A Da Vinci-code style thriller, concerning the Medusa Amulet, the Italian artist who created it and an American art historian hired to find it - who hopes to use it to save his dying sister. An engaging work, shifting back and forth across the centuries from Medieval Florence, through Revolutionary and Occupied France. Lots of thought-provoking questions on art and beauty, life and death,...

After military service in Bosnia, Bruno becomes Chief of Police in sleepy St Denis in the Dordogne.  He is conscientious but doesn't let the job get in the way of his rugby, tennis and enjoyment of good food. In fact he hasn't needed to because St Denis is not exactly a hotbed of crime; indeed Bruno has worn his gun to work just 3 times in his 10 years in the job  - when the President visited...

Set in 1963, John F. Kennedy’s historical visit of Ireland is only weeks away. Ireland’s politicians are determined that his visit will be without incident. So when three foreign nationals with shady pasts are found murdered, the mess needs to be cleaned up as quickly as possible. It transpires that they were ex-Nazis who had sought sanctuary in Ireland after World War Two after escaping...

This book really touched a nerve with me. I was held by the storyline of the child Sebastian in court and his defence lawyer Daniel, the last hope for the hopeless. Yet if this storyline hooked me, the characters and their relationships held me riveted to the turn of each page to see what happens.

This is a novel about families, about mothers and sons which on so many levels...

If you like Scandinavian crime you’ll love this fast paced, twisting narrative. Gerhardsen brings to life her characters depicting a human side, even to those who commit the most heinous crimes. While not for the faint hearted, this novel is absorbing, gripping and for anyone feeling bereft at the end of the millennium trilogy, you’ll be glad to know that this novel is part...

Jack Farrell is a cleanskin, that is, a career criminal who has never been caught although DCI Andy Martin has spent his life trying to bring him to justice. Farrell’s body is found washed up on the beach and everyone assumes he has killed himself following the tragic death of his daughter - but then his enemies are killed one by one...

Some books described as page turners turn out to be really disappointing but this book by David J. Niven is definitely a white knuckle ride, unlike anything I have read before.

The backdrop is a snowy Canadian winter where Donnie a reformed character from Scotland has put his past behind him when he “lucked out” and married into a wealthy Canadian family. He is now living the...

Crime novels tend to fall into two categories, "the who dunnit" and the "we know who dunnit but will they be caught". Eyes of Prey falls into the second category. The book opens with the brutal murder of a wife in her own home, in which the killer cuts her eyes. During the attack the killer is disturbed by the victims lover but he makes no attempt to...

There are some basic truths that we all need to know ... the Charlie Parker detective series is the best thriller series currently being written and John Connolly is the greatest living thriller writer. Given these two simple facts, it is no surprise that The Wrath of Angels is fantastic. 

The story starts with the tale of two hunters trekking...

Sara Stockbridge first found fame as a model and muse to Vivienne Westwood in the 1980s and 1990s. She’s now redefined herself as a writer and this, her second novel , is the perfect read for autumn nights.

Set in London in the 1860s, it tells the story of Rose, who has the ‘gift’ (though some call it a curse) of being able to tell fortunes. Quite in demand with ladies...

As a ‘thriller’ reader this author was recommended to me. Fast moving mystery offering a variety of potential villains and the first revelation of the actual conspirator comes as a surprise initially.

However, it is an early book written by the author and he himself admits that it is not his best.

It was a quick book to read through with a few twists but lacking in...

Yet another great novel from Martina Cole, but I can’t help thinking that I’ve read it before.

The story and the characters are perhaps too familiar from her previous novels and this somehow spoils the excitement of reading a new (and long awaited) Martina Cole novel.

Overall it is a good enough read but it would be fantastic if Martina’s next novel was so...

I don’t normally read fast paced thrillers but the title intrigued me and then I couldn’t put it down. It’s not often I find a book like that. The book features Will Piper, an FBI detective who specialises in profiling serial killers. He has been called in to help track down a serial killer who has been labelled as the ‘Doomsday killer’: named so, because all the...

Thirteen steps down is a story with obsession writ large throughout. Whether that be an obsession with someone who is utterly unobtainable, obsession with a notorious murderer whose ghostly pall still continues to haunt a patch of Notting Hill to this day, or wistful obsession about a fledgling love that never was, nor could have ever been. The backdrop to the story is the faded grandeur of a...

Elizabeth Haynes’ second novel is a taut and gripping murder mystery and introduces us to Genevieve Shipley, a young woman who, as we meet her is enjoying the life she had dreamed of. She is living on a barge at a marina on the river Medway in Kent, working away at decorating and renovating it to her requirements and socialising contentedly with the other 'liveaboard' folk who are moored up...

How far would you go to protect the ones you love? Jacob, the son of Boston District Attorney Andy Barbar is accused of murdering his bullying classmate Ben Rifkin, who was stabbed to death near their local school. Their quiet suburban lifestyle suddenly turns into every parent’s worst nightmare.

Landay is a master storyteller who is equally at home recounting the gripping...

I know you should never judge a book by its cover but a lot of us do and this time….well I’m glad I did.
I must admit though I stuck to a recognised author and as expected he didn’t disappoint. Well he did give us the much loved No1 Ladies Detective Agency Series.

With this novel we meet another female sleuth but there the similarity ends. This story is set in...

Into the Darkest Corner - Elizabeth Haynes

If you have ever wondered how an independent, fun loving woman ends up in a violent relationship read this book. Catherine's voice is engaging from the start as she talks about her need to repeatedly check the locks on the entrance doors to her flat whilst also acknowledging the ridiculousness of her situation. The...

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

The book cover caught my eye…..it was intriguing.  The picture of a girl’s back with a dragon tattoo.  I was already a big fan of the Swedish Crime writer Henning Mankell and this new novelist was getting lots of publicity.

Tattoo is number one in the very successful Millennium Trilogy; the Swedish...