First a quick explanation!
Due to some severe health issues over the last few years, and a lingering chronic condition, my planned review schedule went right out of the window and I have been scrabbling ever since to get it back on track.
In an attempt to try to regain some lost ground, I have been scrunching some of my (overdue) NetGalley reviews together into one or two posts each week: shorter reviews, but still covering all of the points I intended to.
That’s the plan anyway, so let’s see if any of my latest reads take your fancy for a sunny summer read!
Title: Wizard of Most Wicked Ways
Author: Charlie N. Holmberg
Publisher: 47North
Blurb: When dead enemies rise, grave matters of the heart, mind, and body clash in the fantastical fourth Whimbrel House novel by Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.
Whimbrel House is changing. Merritt and Hulda are raising a family. Owein has signed a marriage contract with the magically compatible Lady Cora, a heavyweight of British nobility who’s an ocean away. And the lovely shape-shifting druid Fallon makes a distractingly fetching friend for Owein. But another change is in the air, and this time it’s something wicked.
The greatest wizard of the millennium, Silas Hogwood, is back—after five years dead. New body, same foul scent, and driven by madness and revenge. Owein, fearing he isn’t strong enough to fend off Silas, seeks Cora’s help and influence in England. Alarms ringing, Queen Victoria dispatches her League of Magicians, including her personal necromancer, to aid in Owein’s defense.
As magic, both good and evil, converges on Blaugdone Island, Owein realizes how harrowing the forces against them are. Combating them will require some digging—literally—for half-formed secrets of magic Hulda doesn’t want him to have. But no promise, lock, or government red tape will keep Owein from doing what’s necessary to protect those he loves. One way or another, Silas will only take Whimbrel House over Owein’s third dead body.
Review: I can’t tell you how excited I was to get my hands on this book!
All of the familiar Whimbrel House crew are back – Hilde and Merritt, Beth and Baptiste, and Owein. Unfortunately, Silas Hogwood is back too and more terrifying than ever in his latest incarnation.
The older couples are all now parents, as time has passed since we last saw them, and so their focus and responsibilities have changed accordingly and the main focus of the plot has passed fully to Owein as the first representative of the younger generation (despite actually being a centuries old child, reaching adulthood for the first time in a human body).
Cora keeps in touch with him as BFFs and penpals in their years spent apart and he is caught in a waiting pattern as her decision about their engagement looms closer. Meanwhile, druid shapeshifter Fallon has been his constant companion and its obvious she wants to be more, so he will have to choose between honouring his long-distance betrothal or his real-life spirit animal girl-friend.
But it’s not all teen romance – Silas seems absolutely undefeatable this time around, even with the forces of England’s League of Magicians on our heroes’ side. And Owein has already died twice, so it’s not looking good for his third attempt at keeping body and soul together. Especially as Silas is literally insane with the need to revenge himself on everyone Owein holds dear, at any cost.
Thrilling, touching, sometimes funny (although less humorous and more serious in tone than the previous novels), this fourth book in the series had me riveted from first to last page. You definitely need to read Books 1-3 first, as it doesn’t stand alone, but personally I am counting down until the next release and will use that as an excuse to re-read them all again!
Purchase Link: Wizard of Most Wicked Ways on Amazon
Title: Playing Dead
Author: Various, ed. Martin Edwards
Publisher: Severn House
Blurb: Members of the Detection Club, the most prestigious group of crime writers in the world, celebrate the eightieth birthday of their former president – the original king of cozy crime, Simon Brett – with this stunning collection of all-new short stories.
A long-married crime-writing couple plot murder most horrid, with a jaw-dropping twist . . . A group of school friends dig up a long-buried dark secret . . . A widower joins a local amdram society, with surprisingly dramatic results . . . A deranged fan stalks a celebrated TV personality . . . An online romance turns sour . . . and much, much more.
From police procedurals to the sharpest satire, from historical mystery to dark and twisted chillers, these twenty-two original tales, written by some of Britain’s most remarkable bestselling authors, are essential reading for crime and mystery fans.
With stories by Abir Mukherjee, Aline Templeton, Alison Joseph, Andrew Taylor, Ann Cleeves, Catherine Aird, Christopher Fowler, David Stuart Davies, Elly Griffiths, Frances Brody, John Harvey, Kate Ellis, L.C. Tyler, Liza Cody, Lynne Truss, Martin Edwards, Michael Jecks, Michael Ridpath, Michael Z. Lewin, Peter Lovesey, Ruth Dudley Edwards – and last, but very much not least, Simon Brett, who’s brought back his much-loved amateur sleuth, washed-up actor Charles Paris, to tread the boards once again.
Review: I love mystery stories and I enjoy short stories, so this collection of 22 stories all in one of my favourite genres was a treat for me from start to finish.
Collected in honour of Simon Brett from members of the Detection Club, there are some obvious recurring themes – radio and theatre productions, for example – and some brief cameos and in-jokes. Still, despite those similarities, there is a nice range of varying styles, tone and content to enjoy here.
The book includes every kind of crime story you can think of, from cosy to thriller, historical to modern, realistic to satirical. Obviously that means that not every story will suit every reader, but I thoroughly enjoyed every single one, couldn’t point to a single bad/weak story among them, and would wholeheartedly recommend this collection to other crime and/or short story fans, or anyone looking for a taster sample of the authors included.
Purchase Link: Playing Dead on Amazon
Title: Murder Below Deck
Author: Orlando Murrin
Publisher: Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Bantam
Blurb: Worse things happen at sea…
Paul Delamare has been roped into accompanying his old friend on a luxury cruise aboard the magnificent superyacht Maldemer. It’s all plain sailing until his friend’s priceless necklace is stolen, and everyone falls under suspicion.
As Paul races to catch the thief, the ship begins to drift off-course, veering into the storm-lashed mid-Atlantic. Then one of the passengers is found dead in mysterious circumstances, in a pool of coffee and surrounded by cake crumbs.
It’s all hands on deck to catch the killer, but Paul soon discovers guests and crew are harbouring deadly secrets. And if he can’t get to the bottom of the mystery soon, he’ll be sleeping with the fishes.
Review: I think I enjoyed this book even more than the first, although you don’t need to have read one to follow the other.
Paul Delamere, ex-chef and the main character, reminds me of Anthony Horowitz’s self-insert in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series: self-deprecating and a very sympathetic character, if not the greatest investigator, with a tendency to leap buoyantly to all the wrong conclusions.
In this outing, Paul tries to uncover who killed his dear friend, whilst being treated as first staff, then skivvy, then as everyone’s main target. He really does have a hard time here and I suffered knots of anxiety throughout that he might actually not make it out of this one! I have become very attached to Paul in the course of reading his trials and want to follow him on further sleuthing adventures while fearing greatly for his health and happiness with the way things are progressing.
As before, the recipes make for a lovely, story-related bonus at the end, so if you enjoy cooking up fictional treats, being kept guessing, a crew of very quirky suspects and some quite thrilling action, then this is a cruise you’ll want to be on.
Purchase Link: Murder Below Deck on Amazon
Title: Everyone in the Group Chat Dies
Author: L.M. Chilton
Publisher: Head of Zeus | Aries Fiction
Blurb: Don’t miss the new laugh-out-loud thriller from L.M. Chilton, Everyone in the Group Chat Dies – a murder mystery that fuses the flatmate comedy of Friends with the serial-killer thrills of I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Kirby Cornell needs a break from everything:
– Her crumbling flat in the sleepy town of Crowhurst (famous for its award-winning sausage rolls and a second-rate serial killer from the 90s).
– Her dead-end job.
– Her sleazy landlord.
– Her slobbish housemates.
– And, most of all, the terrible thing they all did.
Luckily, that hasn’t caught up with her just yet. Until a new message on their old group chat pops up:
Everyone in the group chat will die.
It’s the first text her ex-flatmate and social-media sleuth Esme has sent for ages, but that’s not the really weird thing.
The really weird thing is, Esme died twelve months ago…
Review: Well, I’m a bit torn on this one. Because on the one hand, I really enjoyed the Deadbeats, their unlikely friendships and the flashbacks we got of their time as roommates, but the mystery plot in the current-day timeline that alternates with and frames said flashbacks feels so rushed and abrupt that it doesn’t really do the characters or plot hook justice.
Kirby, Seema, Dylan and Dave are supposed to be in their thirties but they read far more like they are in their late teens or very early twenties – the vibe feels totally authentic but just far less mature than they should be. Kirby in particular comes across as immature and quite annoying, especially when it comes to her very-obviously-requited-but-both-oblivious romantic interest. That’s not to sat that I didn’t like the characters however – their banter, casual support of each other and self-doubts all felt totally authentic (if mis-aged) and the feeling of recognition endeared the whole Deadbeat group to me.
What did really work for me was the folkloric, almost folk-horror, elements introduced with the Crow Fayre and Jack Daw, and this would honestly have been a full five star read for me if we’d had more focus on that mystery plot, the roommates in their current day lives, the deaths and the investigation of the deaths. Instead, the focus of the mystery spends a lot of time on Esme’s disappearance (reasonable) and on Kirby’s will-they-won’t-they flashbacks (meh).
For me, this book had a great premise, set-up and characters, but I would have loved to have had more build-up to and around the ‘modern day’ killings, to really build the suspense and excitement in the run up to the final showdown (which could have possibly involved fewer coincidences). It was still a very entertaining read though, and I love the exploration of the intersection between true crime and influencers making content based on it, so I would definitely read more from this author in the future.
Purchase Link: Everyone in the Group Chat Dies on Amazon
Title: A Brush with Death
Author: J.M. Hall
Publisher: Avon Books UK
Blurb: Retired schoolteachers and amateur sleuths Liz, Pat and Thelma have a brand-new mystery to solve in this wonderfully witty cosy mystery.
Retired schoolteachers Pat, Liz and Thelma don’t know what to think. The death of Neville Hilton is not a crime. Just your standard, if tragic, heart attack. At least that’s what the autopsy shows.
But his ex-wife isn’t convinced. She’s sure the current Mrs Hilton is involved – maybe she wasn’t at some horse event, as she told police.
And so the three friends step away from their slices of cake to investigate.
As the trio delve into the village’s secrets, they uncover more than they bargained for – angry residents with old grudges and the echoes of a damning report that ruined lives all those years ago…
Can these unlikely sleuths untangle the web of lies and uncover the truth before anybody else dies?
The brand-new totally addictive and page-turning cosy mystery featuring these very unlikely sleuths. Fans of Agatha Christie and Midsomer Murders will be hooked from the very first page.
Review: This is the fourth Liz, Pat and Thelma book I have read and every one has been an enjoyable cosy mystery.
The focus this time is very much on the pressures of Ofsted reports and investigations on schools and school staff, which brings out a new perspective on one of my favourite aspects of these stories – that Liz, Pat and Thelma are all ex-teachers and we get to snoop not just on their investigations but on their insider experiences of the UK school system. And as someone who has teachers (and ex-teachers) in her family, their insights definitely feel authentic to me!
In addition to the cosy crime murder mystery and the sneak school peek from the frontline (if retired) viewpoint, each of the main character trio always has her own personal struggles to face and this book is no exception to that rule. Thelma is hiding a secret shame; Pat has another of her sons and his influencer girlfriend living with her and all is not rosy in that garden; and Liz is fighting her cholesterol and the dreaded biscuit temptation with the stern oversight of her grandson.
What I appreciate most in these books is the authenticity in the relationships between colleagues, with parents and students, between family members and even between old friends who don’t always – or often – see eye-to-eye. On this occasion, the investigation seemed to lack a little urgency, and the pace was a little relaxed in places, but it was overall another very enjoyable read.
Purchase Link: A Brush with Death on Amazon
I’m preparing to head off for a summer break soon and looking forward to catching up on a TON of reading and then updating you all with my reviews when I return!
What reads are you popping in your beach bags? Are you a fellow fan of mystery, fantasy and humour (or any combination of the three), or do you prefer your heatwave reading sizzling with romance? Or maybe a bit of horror to give you chills while the sun does its thing? Honestly, I could go for any and all and probably will.
In the meantime, I hope you’ve found something to take your fancy in this latest batch. Keep shining, happy reading and I’ll see you again soon for more booklove! 🙂
