The Girl With No Past - Kathryn Croft

"Leah Mills lives a life of a fugitive – kept on the run by one terrible day from her past. It is a lonely life, without a social life or friends until – longing for a connection – she meets Julian. For the first time she dares to believe she can live a normal life. 

Then, on the fourteenth anniversary of that day, she receives a card. Someone knows the truth about what happened. Someone who won’t stop until they’ve destroyed the life Leah has created. 

But is Leah all she seems? Or does she deserve everything she gets?  

Everyone has secrets. But some are deadly."

BLIMEY. This book is GRIPPY - I sat and read it over the course of a day and a night, purely because I couldn't put it down. 
Another tale carried by an unreliable narrator (my reading seems to have a theme lately), I wasn't entirely sure through the entire novel whether I liked Leah Mills or not. In fact, I still don't know. The reader knows that something happened in Leah's past which means that she currently lives like a fugitive, not making any friends or letting anyone into her life. The thing that makes this book so bloody grippy, is that nothing is given away through the whole book. I LOVED that element of it - it's so cleverly written that although you know SOMETHING has happened, it is so well concealed that you have to race to the end to find out, all the while perched on the edge of your seat.
Unlikeable characters? Literally ZERO plot information? It is FABULOUS. 

The Girl With No Past is out on 15th October and you can get it here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk

**Thanks to Bookouture for my ARC**

I Hope You Dance - Beth Moran

"Ruth Henderson has moved back in with her parents - something she swore she would never do, especially not at the age of thirty-three. But in the face of the mountain of debt left by her late-partner and the fact that her teenage daughter, Maggie, is expressing her grief through acts of delinquency, there was really only one option.

Returning to a house Ruth swore never to set foot in again is bad enough. Add to this an estranged father, whirlwind mother, and David - the boy next door who broke her heart - and it is little wonder Ruth can barely make it out of bed. But then, reunited with her old friend Lois, Ruth is persuaded to go along to a monthly girls' night. Here she meets a bunch of incredible women and for the first time since leaving home at eighteen, Ruth begins to make some genuine friends. She also has her first ever date - with the charming Dr Carl Barker. However, after a disastrous dinner, and a fraught Maggie still struggling with her father's death, Ruth promises her daughter she won't go out with any other men. A promise she quickly regrets when David, the boy next door, asks her to dance…"

A chick-lit type novel with a difference, I really enjoyed this book. A bit tougher than the fluffy chick-lit I was expecting, this novel surpassed my expectations. 

With very real, honest characters, I found myself sympathising with Ruth and the situation she found herself in, hoping that Maggie would find her feet and rooting for Ruth's mum over her new rival. The plot is quite clever - one that on the surface doesn't appear to be all that different to the thousands of other romantic novels out there - but it carries a sinister twist, which I loved, as it makes the story all that more intriguing, and I found myself reading on and on in an attempt to discover the final outcome.

It's a fairly emotional read, one that did bring a tear to my eye, which only reinforced how invested I was in the characters, but definitely a book I will be recommending to others.

I Hope You Dance is out now and you can get it here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/

**My thanks to the publisher for my ARC**

The Dead Ground - Claire McGowan

"Forensic psychologist Paula Maguire, already wrestling with the hardest decision of her life, is forced to put her own problems on hold when she's asked to help find a baby taken from a local hospital. 

Then the brutal, ritualistic murder of a woman found lying on a remote stone circle indicates a connection to the kidnapping and Paula knows that they will have to move fast if they are to find the person responsible. 

When another child is taken and a pregnant woman goes missing, Paula finds herself caught up in a deadly hunt for a killer determined to leave no trace, and discovers every decision she makes really is a matter of life and death…"

I was lucky enough to meet Claire at a little do at Harper Collins a couple of months ago, where she was attending as her alter-ego, Eva Woods, (The Thirty List) and we got chatting about her crime novels. Claire very kindly said she would send me a copy of The Dead Ground. "Be warned," she said, "I've been told that it's a bit harrowing." And it is - harrowing, emotional and completely addictive. 

After beginning this novel, I realised I had already read the first in the series back when it was first published, so it was nice to meet up with Paula and Aidan again. Their relationship is just as complicated as it was in the first book, if not more so, and other circumstances that Paula finds herself in make things even more tangled. 

The plot line is extremely compelling - even though it is upsetting in some places I was completely unable to put it down. The story moves at a steady pace, and while it doesn't race along, there was enough tension and intrigue to keep me hooked. 

This book can be read as a standalone, but it was nice to already have read the first and have some knowledge of the characters already. 

I found it very enjoyable, despite the difficult subject matter - it was a bit gory in places, but then, I like that. 

The Dead Ground is out now and you can get it here: 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Ground-Paula-Maguire

**My thanks to the author for sending me a copy**

The Blissfully Dead - Mark Edwards and Louise Voss

"She couldn’t believe that he wanted to meet her. He was famous. She was a nobody. Finally, someone could see how special she was…

When the body of a teenage girl is found in a London hotel, DI Patrick Lennon is mystified. Nobody saw her or her killer enter the hotel, and there is no apparent motive—until a second teenager is found and Lennon realises somebody is targeting fans of the world’s biggest boy band.

As Lennon struggles with both his home life and his rivals on the force, the pressure to catch the killer before he strikes again reaches fever pitch. And when Lennon makes a terrible mistake that ends in disaster, he finds himself in a race to save not only the lives of more teenage girls but also his own career."

I don't know what it is about the combination of Mark Edwards and Louise Voss, but the pair always manage without fail to give me the fear, and this is no exception. They seem to take everyday occurrences and twist them into something terrifying - and this is what is so frightening about The Blissfully Dead - it could so easily happen in real life. 

Girls are being murdered - and when you read how they are being lured into a situation that they can never escape from, you realise quite how terrifying it is. Well written and fast paced, I was hooked from the first page, in which we meet the first victim. I raced through the pages, desperate to find out who the killer was, as every time I believed I knew who was the culprit, another curve ball was thrown and I was back to having no idea again.

Another corker of a read, one that I guarantee once you start it, you won't be able to put it down.

The Blissfully Dead is out now and you can get it here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk

**MY thanks to the publisher for my ARC**

Burnt Paper Sky - Gilly MacMillan

"Rachel Jenner turned her back for a moment. Now her eight-year-old son Ben is missing.

But what really happened that fateful afternoon?

Caught between her personal tragedy and a public who have turned against her, there is nobody left who Rachel can trust. But can the nation trust Rachel?

The clock is ticking to find Ben alive.

WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?"

Oh, Gilly MacMillan what have you done to me? I started reading this late Saturday night, just one chapter, as I had been given my copy at Harrogate in July and it kept being prevented from reaching the top of the pile by all the other books that have arrived since. So far, so good. Sunday morning came and I thought I would have a bit of a lie-in, read my book in bed since it was windy and rainy. By the time I was ready to get up I was suckered in completely. Children went unwashed, dinner went uncooked, and I eventually collapsed on to my pillow VERY VERY LATE on Sunday night having devoured the entire novel. 

This is a stinkingly good read - packed full of tension, with believable characters that make your heartstrings tug and twang all over the place. It's an emotional read, one that is hard in places, as the reader experiences everything that Rachael is going through.

The ending is a shocker, and I never for a million years would have guessed it - either I am getting increasingly rubbish at guessing twists (never!) or writers are just getting better and better! 

A heart-wrenching, emotional read that will keep you up all night, but is TOTALLY worth the eye-bags in the morning. 

Burnt Paper Sky is out now and you can get it here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk

*Thanks to the publisher and the lovely Harrogate team for my ARC*

The Dark Inside - Rod Reynolds

"1946, Texarkana: a town on the border of Texas and Arkansas. Disgraced New York reporter Charlie Yates has been sent to cover the story of a spate of brutal murders - young couples who've been slaughtered at a local date spot. Charlie finds himself drawn into the case by the beautiful and fiery Lizzie, sister to one of the victims, Alice - the only person to have survived the attacks and seen the killer up close. 

But Charlie has his own demons to fight, and as he starts to dig into the murders he discovers that the people of Texarkana have secrets that they want kept hidden at all costs. Before long, Charlie discovers that powerful forces might be protecting the killer, and as he investigates further his pursuit of the truth could cost him more than his job…"

This book is frighteningly good. Not only does it have a cracking story line, but Rod Reynolds evokes a feel of Southern small-town America that is so authentic it made me want to pull on my cowboy boots and eat grits (maybe not grits, they're actually pretty gross). I loved Charlie, an intrepid reporter damaged by a divorce, health issues and a boss that just doesn't want him around anymore, and he was far and away my favourite character. Set in the '40s, the whole book has a deliciously noir feel about it.

More importantly though - the plot. I just couldn't figure out for the life of me who was responsible for everything that was going on in the town. Like, no clue, AT ALL. And when all was revealed I was actually a bit gob-smacked, which is just how I like to be at the end of a bloody good crime read. The characters are brilliant - some of them brilliantly hideous, but even so, BRILLIANT. When everything is all combined, throw in the amazingly authentic feel of a small town in the South in the 1940s and it is a winner. An absolute delight and I will be recommending this one like crazy. 

The Dark Inside is out now and you can get it here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/

**My thanks to the publisher for my review copy**

The Defenceless - Kati Hiekkapelto

"When an old man is found dead on the road - seemingly run over by a Hungarian au pair - police investigator Anna Fekete is certain that there is more to the incident than meets the eye. As she begins to unravel an increasingly complicated case, she's led on a deady trail where illegal immigration, drugs and ultimately murder threaten not only her beliefs, but her life. Anna's partner Esko is entrenched in a similarly dangerous investigation. As the two cases come together, it becomes clear that having the law on their side may not be enough."

I have to admit it, I am properly LOVING all of the nordic noir that is flying around at the moment, I honestly don't think it has EVER been as good as it has been lately. This is no exception - touching on the somewhat topical subject of immigration, alongside drugs, smuggling and a big dollop of murder this is a very, very good read.
With a brilliant narrative and some very believable characters, two seemingly unrelated investigations come together in an excellent storyline, one that kept me guessing all the way through - I liked the fact that the two investigations were cleverly woven together. I haven't read the first in this series, but it didn't detract from the storyline at all - I didn't feel as though any spoilers were given away, and I am definitely going to go back and read Anna's first outing. 
Kati Hiekkapelto is a very clever weaver of tales, and I was impressed with the way everything came together - another example of excellent Nordic Noir, and nothing less than what I have come to expect from Orenda Publishing! 

The Defenceless is out now and you can get it here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk

**Thanks to the publisher for my review copy**