Book after Book

By T.M. Logan Published by Zaffre Synopsis: Ed finally meets his daughter's boyfriend for the first time. Smart, successful and handsome, Ryan appears to be a real catch. Then Abbie announces their plan to get married . There's just one problem. Ed thinks Ryan is lying to them. All of Ed's instincts tell him his daughter is in terrible danger - but no-one else can see it. With the wedding date approaching fast, Ed sets out to uncover Ryan's secrets, before it's too late… How did this book end up in my hands? I read a serialisation of this novel via The Pigeonhole app. Was it a page-turner? At  448 pages, the book is not short. Having established that, I can’t explain how I read each instalment in minutes. I was always surprised when I reached the last screen so soon after starting. Did the book meet my expectations? The synopsis was right up my street so I knew I would enjoy it. I didn’t expect to enjoy it quite so much though, which is always a p...

By Deborah O’Connor Published by Zaffre   Synopsis: One in 100 of us is a 'potentially dangerous person' - someone likely to commit a violent crime. We all know them: these charmers, liars and manipulators. The ones who send prickles up the back of our neck. These people hide in plain sight, they can be teachers, doctors, holding positions of trust, of power.  Jessamine Gooch makes a living tracking the 1 in 100. Each week she broadcasts a radio show that examines brutal offences, asking if more could have been done to identify and prevent their perpetrators. But when she agrees to investigate a missing person case involving a young mother, she is drawn into a web of danger that will ultimately lead to the upper echelons of power, and threaten the sfety of her own family. How did this book end up in my hands? I read it via The Pigeonhole . Was it a page-turner? OMG, at the end of each instalment every day, I kept trying to turn the page. I just couldn’t understa...

By Stephanie Butland Published by Zaffre Synopsis: Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look carefully, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are some things Loveday will never show you. Into her refuge - the York book emporium where she works - come a poet, a lover, a friend, and three mysterious deliveries, each of which stirs unsettling memories. Everything is about to change for Loveday. Someone knows about her past and she can't hide any longer. She must decide who around her she can trust. Can she find the courage to right a heartbreaking wrong? And will she ever find the words to tell her own story? How did this book end up in my hands? I was browsing the Borrow Box app and the cover of this book caught my eye so I decided to download the audiobook. Was it a page-turner? This is not a thriller so I took my time enjoying the unfolding of the story. My pace did however increase towards the end,...

By Liz Lawler Published by Bonnier Zaffre Synopsis: Alex Taylor wakes up tied to an operating table. The man who stands over her isn't a doctor. The choice he forces her to make is utterly unspeakable.   But when Alex re-awakens, she's unharmed - and no one believes her horrifying story. Ostracised by her colleagues, her family and her partner, she begins to wonder if she really is losing her mind. And then she meets the next victim. How did this book end up in my hands? I won a copy of this book via The Pigeonhole app after sharing my feedback about the author’s second novel, I’ll Find You , on Twitter. Was it a page-turner? Yes, which I was expecting based on the author’s other novel. This is a ‘one sitting’ kind of book! Did the book meet my expectations? I had read a couple of reviews mentioning that Liz Lawler’s books shared some similarities (hospital setting, location, unreliable character…) so I was a little apprehensive but I shouldn’t have worried...

By Liz Lawler Published by Bonnier Zaffre Synopsis: Emily Jacobs wakes up in the night after a minor operation, woozy with anaesthetic. She sees the doctor frantically trying to resuscitate the woman in the bed next to her.  In the morning, she is told that she must have had a nightmare. That the bed has been empty all along… When Emily returns to her work as a nurse, she discovers a bracelet that she believes belonged to the missing woman. She becomes convinced the people at the hospital are hiding a terrible secret. What if she's right? What else could they be capable of? How did this book end up in my hands? Yes, you guessed correctly: I read the serialisation of this book via The Pigeonhole ! Was it a page-turner? Absolutely! I think each instalment was supposed to represent approximately a 20-minute reading session but it was more like a 2-minute scramble to find out more! Having read the synopsis, did the book meet my expectations? The synopsis gave me a g...

By Neil White Published by Bonnier Zaffre Synopsis: When Lizzie Barnsley is murdered along a canal after escaping her abusive boyfriend, Dan Grant is called in to represent her alleged killer, Peter Box. The evidence is strong, but did he actually do it? He didn't know Lizzie, so why would he kill her?  As Dan and his investigator, Jayne Brett, begin their case, they discover a number of murders and disappearances along the canals, including the brutal killing of fourteen-year-old Rosie Smith ten years earlier. Rosie's stepfather Sean had been accused of her murder, but then Dan finds out that Peter tried to confess to that crime as well and was ignored.  With a client who won't tell anyone what really happened, Dan and Jayne have their work cut out, but when it becomes clear that Peter Box can't have been involved in every murder and disappearance, they realise that they may have stumbled on to something far more sinister. But the clock is ticki...

By Claudia Carroll Published by Zaffre Synopsis: It's late at night and the rain is pouring down on the Dublin city streets. A mother is grieving for her dead child. She stands silently outside the home of the teenage boy she believes responsible. She watches … In a kitchen on the same square, a girl waits anxiously for her mum to come home. She knows exactly where she is, but she knows she cannot reach her.  A few doors down, and a widow sits alone in her room. She has just delivered a bombshell to her family during dinner and her life is about to change forever.  And an aspiring theatre director has just moved in to a flat across the street. Her landlord is absent, but there are already things about him that don't quite add up… Welcome to Primrose Square. How did this book end up in my hands? I won a copy of this book ahead of publication day, which made me very happy. Was it a page-turner? Only work got in the way. I couldn’t wait for my next break to pi...

By Sheena Kamal Published by BonnierZaffre Synopsis: When Nora Watts is approached by a man claiming to know her late father, she is thrown into turmoil. Struggling with the imminent death, from cancer, of her friend and mentor Sebastian Crow, she is unprepared for the memories that this encounter brings back. What happened to her father that made him kill himself and abandon Nora and her sister? Heading to Detroit to try and find some answers about his life there, Nora expects to discover a reason behind his suicide. Instead, she finds more questions than answers. How did this book end up in my hands? I won a copy of this book ahead of publication date. I’m on a lucky streak! Was it a page-turner? Totally. It took me some time to get into the book because I felt like there was something missing. Or – better – that I was missing something. Turns out I was right and – even though this can be read as a stand-alone novel – it is the second book featuring Nora Watts and there...

By Lydia Syson Published by BonnierZaffre Synopsis: Oceania 1879. A family of settlers from New Zealand are the sole inhabitants of a remote volcanic island. For two years they have struggled with the harsh reality of trying to make this unforgiving place a paradise they can call their own. At last, a ship appears. The six Pacific Islanders on board have travelled eight hundred miles across the ocean in search of work and new horizons. Hopes are high for all, until a vulnerable boy vanishes. In their search for the lost child, settlers and newcomers together uncover far more than they were looking for. The island's secrets force them all to question their deepest convictions. How did this book end up in my hands? I won this book ahead of its publication date and it kept me company during a short break in Italy, making me travel further than expected! Was it a page-turner? Absolutely. It took me a few chapters to get used to the two different narrative voices but once I f...