Handcuffs, Truncheon and a Polyester Thong by Gina Kirkham #bookreview

About Handcuffs, Truncheon and a Polyester Thong

Meet Mavis Upton. As mummy to 7-year old Ella, surrogate to far too many pets and with a failed marriage under her belt, Mavis knows she needs to make some life-changing decisions. It's time to strike out into the world, to stand on her own two feet … to pursue a lifelong ambition to become a Police Officer. I mean, what could go wrong?

Supported by her quirky, malapropism-suffering mum, Mavis throws herself headlong into a world of uncertainty, self-discovery, fearless escapades, laughter and extra-large knickers. And using her newly discovered investigative skills, she reluctantly embarks on a search to find her errant dad who was last seen years before, making off with her mum's much needed coupon for a fabulous foam cup bra all the way from America.

Follow Mavis as she tackles everything life can throw at her, and revel in Gina Kirkham's humorous, poignant and moving story of an everyday girl who one day followed a dream.

My review of Handcuffs, Truncheon and a Polyester Thong

Handcuffs, Truncheon and a Polyester Thong is the debut novel from Gina Kirkham. This is a witty, intelligent and incredibly funny book that had me laughing out loud. But don't be fooled by the fabulous cover (which I love) as this novel has so much depth, it's not just a series of funny stories (which are in fact, hilarious). The stories that are told are mixed with real life emotions, beautifully observed reality and a protagonist who you just can't help but love and admire. While reading, I was constantly drawing comparisons to the scouse sitcom, Bread, and to Only Fools and Horses, so you get the idea of how much I loved this book. It's that good.

So, this is Mavis Upton's story, a police officer, a mother, a daughter and a person in her own right, who tells us the personal story of her life. Her story begins from when she first had the idea forming in her mind about joining the police back in 1988, right up to the present day of 2008. I was with Mavis every step of the way and felt like I really knew her, 'nellies' and all! The author writes so beautifully, and makes the art of storytelling seem completely effortless. I was gently propelled from one hilarious story to the next, revelling in all of the antics that she got up to. The real joy for me, was watching her transform from a rather naïve woman who had an idealistic view of the world, and who would only drive at a maximum of 40 mph, into the perceptive, 'chasing bad guys' police officer that she finally became.

Along the way we meet some wonderful colourful characters, and that's not just the local criminals! We meet her young daughter, Ella, who seems mature beyond her years and who shares her mother's wit and sense of humour. For me though, it was Mavis' mother, Josie Upton, who was the star of the show with her plentiful malapropisms. A woman who was strong, fiercely protective of her family and who constantly saw the funny side of life, even in the darkest of times. The scene with the 'squiffy' formed a huge lump in my throat and I'll admit that I had to put the book down for a little while in order to gather my thoughts. Ms Kirkham is a storyteller who writes from the heart, with compassion, humility and overwhelming understanding of what makes us who we are.

Handcuffs, Truncheon and a Polyester Thong is like a breath of fresh air. It is packed full of scouse humour, which reminded me so much of my youth growing up on the Wirral. While reading I wondered what stories were based upon reality, thinking that most of them probably were, and this brought a huge smile to my face. This novel also touches upon the more serious side of policing, as there were a few stories that made me sit back and really think. One such story dealt with the safety and welfare of children, and this really brought home the reality of what horrors the police have to deal with, before going on to the next job.

This is a highly original novel and an emotional roller coaster of a ride that had me in stitches. It is such a feel good book. I have a feeling that Mavis Upton will be with me for a very long time, and I will never quite look at a polyester thong in quite the same way ever again!

Handcuffs, Truncheon and a Polyester Thong is published by Urbane Publications on May18th and is available to buy from Amazon here.

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy.

About the author

Gina was born during the not-so-swinging 50's to a mum who frequently abandoned her in a pram outside Woolworths and a dad who, after two pints of beer, could play a mean Boogie Woogie on the piano in the front room of their 3-bed semi on the Wirral. Being the less adventurous of three children, she remains there to this day - apart from a long weekend in Bognor Regis in 1982. Her teenage years were filled with angst, a CSE in Arithmetic, pimples, PLJ juice, Barry White and rather large knickers until she suddenly and mysteriously slimmed down in her twenties. Marriage and motherhood ensued, quickly followed by divorce in her early thirties and a desperate need for a career and some form of financial support for herself and her daughter. Trundling a bicycle along a leafy path one wintry day, a lifelong passion to be a police officer gave her simultaneously an epiphany and fond memories of her favourite author Enid Blyton and moments of solving mysteries. And thus began an enjoyable and fulfilling career with Merseyside Police. On reaching an age most women lie about, she quickly adapted to retirement by utilising her policing skills to chase after two granddaughters, two dogs and one previously used, but still in excellent condition, husband. Having said goodbye to what had been a huge part of her life, she suddenly had another wonderful epiphany. This time it was to put pen to paper to write a book based on her experiences as a police officer. Lying in bed one night staring at the ceiling and contemplating life as she knew it, Gina's alter-ego, Mavis Upton was born, ready to star in a humorous and sometimes poignant look at the life, loves and career of an everyday girl who followed a dream and embarked upon a search for the missing piece of her childhood.

Imperfection by Ray Clark

About Imperfection

Imperfection is a new crime series featuring D.I. Stewart Gardener and D. S. Sean Reilly, and set in the West Yorkshire city of Leeds. A haunting message scrawled on the dressing room wall of a theatre: the scene of a murder. It had been written using the blood from the victim, previously drained in a separate location. At the autopsy, D.I. Gardener and D.S. Reilly are shown a riddle carved into the chest of the corpse, informing them there would be more. Their efforts to find out why are continually blocked by a wall of contradiction, with little in the way of evidence to support their cause. Steered back to the scene of the crime and a disused prop room, Gardener and his trusted sergeant find another puzzle. The murderer, it seems, is playing games. It soon becomes clear to Gardener and Reilly that to find the killer they need to solve the clues, and to do that, they must tunnel their way into the past, where the streets were paved with gold, and to a man who had terrified people before either of them had even been born...

My review of Imperfection

Imperfection is a crime novel, but like no other I have ever read before. This book fuses together the genre of crime writing with that of superstitious tales and the unnatural. There was an almost Sherlock Holmes feel to this book, as I worked alongside the police to find out what was behind the killer's motives.  It is a very unique novel, and I loved it. I did have to stretch the boundaries of reality a little while reading, and accept that the author had used much artistic licence in the descriptions of police procedures, but once I did, and fully embraced this new type of genre, I found it a highly engaging read.

Imperfection is set in Leeds and I guessed around the early 2000s, with the clues that we were given with regards to the timeframe. This helped to give a slightly nostalgic feel to the novel. The book opens when an aging actor, Leonard White, is found murdered at the Grand Theatre. His body has been drained of all blood and a cryptic clue/message has been painted using his blood onto his dressing room wall. From this moment on, the police are out to find out who the murderer is. The real joy of this book is that from very early on we are in on who the murderer is, and we are able to read passages were he describes his life. So we get the viewpoints of both the police and the killer. Therefore, I wanted to find out why he was killing, just as much as the police did.

This book is very well written, it has a natural flow to the writing and we follow the story with ease. Coupled with this are descriptive and interesting characters. The two police officers who are following the case are D.I. Stewart Gardener and D. S. Sean Reilly. They work well as a team and I found them hugely likeable. Gardener lives with his father and son, and we learn that he has lived in Leeds all of his life, as everyone seems to know him from being a little boy. Reilly on the other hand is an Irishman, an outsider, and it took me a little longer to get to know him, but by the end of the book, I had a lot of respect for him. This novel also has some interesting supporting characters. For instance, I loved the character of Fittle, who had worked at the Theatre for the past thirty years and practically lived in a small cupboard drinking tea and eating biscuits. He added a much needed sense of humour to proceedings in what was quite a dark and disturbing book.

Imperfection is the story of a serial killer. A killer who is sadistic and caries out grotesque murders, of which the aftermath is described in some detail. But the brutality and amount of planning that the murderer does is pivotal to the plot. We need to despise him and everything that he stands for, without question, and I did.

As I mentioned earlier, this is not your run of the mill crime drama and serial killer book. The police procedures seem to be from a time long ago and their way of solving crimes is most definitely 'off beat'. This is shown by the fact that the police do not think about using the internet to check the quotes that are from the killer. Instead they go to experts and find the answers in books. Although I did find this a little strange, and did shout at one point that they should simply Google the answer, at the same time I found this quality endearing. It very much felt like good old fashioned detective work, but with a likeable twist.

Imperfection is a very ambitious book that blurs genres and somehow withstands the boundaries of time. It is a hugely refreshing read and I now need to go back and read the first book in the series. If you want to read a crime novel with a twist, and one that is highly unique, then I thoroughly recommend Imperfection. I really enjoyed it.

With thanks to Urbane Publications and NetGalley for a review copy.

Imperfection, published on Match 30 by Urbane Publications, can be found on Amazon here.

About the author

 The British Fantasy Society published the Ray Clark's first work in 1995, a 3000 word essay on fellow writer, Graham Masterton. In 1996, a chance meeting in a London docklands hotel at a BFS Convention with Matt Williams (and Graham Masterton - himself later in the same evening) eventually led to Ray's first big break: the 1998 publication of Manitou Man: The World of Graham Masterton, nominated for both the World and British Fantasy Awards. Success followed with a number of short stories in various magazines between 1998 and 2003. 2007 saw the author's first collection of short stories under the title of The Lord of Misrule and Other Stories, released by an American publisher. The following year, the self-publication of a stand-alone horror novel, Calix, a terrifying psychological, rollercoaster ride into the unknown using the Salem Witch Trials as its backdrop. In 2009: Ray's short story, Promises To Keep made the final shortlist for the best short story award from The Tom Howard Foundation. The publication of Misrule 2: The Next Generation soon followed. In 2010: the short story, Purple Rain was published in the American quarterly publication, Carpe Articulum: A Twist in the Taste was also published in a collection by The English Heritage, entitled, Whitby Abbey: Pure Inspiration (available at Amazon and most leading retailers). 2012: The Priest's Hole, a horror novel published by Damnation Books in the U.S. Available as a paperback and a variety of electronic versions. In 2012: Canadian publisher, Double Dragon Press, re-released Calix with new artwork, both electronically and in paperback. In 2013: Canadian Publisher, Double Dragon published A Devil's Dozen, a collection of short horror stories. 2014: a new crossover novel entitled Seven Secrets from U.S. Publisher, Damnation Books. 2015: a second short story collection entitled, A Detective's Dozen, from Canadian publisher, Double Dragon. 2016: the first in the author's IMP crime series set in Leeds featuring Detectives Gardener and Reilly, entitled Impurity, from U.S. Publisher, Caliburn Press. 2017: The second in the IMP series, Imperfection, will be published by Urbane Publications in the spring of 2017

Let the Dead Speak by Jane Casey

About Let the Dead Speak

In the chilling new crime novel from award-winning author Jane Casey, Detective Maeve Kerrigan and the murder squad must navigate a web of lies to discover the truth…

A murder without a body
Eighteen-year-old Chloe Emery returns to her West London home one day to find the house covered in blood and Kate, her mother, gone. There may not be a body, but everything else points to murder.

A girl too scared to talk
Maeve Kerrigan is young, ambitious and determined to prove she’s up to her new role as detective sergeant. She suspects Chloe is holding something back, but best friend Bethany Norris won’t let Maeve get close. What exactly is Bethany protecting Chloe from?
A detective with everything to prove
As the team dig deeper into the residents of Valerian Road, no one is above suspicion. All Maeve needs is one person to talk, but that’s not going to happen. Because even in a case of murder, some secrets are too terrible to share…

My review of Let the Dead Speak

This is the first Jane Casey book that I have ever read, so I am new to the world of Detective Maeve Kerrigan. I absolutely loved this book, and so shall be rooting out the previous books in the series to read during the summer.

I was initially drawn to this book because of the interesting premise that a murder had taken place, but that there was no body at the crime scene. I wanted to find out how the police solved this puzzle.

So, eighteen-year-old Chloe Emery returns home early from having been away, visiting her father, to find the home that she shares with her mother, Kate, covered in blood., and her mother missing, presumed dead. It is from this point onwards that we follow the police in their investigation to find out exactly what happened.

The plot is completely believable and I found out the events that took place, during the many twists and turns, at the same time as the police. I liked this aspect. In that  there was a logical progression to the events that took place, which were slowly revealed, layer by layer, to me, the reader.

What really made this book stand out for me though was the two leading characters of Maeve and DI Josh Derwent. There on page chemistry simmered and I wondered why on earth they weren't together. However, as this is the first book that I have read in the series, I knew nothing of their past relationship,  although we are told that they have never been involved in a romantic relationship. To me, it was fairly obvious that they belong together, and I have my fingers and toes crossed that this will happen in future novels.

This is a thoroughly entertaining read! It is fairly dark in nature, with serious issues being discussed regarding the sexuality of women, the sexualisation of women by men and issues of consent. But what was we do have is an incredibly strong female lead in the form of Maeve, whom you can't help but love and admire. Here is a woman who wears her heart on her sleeve and who would do anything to protect the innocent. She is hugely likeable and someone whom I admire.

 

Let the Dead Speak is a dark, griping and enjoyable detective story that is full of twists. This fabulous plot is further enhanced by completely relatable characters and a cast of male suspects, none of whom I liked, and that was the way it should be. I literally had no idea of who had done what or why, and I was left guessing until the very end. I enjoyed this book immensely and look forward to reading the next in the series.

 

Let the Dead Speak, published on March 9 by Harper Collins, is available to buy from Amazon here.

About the author

"All my criminal elements have some basis in reality, no matter how awful they may be. Nothing is completely farfetched." Jane Casey

Crime is a family affair for Jane Casey. Married to a criminal barrister, she has a unique insight into the brutal underbelly of urban life, from the smell of a police cell to the darkest motives of a serial killer.

This gritty realism has made her books international bestsellers and critical successes; while Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan has quickly become one of the most popular characters in crime fiction.

Winner of the Mary Higgins Clark Award for The Stranger You Know, Jane has been shortlisted four times for the Irish Crime Novel of the Year Award and longlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award.

The Escape by C L Taylor

About The Escape

When a stranger asks Jo Blackmore for a lift she says yes, then swiftly wishes she hadn't.
The stranger knows Jo's name, she knows her husband Max and she's got a glove belonging to Jo's two year old daughter Elise.

What begins with a subtle threat swiftly turns into a nightmare as the police, social services and even Jo's own husband turn against her.

No one believes that Elise is in danger. But Jo knows there's only one way to keep her child safe – RUN.

My review of The Escape

 

I have read several of C L Taylor's books, and so, was very excited when I got the opportunity to read and review her latest novel, The Escape. This is a thoroughly gripping, psychological thriller that deals with trust, deception and lies within a family. At the heart of this book is the question, who can you really trust?

 

The novel begins when Jo is approaching her car, on route to pick up her little girl from nursery. She is in the University car park when a stranger approaches her and asks for a lift. As soon as I read the dialogise between the two women, I knew that something was not right, and that this stranger, Paula, was not all that she seemed. Once in the car, she gives Jo a glove that belongs to her daughter, telling her that she knows Jo's husband, Max, and she makes a subtle threat, in telling Jo that he has something that she wants back. Jo is visibly shaken and the seed of doubt is planted.

 

We learn that Jo has suffered from depression and mental health issues following the loss of their baby son.  She is acrophobic and suffers from anxiety. It is these factors that go against Jo in the book, and have a devastating effect upon what happens to her and her daughter Izzy.

 

We read as Jo's normal family life begins to crumble around her. She is not sure if she can trust her husband, nor indeed if he is telling her the truth about Paula. Plunged into self doubt, Jo realises that the only person she can trust is her best friend and herself. The book is about being a mother, and the fact that you would do everything in your power to protect your child. The bond between Jo and her daughter is so clearly evident, and I never doubted her capacity to love and care for her child.

 

This book is a psychological thriller, as we question the characters we meet along the way, wondering who on earth we can trust. Who is telling the truth, and who wants secrets to be buried? As with all C L Taylor's books, we are kept in the dark until the very end when all of the loose ends are toed up.

 

I read this book very quickly, in a few short sittings, which is very unusual for me. I simply could not put it down, willing myself, to read 'just one more chapter'. I think that this was to do with the fact that Jo was all consuming. I wanted her to survive, to be believed, to live a happy life. By the end of the book I was firmly on her side and rooting for her to have the life that she truly deserved.

 

The Escape is about the need to escape from lies and deceit, and to find a life that is truly your own. Ultimately, it is about self discovery and believing in yourself.

 

The Escape is published by Avon on March 23 and can be found on Amazon here.

 

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley who provided an Advanced Raeder Copy.

About the author

CL Taylor lives in Bristol with her partner and young son. She studied for a degree in Psychology at the University of Northumbria, Newcastle and has worked as a sales administrator, web developer, instructional designer and as the manager of a distance learning team at a London university. She now writes full time.

CL Taylor's first psychological thriller THE ACCIDENT was one of the top ten bestselling debut novels of 2014 according to The Bookseller. Her second and third novels, THE LIE and THE MISSING, were Sunday Times Bestsellers and #1 Amazon Kindle chart bestsellers. Her fourth pysychological thriller, THE ESCAPE, will be published on 23 March 2017. She is currently writing her first young adult thriller, THE TREATMENT, which will be published in September 2017.

Sign up to join the CL Taylor Book Club for access to news, updates and information that isn't available on the web, as well as exclusive newsletter-only competitions and giveaways and the books that CL Taylor thinks will be the next big thing:

http://www.callytaylor.co.uk/cltaylorbookclub.html

Little Girl Lost by Carol Wyer

About Little Girl Lost

Her breath rose and fell in fearful gasps but it was too late. She could already see what she dreaded most. The back seat was empty.Her little girl was gone.

Abigail lives the perfect life with her doting husband and adorable baby Izzy. But someone knows a secret about Abigail and they want the truth to be told.

When Izzy is snatched from a carpark, it becomes a case for Detective Robyn Carter. Someone has been sending threatening messages to Abigail from an anonymous number. What is Abigail hiding?

Robyn’s instincts tell her there’s a connection between Izzy’s abduction and two murders she is investigating. But the last time she acted on impulse her fiancé was killed. To break this case and earn her place back on the force, she must learn to trust herself again – and fast. Robyn is on the hunt for a ruthless serial killer. And unless she gets to the twisted individual in time a little girl will die …

Gripping, fast-paced and nail-bitingly tense, this serial killer thriller will chill you to the bone. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott and Karin Slaughter.

My Review of Little Girl Lost

     

Little Girl Lost is a detective story/fast paced thriller. We begin by reading about Alice, a little girl, who is only eight-years-old,  who lives in a big house with her mother, step dad Paul, and step siblings, Natasha and Lucas. We learn that her mother is engaged to Paul, a big movie actor and that Alice feels rejected and shunned due to this new relationship, as her mother seems to have no time to spend with her.  Her only true friend would seem to be that of her toy rabbit, Mr Big Ears. The prologue deals with a life changing event for Alice, that sets the tone and pace for the entire story. It deals with a sexual assault, upon Alice, and I did find this upsetting to read, as it was fairly graphic in its depiction. I will admit that I nearly gave up reading, but I wanted to give the book a chance, and I am so very glad that I did. This is by far the most graphic and disturbing part of the book, in my opinion at least.

I do feel that the subject matter of the book may not be to everyone's taste, as the novel is centred around child sexual abuse, and is greatly disturbing. But, I do feel that the author tackles this subject with great empathy, sensitivity and knowledge upon the subject. The events that take place are given context, they are not simply there as a 'shock factor', as they are integral to the plot.

So, Little Girl Lost is the first book in the Detective Inspector Robyn Carter series, and I found this character hugely compelling and likeable. Having suffered her own losses in life, she busies herself in her work and is dedicated and passionate.

We are also introduced to Abigail Thorne, and her husband Jackson, who have a little girl, Izzy. It is later on in the novel that they are then introduced to Robyn, as Izzy goes missing. At this point Robyn is investigating the disappearance of Lucas and is convinced that his case is linked to that of several murders that have taken place.

This novel took me a while to get into because of the varying points of view. We read Robyn's thoughts, as well as those of Abigail's and then of Alice, both past and present. However, once I was around a quarter of the way through, I quickly settled into the pace and way of storytelling and found the plot completely captivating. I was gripped until the very end, not knowing who was telling the truth and how all of these separate events were connected. It really is a very clever story.

Little Girl Lost, is a tough read, there is no denying this, simply because of the subject matter. It did however, keep me guessing and thoroughly entertained. I  look forward to reading the second novel in the Detective Inspector Robyn Carter series.

With thanks to the publisher, Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with an Advanced Reader Copy.

Little Girl Lost is available to buy from Amazon here.

About the author

Carol E. Wyer is an award-winning author whose humorous books take a light-hearted look at getting older and encourage others to age disgracefully. More recently she has chosen to write for the "dark side" and embarked on a series of thrillers, starting with the gripping best-seller, Little Girl Lost.

Her book Grumpy Old Menopause won The People's Book Prize Award for non-fiction 2015.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing 'Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly' featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and writes regularly for The Huffington Post.

Carol is a signed author with Bookouture and Delancey Press.

To learn more about Carol, go to www.carolewyer.co.uk or follow Carol on Twitter: @carolewyer. Carol blogs at www.facing50withhumour.com and www.grumpyoldmenopause.com

*BLOG TOUR* Review - Beneath the Ashes by Jane Isaac

About Beneath the Ashes

FROM THE AMAZON TOP 5 BESTSELLING AUTHOR

'Carefully executed police procedural, that hits all the targets.' --Angela Clarke, author of Follow Me
'I thought I'd never read a book that came close to the realities of crime and policing. Then I read this.' --Ian Patrick Writer and former DS with the Metropolitan Police
'A smart, intelligent and tightly woven police procedural with real depth of human emotion at its heart.' --Rebecca Bradley, author of Shallow Waters

The floor felt hard beneath her face. Nancy opened her eyes. Blinked several times. A pain seared through her head. She could feel fluid. No. She was lying in fluid.

When a body is discovered in a burnt-out barn in the Warwickshire countryside, DI Will Jackman is called to investigate.

Nancy Faraday wakes up on the kitchen floor. The house has been broken into and her boyfriend is missing. As the case unravels, DI Jackman realises that nothing is quite as it appears and everyone, it seems, has a secret.

Can he discover the truth behind the body in the fire, and track down the killer before Nancy becomes the next victim?

A gripping thriller perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, S.J. Watson, B A Paris and Sophie Hannah

My Review of Beneath the Ashes

This is the first book that I have read by Jane Isaac, so I missed out on the first book in the DI Will Jackman series, although after reading this book, I soon will be reading it! I loved this book. I love gritty detective novels that feature plot twists and strong, well defined characters, and this book has it all.

The book opens with the prologue, in which a woman is running away from sirens, that I presumed to be the police. We have no idea who she is or what she is running away from, as she eventually reaches the solitude of the graveyard. This beginning hooked me right in and I settled down to read what would happen next.

The scene then cuts to Nancy, a woman who wakes up on the kitchen floor of a farmhouse, clearly confused with an obvious head wound and shattered glass littering the floor. She assumes that she must have fallen asleep alter an evening drinking with her boyfriend, Evan, but she soon realises that something is wrong. It is from here that the plot truly begins when a body is found in the farm's barn following a fire, and we begin to learn about what happened the night before. This book has so many twists and turns that I had no idea of who the killer was, right until the very end.

This book has a solid plot and it is very obvious that the author has done her research and knows the ins and outs of police procedures. There is meticulous attention to detail and, I found myself absorbing every single aspect of the case.  It is this attention to detail and the astute observations of the author in how individuals react and communicate with each other, that made me love this book. In essence the characters and the plot were completely believable.

There are some wonderful characters in this book, but I have to admit that my attention was captivated by DI Will Jackman. Unlike so many police detectives, he does seem to have got the work/life balance nearly right, and I was intrigued by the two sides of his character. The family man who cares deeply for his wife and daughter, and the fearless detective who strives for justice. I admit that I fell a little bit in love with him, as who wouldn't?

Isaac also has some strong  female characters in this book, one of whom is the witty and hugely likeable, Sergeant Annie Davies. I liked the fact that she was a working mum. So many police dramas focus on the negatives of family life and that many women in the policing profession do not have children. But Davies seems to have it all, and I admired her greatly. She and Jackman seemed to make a really great team and I loved the working chemistry between them.

Beneath the Ashes is a fantastic and compelling read. It is a thoroughly gripping crime thriller that will keep you guessing unit the very end.

With many thanks to Legend Press and NetGalley for a review copy. Beneath the Ashes is available to buy NOW.

 

 

About Jane Isaac

 

Jane Isaac lives with her husband, daughter and dog, Bollo, in rural Northamptonshire, UK. Her debut novel, An Unfamiliar Murder, introduces DCI Helen Lavery and was nominated as best mystery in the 'eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook awards 2013.'

The Truth Will Out, the second in the DCI Helen Lavery series, was nominated as 'Thriller of the Month - April 2014' by E-thriller.com and winner of 'Noveltunity book club selection - May 2014'.

In 2015 Jane embarked on a new series, featuring DI Will Jackman and set in Stratford upon Avon, with Before It's Too Late. The second in the series, Beneath The Ashes, will be published by Legend Press on 1st November 2016 with the 3rd, The Lies Within, to follow on 2nd May 2017.

Both DI Jackman and DCI Lavery will return again in the near future. Sign up to Jane's newsletter on her website at www.janeisaac.co.uk for details of new releases, events and giveaways