RoroblusMumReadsReviews/Rants

4* Works absolutely perfectly because of the 90s setting. I hadn't read the blurb fully, or hadn't paid enough attention and didn't realise that the tale is mostly set in the 90s. It did irritate a bit but my bad for not checking, and boy did it turn into a decent read.  It's skillfully done, blending present, past, then present, then past, and it has human aspects as well as police procedural ones. We get to learn about the now-DS, her then-DC, how chauvinistic policing was back in the 90s, and the tale was very believable. Not at first, but the author dovetailed really well and the icing on the cake came for several people, one of whom wasn't alive at the end of the tale, but whose life had found purpose and happiness. Not all cake recipients were aware of the icing and I suspect that if a DNA test gets done - a likelihood  - there will be questions and more icing. And recriminations, too. I liked that the now-DS's instincts were so strong and good and that de...

4* Dreary and grim, a sad and vivid picture of Scotland that doesn't make it into the news, although it exists. Drugs and Scotland aren't something the press reports on, focusing more on its natural beauty and resources. This very readable but painful tale tells another story, one of drugs and addiction in 'ordinary' kids, one of heavies and protection rackets, and people who live in fear and despondency. It's a sad, tough read, with a baddie I thought I'd sussed - lots of hints, lots of reasons - but in actuality was the last person I'd thought of. It was a sad waste of a life that'd been turned around and was heading for a positive future. There was, too, sadly, betrayal from more than one, and I admired the victim's mum for what she did despite her loss. Pretty sure I'd have done the same. ARC courtesy of Penguin Random House and NetGalley for my reading pleasure. 

 3* Worth a read for the decency that there is in people, still, but the tale missed the mark for me because Miri just faded away too quickly and emotionlessly.  There's not been a book that I've not enjoyed by this author until now, sadly. It was still very readable but I expected to be in tears for most of it, yet wasn't. I found it far too lite on emotions, especially given that there were 2 kids who lost a mum here, but the focus seemed all Bestie's Feelings, Bestie's Feelings, Bestie's Feelings. And I didn't see or feel any spark between her and Weston, although I could see why the author paired them up. For me, the teen-Miri part got hinted at then totally skipped some 16/17 years. I'd have thought being dumped by her boyfriend when she told him she was pregnant might have made her wise to him, but nope, she let him back into her life only for history to repeat itself and for her eldest child to be hurt, smd abandoned twice. Then, we found that she...

 4* Stunned that this only SR's 2nd novel. Dark, dreary, almost dull at times but goodness, does she drag readers in. I didn't like - but I appreciated and was enthralled by - the author's first book, as it was too draining and stark. Yet like that one, this one completely drew me in with SR's ability to make everything seem realistic and believable. This one was sadder than the other because of the broken relationships that could've been salvaged had there not been toxic masculinity as examples of being a man, and people lying out of being scorned. The reveals are actually very sad, because someone who started off being hard done by, but who wanted to help others, got in over their head and things escalated.  I was nearly put off by the frankly awful female lead that was Teddy. Too much wanting to be an almost-cop to be mum and wife. Too much letting her kids down. Too much judgey about her ex and his younger fiancée, without whom Teddy's kids would've been...

Not really sure how to 'star' this, as most of the short story went above my head, sadly. This started with a bit of intrigue: a young, married gay guy, Julian, gets a random email from an unknown female sender, Chloe, and doesn't delete it because the name Paul appears in the header. He leaves it a while, then reaches out and the two meet and talk about Paul, with Chloe knowing Paul very, very well, and Julian not, although apparently, Paul was in love with him. Well, this went above my head. I found it boring and pointless talking about a man Julian barely knew but who'd apparently fallen in love with him over a spilled coffee in a Starbucks. I couldn't make out if Chloe loved, hated or couldn't really care about Paul's passing. Sadly, an unsatisfying read as it couldn't hold my interest. 

3* Entertaining enough but a bit too long. And all the utterances of "doll" got a bit much.  This is my first offering from this author and at first, until kookaburras got mentioned, I thought the tale was set in the British countryside. There wasn't any discernible Aussie speech, but omg, how many times did the lead's husband need to call her "doll"? It's an okay cosy mystery but there's a lot of red herrings and I'm not sure I believed who the killer/s were. ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my reading pleasure.

2.5* Sadly, not a patch on the Emily Ray series.  This book had a decent female lead thrust into an improbable situation on her first day of work - she catches a rapist and killer, and he wants her to be the only person he'll talk to. Cue pissed-off older cops, accusations of nepo baby - her detective father's retiring on the day  he starts - and her being out of her depth with just the briefest of briefings as to how to conduct the interview. Which turns into interviews, and her getting more conflicted with differing advice, until she goes out and out with flirting. I kid you not. Her dad's an old-type cop who thinks nothing of roughing up suspects, doing what's needed to put bad guys - in his opinion - away. He's outdated and retires but decides to take up cold cases and win the day. He has a win but gets cocky, gets manipulated, stalks a new neighbour he suspects of having a fake ID and being a criminal from a past case (nothing adds up, but conveniently, a menta...

5* Callie's coarse, uncouth, unladylike, unlikeable, and not that well educated, but she's got good instincts and street smarts. And courage and balls. And, yeah, this book wrongfooted me quite a few times.  I wasn't expecting this, in the best of ways. I expected a stop-start novel because the cover didn't do much to hint at the contents, and maybe that's a good thing, as it didn't spoil the surprise. Though I didn't like Callie, I had to admire her strength, her grit and determination and knowing what she wanted and didn't. She treated Richard like shit, tbh, and I don't know what he saw in her. He wasn't a good guy but I think he genuinely cared about her in his own possessive way. Not a healthy way and tbh, good on her for breaking things off.  A bit of it wasn't a shocker - Callie made a jump and the right connection very quickly although it got shut down, and the reveal was kind of 'erm, not sure I believe this', especially when...

5* So I discovered the film, then the series, then the books, but does that matter? This was so vivid and visual.  I could literally see the characters from the TV series in this book. All relevant, all passionate, all vivid. I loved the digs at the current US administration and its views, because that shit ain't right, and makes me so glad I'm a Brit. Thank goodness ours is a civilised country with politicians that can be reined in and brought to task when needed.  Anyway, I digress. This was a modern, comprehensible, relevant and very plausible case, with sadly an outcome I thought might happen with the likes of US$$$$$$$$$, but it was a win, and there was a better-than-nothing form of justice done. Did the author chicken out a little? Probably, but I'd love to read more, and can't wait for the return of the series. ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group, for my reading pleasure. 

 4* Soooo good. The use of 'her' and the leads moving away had me thinking the obvious, but omg, so many twists in this one! I'm new to this author's works, and boy, what an intro. I was totally wrong thinking 'Bastard, you had an affair whilst your wife was miscarrying?' but that was because the author totally didn't use anything more than  the actual word 'her' and hinted at a lot more, emphasising how handsome Stephen was, and how Gwen felt she'd let herself go, and how he'd uprooted himself for her, at strains in their marriage and so on. Big time didn't clock.  The storyline is sad and freaky, and ugh, what a horrible bunch of people, as it turns out. But, too, what courage and determination on Gwen's part, what strengths with the mind games being played. Stephen's total lack of interest in Tara - big shocker of a reveal - did bug me. As did Gwen's unwillingness to share the baby with anyone other than the real estate age...

 4* Decent episode, but nothing unique about Mason Sharpe. I've read 2 books on the trot from Inkubator Books, both with a Reacher-type character, just slightly more normal-sized.  This is worth a read, although a certain amount of suspension of disbelief is needed to believe that a non-mountain-size guy can take on all these baddies single-handedly, and with his bare strength stop a shipping container full of illegal immigrants from toppling off a ship. But, he does good, and a  LEO type with prejudice ends up with egg on his face.  I don't get (recall, even) what Mason Sharpe is searching for, so there's nothing making me desperate for the next book, but I'd definitely read more in this series.

4* Something tells me this is probably the penultimate book in this series... I can't quite picture Frank Ranger, but I think he's a less stands-out Reacher. Similar background and skills, can mostly take care of himself in a fight, thought of with suspicion by the authorities, but comes good in the end, sometimes with help from other authorities.  So, this tale isn't unique but Ranger has a reason for being where he is when he is, and he gets answers. They're late and can't change the past but maybe they'll help him move forward and be a father again. Dane has his eyes opened, both about Ranger and about how much of an obsessed, selfish a-hole he's being. I'm not sure he deserves Henrietta, but we'll see in the next book. With the answers that Dane and Ranger get  I'm thinking justice is going to get done in book 4, ending the series. I can't see how it can be prolonged if Ranger gets to be a dad again. ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Inkubato...

 4* Another good story, but when oh when will Liam make his life more meaningful, real? Will he make his father's mistakes? Book 2 in this very good police procedural series can be read as a standalone. There's enough mention of Liam's past in drips and drabs to clue new readers in. It picks up shortly after the scary ending (for the almost-girlfriend, his son George's teacher, whose name I've forgotten just minutes after she appears in the penultimate chapter) with Liam giving her space.  It's quite clear that Liam's heart sort if thinks it lies elsewhere, in his past, which as this book ends, might also end up lying in book 3 - I'm hoping the 'lying' doesn't turn out to mean bad decisions lying. I hope he treads with caution as there's something about Grace that raised red flags in book 1, and here, the police professional body feel the same, although by the end of the book, she's back in favour. And far more local. Liam isn't e...

3* Predictable, especially with the Mean-Girl ex, but readable. I was hoping for something eye-opening on Jackson's part, but he and Grace seemed like they'd missed their chance and time had moved on, even if she hadn't. His ex sounded like a typical spoilt, moneyed American Mean-Girl type, clichéd, not quite believable.  The Etienne-mystery wasn't big enough to be so dramatic an arc, but the tale was readable and ends in a HEA for 2 couples. I had hoped that one of said couples might've been the lovely grandparents, alas, the tale ended sadly in that respect.  ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Random House UK Cornerstone, Penguin, for my reading pleasure.

 4* My 2nd read by this author featuring Jason Bourne, giving me more of an insight into the character and his personal mission. This is a fast-paced read picking up where the previous left off, but, I think, some 6 months later. There's still the major 2-way 'I don't trust you' with Shadow/Marlen and JB, totally understandably given their past and his memory removal. The identity of the Bae-Wotzisname character, when it was mentioned that he was American and had a huge knowledge database at his fingertips,  and was using Chinese memory-removal practices, pretty much became apparent. It took JB a long while to figure it out, and sadly, it was a huge betrayal. The other betrayer I hadn't at all seen coming. But, the storyline felt believable. I was glad that both got what they deserved.  There's a touch of sadness that JB-Marlen is over, but they really can't be anything else with the distrust and handler-agent relationship. Plus her Shadow-side's ruthles...

 4.75* Very good, freaky, scary, but did the author miss a trick? It's slightly hard to review this book without Spoilers, but it's mostly very well done. It started a little slow and I wondered if it was for me, but as the main character's family members each found themselves being targeted, I began to get into it.  Thank goodness for cctv. Thank goodness for decent guys like the train guard. Thank goodness for a strong husband who doesn't give into blackmail and who realises his failings towards his wife who always wants to do best by her family, unfortunately  sometimes blundering in with size 12s. But, the latter part of the tale would've gone totally tits up had he shown the pictures to his wife. The baddie? Freakily believable and twisted. But, also a kind of criminal mastermind on a non-international scale, just pursuing their own personal vendetta. A sociopath. Cold, calculating,  conscious-less, and plain and simple, a bitch. Afraid of birds of all things....

3* I normally really enjoy these simple reads but this needs a good edit - a DCI/acting one like Evans? Really, in 2025 UK? And, sadly, there's a lot of not-believable dialogue. Ugh, this one's a bit annoying and not the author's best. That was apparent from the start with the awkward, stilted dialogue and the can't-suspend-disbelief-enough git that was Evans. I mean, who shows that level of disrespect to subordinates and at the same time, demands respect from them? And his prejudices, his jumping to conclusions, his utter lack of wanting detective work done when he deemed a certain demographic 'must have done it' - which happened twice, actually, with 2 demographics, and his attempt to bully Norm and Southall into agreeing with his plan? Not credible in these days of inclusion and respect, and mobile phones and cctv. IRL, he'd have been suspended for not only his behaviour but for trying to fake details in a case. Still, he's that bad that I need to rea...