve the murders, Fox must discard his black and white preconceptions, look beyond the spectrum of normal human experience and confront the dark truth of her past…and his own.

Having read this book I found a lot of similarities in the plotlines between this and another book I have reviewed this year, Ultraviolet. They both deal with a young woman suffering from memory loss and synaesthesia who has been admitted to a mental health facility (People who have synaesthesia sense things in a different way to the rest of us, words can have a taste or smell, letters and numbers can have different colours even when all written with the same pen) but from this similar starting point the two books vary greatly.

The heroine, Jane Doe presents with not just one form but ALL forms of synaesthesia and even one that has not previously been documented. As we travel with Jane in her journey of discovery it's easy to understand just how terrifying the world around us could be should we suddenly loose our self in the way she has. We see Fox struggle to deal with his own personal demons which re-surface from this case as well as his inability to let anyone close to him again while also trying to keep what little family he has left safe. And then on top of all this is the horrific fact that there is a killer in the city who seems to be fixated on Jane.

I really don't want to give anything away from this book at all, I found it to be an amazing story and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story moved along at a good pace, there were lots of details to make it easy to follow along from scene to scene and to understand the characters and their motivations. The writing flows so well that I am going to look at getting some more books by this author very soon.

Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll

I was sent this book as I'm part of the Transworld book group (see here for details)

So lets start up by showing you the blurb that made me pick this book out as my first choice to read and therefore the one I was most interested in

New York jeweller Garet James has her fair share of problems: money, an elderly father, a struggling business. One day she comes across an antiques shop she’d never noticed before. The owner possesses an old silver box that’s been sealed shut. Would she help an old man and open it, perhaps? She does...and that night strange things begin to happen. It’s as if her world – our world – has shifted slightly, revealing another, parallel place that co-exists without our knowledge: the world of the Fey…

Garet learns that one of her ancestors was 'the Watchtower': an immortal chosen to stand guard over the human and the fey worlds – a role that she has, it seems, inherited from her mother. But the equilibrium between these two existences is under threat. The 16th-century magician and necromancer Dr John Dee has returned, the box has been opened and the demons of Despair and Discord released. In a race against time and impending apocalypse, it is Garet who must find Dee...and close the box.

It sounded fascinating to me having read that and I'm so pleased to say that it hasn't disappointed me at all. In fact it has been a far better read than I could have hoped for. The description that I've copied in above does give a little of the basis to the storyline but there is so much more to it. I've found it to be a wonderful fantasy adventure set in the real world but also in a world where there are many more possibilities than most people suspect.

How would you cope if you suddenly found out that the world around you wasn't  what you always believed it to be? What about if you discovered that your Mother had kept the biggest of secrets from you? And that in that revelation the past, and even the very distant past, show just how much of an influence they have had over your life, to the extent that events that had happened were not only what they seemed to be at the time but also a portent of what was to come.


All these secrets Garet seems to take in her stride, she accepts so many new ideas in such a short time that it's so easy to get caught up with all her new experiences as well as discoveries about the past and the people around her, both new and old. The writing is very expressive and descriptive, allowing you to follow the story easily, eagerly awaiting the next development in the tale and enjoying the depth of storytelling that kept me riveted until the last page was turned. I have to say I did enjoy that the climax happened and then we got to see what happened to most of the characters for a while afterwards as well, so many books end with a climax and leave you wondering what happened next, was everyone really OK. Black Swan Rising is not one of those books, you're left at the end knowing a little of what happened after all the drama while the storyline is set up magnificently for book 2 (which I really cant wait for I just need to order my copy now!)


It is worth noting finally that "Lee Carroll" is actually a pseudonym. This wonderful book was actually written by award-winning novelist Carol Goodman and her poet husband Lee Slonimsky. After reading this, I'm eagerly anticipating getting my hands on the second book and I've also added a few Carol Goodman books to my wish-list in the hope that I find them as absorbing as I have this one.

Hit or Missus by Gayle Carline

I received this book from the Author as part of the First Reads promotion on the Goodreads website.

When I applied to read this book, I didn't realise that it was the second in the series of Peri Minneopa Mysteries but I have to say that my not having read the first volume didn't affect anything on reading this one. The writing style is very descriptive and although there may be more behind the scenes that I wasn't aware of having not read the first book, I didn't feel that I had missed much, if anything.

The information that lead me to choose to request this book was:

Private Investigator Peri Minneopa is hired to investigate a wealthy, possibly cheating wife, but the wife's girlfriends have other ideas. After all, a friend will help you move - a good friend will help you move a body.

That's quite a worm to bait a hook with really isn't it and I'm happy to say that the book didn't disappoint in any way. The story is well thought out and the characters are well written and mostly very likable.

The plot twists and turns around the day-to-day living of Peri and her long term boyfriend Skip. Skip is a Detective with the local police department, and the relationship is very serious for them both although they don't live together, they just stay over with each other whilst still maintaining their own space.

When Peri is approached to tail the trophy wife of a local business magnate it would appear like a normal routine case, but that's where the trouble begins. At first it could appear like some bad luck but when looked at deeper a conspiracy appears which steamrollers through Peri's life and that's not her only problem. She's not only trying to figure out who's trying to kill her but also if she's imagining one of Skip's colleagues has begun to take more than a little interest in him, some women just wont accept a man is taken unless he has a ring through his nose .... and even that doesn't stop all of them!

As we follow this roller coaster to it's conclusion we're introduced to many other people around the two main characters, all of which are well rounded characters who add their own bit to the story to make it a very enjoyable read. The story itself has a natural flow to it, it doesn't rush to the end like some books do, it takes it's time and builds up in layers until you can almost see the answer and when it's revealed it's as if you almost expected it but not quite so it was still a little surprising which is a great way to end a book.

Darkhouse by Karina Halle

I received this book from the Author as part of the First Reads promotion on the Goodreads website.

When I read the description of this book, I just had to apply to read it and luckily I got picked, here's what was dangling on the hook that snared my interest so much:

There’s always been some­thing a bit off about Perry Palomino. Though she’s been deal­ing with a quarter-life cri­sis and post-college syn­drome like any other twen­tysome­thing, she’s still not what you would call “ordi­nary.” For one thing, there’s her past which she likes to pre­tend never hap­pened, and then there’s the fact that she sees ghosts. Luck­ily for her, that all comes in handy when she stum­bles across Dex Foray, an eccen­tric pro­ducer for an upcom­ing web­cast on ghost hunters. Even though the show’s bud­get is non-existent and Dex him­self is a mad­den­ing enigma, Perry is instantly drawn into a world that both threat­ens her life and seduces her with a sense of impor­tance. Her uncle’s haunted light­house pro­vides the per­fect cat­a­lyst and back­drop for a hor­rific mys­tery that unrav­els the threads of Perry’s frag­ile san­ity and causes her to fall for a man, who, like the most dan­ger­ous of ghosts, may not be all that he seems.

I have to say right off that as keen as I was to read this book, once I started I found it a bit hard going, it was almost like trying to wade through treacle to get into it BUT after the first couple of chapters I found it got easier as I got used to the style of writing and was caught up by the plot. 

I didn't find Darkhouse particularly frightening but there were moments when I just had to keep reading to find out what happened next and to make sure that everyone was OK! The interaction between Perry and her family gave more understanding to the choices that we're told she's made in the past and why she's doing what she does through the book. She's easily likable as are her Sister and Cousins, even Uncle Al has his moment to star when he tells her the history of his lighthouse.

As a first book I'd say this sets up the interaction between the major characters very well, at the end you are left wanting more, to know what happens not just in the work between them but also in their personal life. That Perry is attracted to Dex is painfully obvious to all but his feelings towards her seem confused to me and I cant wait to discover what they really are and how that relationship will develop. Also I really hope to find out more about 'Creepy Clown Lady'. Who she is, what she is even and what she knows about our two protagonists. 

I cant wait to get my hands on Red Fox and see what happens next!

Ultraviolet by R J Anderson

I was sent this book recently by the lovely people at Books with Bite on Facebook and it's finally hit the top of my "to read" pile.

When the opportunity arose for me to gain a copy of this book I jumped at the chance after reading the description online:

Once upon a time there was a girl who was special.
This is not her story.
Unless you count the part where I killed her.

Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison's condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can't explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori - the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that's impossible. Right?

It sounds irresistible doesn't it? Well it did to me anyway, I love a good mystery and for the most part this is a great one.

It's well written and the characters are believable. You can understand Alison's motivations and empathise with her for most of what she's going through and the secondary characters personalities and motivations come through really well too which makes the book all the more engrossing

The twist in the book I almost saw coming but dreaded the idea and so didn't give in to the thoughts but when I was proven correct in my assumption I felt let down. I actually put the book down for over a day before going back to it and trying to resume. I'm not going to say what the twist is nor say which genre I feel this book really belongs in, that would give far too much away but I urge you to return to it again if like me it puts you off. The writing is excellent still and it really does turn into such a wonderful tale even if it's not a genre you read much of.

Ultraviolet is released on June 2nd 2011 and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mystery, paranormal, romance type books so go find it in the Children's/Young Adult section :-)

The Woman He Loved Before By Dorothy Koomson

After reading the hype and other reviews about this book I was genuinely excited to be getting a copy to review. I've not read any of Dorothy Koomson's other works but do enjoy both a good romance and a good mystery story and that it what I found this book to be, good but not great.

The story begins with the main characters being involved in an accident and in flashbacks you discover more about them, how they met and their relationship together.

Jack is a man who seems to constantly be trying to crawl out of the shadow of his Father. Libby is Jack's insecure second wife constantly worrying that Jacks deceased first wife means more to him than she ever could. Finally there is Eve, Jack's first wife who has been dead for some time and yet her ghost lives on all around the characters. There are many other characters around these three but these are the main ones and those most important to the story.

After the accident we mostly follow Libby as she recuperates and watch as she uncovers Eve's diaries. We learn along with Libby about who Eve really was and what her life was like before she met Jack and during her relationship with Jack. We learn all the little secrets in her life and see the repercussions once it is made known the diaries have been found.

Like I said before, this is a good book, the storyline has a lot of positives to it but the main supposed twist was easy to spot coming chapters before it happened, it was more a case of "OK I was right" than "Oh I never saw that coming" and I found that the book just didn't grip me. When I find a book I love reading (and there have been many) I have trouble putting it down but with this one I had trouble picking it up so even though it is a good book, don't be swayed by the hype, it might not live up to it for you either!

Forbidden Pleasures by Jo Rees

This book tells the stories of two very different women over a period of five years. Their lives to the point they first meet couldn’t be much different! Savannah is the heiress who has everything except that which she wants and needs most. Lois: the ex-cop who’s always worked hard for everything she ever had only to have it taken from her. This story follows the characters as they learn and grow from the choices they made before the book was set and from those they are forced into making as we travel with them. We share the highs and lows that life throws at them both as they struggle against their own personal demons. 

Set mostly in Las Vegas but with visits to other mostly glittering locations around the world this is the story of how they first meet and of their lives as they flow in a similar direction until the end, which is actually where the book introduces us to them. Forbidden Pleasures starts at an awards ceremony where both women are vying for the same coveted prize and contemplating the mysterious (to this point) circumstances which lead to them both being there. We then travel back five years to the night they first met and to the dramatic events which shape this tale. Both women face and fight one of their darkest fears on this night, how each approaches this and how they survive the aftermath of their actions makes for a totally engrossing read.

When I first received Forbidden Pleasures, I had an idea of the type of read it would turn out to be from the cover art and comments. I have to admit to being very pleasantly surprised by it! I was expecting the usual easy to read summer story of lust and glitz, what I actually found was an incredibly well written, absorbing read which captured my attention and even threw in a few shocking moments that were not immediately obvious that they were about to happen. The characters are so well written that while we might not immediately sympathise with them, we can understand them and how they have evolved into who they are as the story starts to unfold.

This is a perfect book to take on holiday with you, but just remember to set an alarm to re-apply your sun cream as this is a real delight to read, it will grip you and not let go until you reach the end! There are a couple of ‘WOW’ moments hidden in here, where things happen that were totally unexpected but after you’ve read you can see the pointers that lead up to it, all I could do after I read them was to put the book down and stare into space re-thinking what I’d just read an imagining what my own reactions in those situations might have been before continuing on and finding out how those involved reacted themselves.

All in all I have to say this is one of the best books I have read this year. The roller-coaster ride that’s set in motion and which we ride alongside the characters is brought to a wonderful conclusion that doesn’t disappoint. It really is a must read book for this summer and I shall certainly be reading it again before too long!

Originally posted on my other blog on May 13, 2010 moved here on Feb 6th 2011