RoroblusMumReadsReviews/Rants

5* Most probably a guy's book, but who cares when it's this perfectly executed, no pun intended. I'm not sure how many Mason Sharpe books there are, but despite not reading them all, I've never felt lost.  This one doesn't require you to have read any of the previous books. Tbh, I can't remember any, despite getting into this series in late 2024. So, Sharpe's minding his own business but stops for a hitchhiker, who's suddenly giving him vibes that cause his spine to itch. It's not so much the guy's answers but how he holds himself. Then, there's a shootout and a manhunt that takes Sharpe and Shane Hagan on a journey info mafioso NYC and up against cops, the FBI, the bad guys who keep coming, a crooked accountant and his lawyer who has the power to save Shane and his family. Were it not such a serious tale, I could just see Hannibal from The A-Team saying 'I love it when a plan comes together'. This has it all. 2 guys and a gal with ba...

3.5* Suspend disbelief a bit and this isn't too bad a read. Reminiscent of Norman Norman tales. This book jumps a fair bit from the 4th novella in this series. Nolan has been under investigation by 'internal affairs'/UK equivalent, has been cleared but has been demoted as a scapegoat. According to him. And, the female boss, Chalmers, I think, who took over from DCI James, apparently turned into a psychopath, although nothing is given in evidence or remotely touched on. I think the tale takes place some 20 years after the novella ends, and Cormac is on his early 40s.  So the crime/s and baddie/s in this book, especially with the supposed senior UK political connection need to be taken with a pinch of salt. A rather big one. It's happening in rural UK and a police force composed Cormac, his boss DI Carver and DS Aconna/'O'Connor' - whose name is used as a reason for a slightly didactic lesson in diversity and inclusion - are the ones tasked in taking these m...

4*. Decent introduction to this author, though the Clare-Al relationship isn't believable. I'm new to this author, and if the book's one in a series, that wasn't obvious and I wasn't lost.  Clare could've had her cop-other-half's job when Al took a job that'd keep him away from home 4 nights a week. Promotion for them both, but she preferred to keep her hand in, rather than go for management. So, she's overworking, has only their dog Benji for company, and there's not even a text or WhatsApp convo with Al for several chapters, making me wonder if he's dead and she's living in a world of her making. But nope, he's real and when he's home, they don't really have any time together as she's always working or being called out. Even Benji has a surrogate family who're actually his sitters.  The tale itself is decent but the personal relationships are too clunky, too obvious, too 'tries to create intrigue but doesn't ...

3* A better, bit more believable book than the 1st, but goodness, these cops need a course on forensics and not ASS-U-ME'ing.  This book takes place 6 months after the end of book 1 and it's clear that Cormac and Burnham have unfinished business together. This one talks far less about things technical, keeping the book more in line with what 2005 policing would've had in terms of resources. It's satisfying but also not, as the killer wants fame and confesses all too easily once the first found victim comes to light. It feels a little too glib, too short and sweet, if you'll pardon the pun, and the policing is a little suspect - they find decomposed bodies with ID and without DNA testing, and the next thing, they're on their way go inform next of kin. They know a serial killer has been at work, and there's potentially 6 kills but 5 bodies, making the need for DNA testing all the more, but nope, not one cop objects. Could've been a 4* tale had it not been ...

3* If you like Norman Norman from the Slater and Norman series, you'll like this. I've bought and read this short series of 3 books in one go. Book 1 has some red herrings that made me wonder why a DI would act with such prejudice, and why he could get away with being an arse, but hey, it's set in 2005 and the Cormac character is a young DC, still learning the ropes and still a bit in awe of hierarchy.  The storyline is simple, stuff seems easy to debunk although I wonder if 2025 technology hasn't crept into the book a little. I'm pretty sure burner phones weren't as cheap or used as much 20 years ago. Pretty sure cctv wasn't as prevalent 20 years ago, or that the quality was that decent. Pretty sure that a DI bullying his subordinates, especially one who's on the radat of higher-ups wouldn't get away with it. Still, there's some potential to this series, and the DI seems to be less of an arse as the series goes on. 

4* Absolutely not what I expected and not my cup of tea, but a tale with warmth, sadness, friendships and learning to trust and love - the latter, slightly not-quite-believably... I think I expected a cosy mystery based on the blurb, but instead I got a tale of secrets and silences; of love that got lost because of secrets; of love that endured despite one party's selfishness/ambition; of learning to open up to others and leave past hurts in the past where they belonged; and of loyalty and doing the right thing. And all of this was interspersed with a little Welsh goodness, decency and magic, and the magic of the mountains, as it turned out. It wasn't at all a book I'd have picked up had I known the storyline but there was something honest and healing about it, and it felt non-surreal, and believable. The only bit I didn't believe in was the supposed love between Elin and Dylan, because after meeting him and having a supposed magical connection, she went off and basical...

4* Very good intro to this author, in a tale refreshingly set in Manchester UK. What made this tale for me was Victor's relationship with his 'talking' dog, but also, that it wasn't a faux-US-mafia tale set in the Bronx, that's been done far too often to the point of 'here we go again'. The down-to-earth feel of the storyline and characters made them believable, especially the brother in the PI duo, who was the weaker link, the one who's gotten them into the situation with their unwanted Scottish customer, who's clearly going to be trouble in book 2.  The gritty feel of the Manchester underworld was kept real by not making it OTT. The bad guys felt menacing, as did the discovery of the situation with the blue bin. A bit of a strong stomach was needed in parts. The posse that got assembled for the final fight didn't quite feel believable, nor did how quickly they came together and coordinated and planned so well - that's where the tale lost 1*...

5* Not sure what I expected when I picked this up, but wow, what a read! This is my first book by this author, as an Amazon First Reads offer with Prime. Tbh, it seemed the best of a mediocre bunch, but goodness, it turned out to be a political-cop thriller that never let up pace, and that stood on its own feet. It was interspersed with good old corruption, threats, lies and murder, with a seemingly at first, James Bond-worthy assassin who unfortunately met his match in a guy protecting his little brother. Still, all threads got tied off - other than, if I'm being picky, the dad's 'death' one, and a lack of justice, but no doubt a deal was done. ARC courtesy Amazon First Reads. 

3.5* Surprisingly heartwarming despite the sadness, though it skimps on some detail. This is a tale that gives an impression of a rebellious teen at the start, only to show him as someone a little insecure; a little out of place; a little bit of a stranger to himself; and a decent boy, son, friend and boyfriend. He grows during this tale that feels like it takes place over a few weeks, 2-3 months at most, and we find out about the alien and the significance of 11:22pm and why he thinks he's going to die. The latter is where the book falls a little apart, as a bombshell is dropped, a visit to a place of...'potential reparation' - trying not to spoiler here - takes place, then the tale cuts out. I'm not too sure I believed that part of the tale, as the author didn't make it feel organic enough, maybe because of rushing? It felt like this couldn't be left on a cliffhanger. What was nice, though, is that parents mostly lived and let live: the Hindu mum, the Italian ...

5* Wow. Wow. Wow. The perfect end to this (for now?) trilogy. The author absolutely saved the best for last. I think my headline pretty much says it all. Events in the end of this tale have been building through 2 books; cases worth reading about; bad guys who thought they were above the law; people who wanted to do the right thing but were scared to; a mafia of sorts, and THE best of endings. Too many books don't tie up ends. This does. Justice gets done for one person, and wheels turn in a different way for another who'd been set up. The biggest baddie from this series gets his comeuppance, with a literal fall at Dean Lincoln's feet. I half wished Dean would kick the man when he was down, because the bastard deserved it. Deserved every person who ratted on him. Deserved to lose face, to lose his power by being broken down and revealed as the common thug he was. Now if only the deceased judge and his thug sons could've faced justice... I'm not sure where this serie...

4* Something's building for Kat and Van, and I suspect it's not going to be happy families in book 7. This tale is up to the author's usual standard, and thankfully Tomski's getting back to his normal self, with the potential for a new girlfriend. And the guy has balls, telling Carve-Up where to go when it needed saying, causing the bully to back down, silenced. I can't wait to see Carve-Up's attitude towards him in book 7, because it's clear that Tomski's star is rising again, and that he's also Kat's defender against her dodgy boss, and he's found his voice as well as his balls. This tale is pretty much all work, no interfering by Kat's dodgy family. But, talking of families, there were too many frissons where the handsome pathologist was concerned and too few - we get told about the unsatisfactory perfunctory sex with Van, who went to fix things at Marnie's (the sexpot purveyor of sexual services for cheats), but who came home clai...

4* Not what I was expecting - in a good way. Not a cosy mystery per se but still a pretty decent tale, if a sad one. What a wedding day. Delight followed by death. And more death. And drugs. And family secrets. And family jealousies. And true friendships, and family left behind but now found. And maybe a romance in the making. The killer's (killers'?) narrative was skillfully done, as was the 'she's mine' narrative and I almost pegged the most obvious character for the killer/s, but the author kind of went a tad overboard with their name, which made me realise it was a red herring. The addition of another bunch of cops on top of the local garda wasn't explained and added nothing to the tale. 'Poor Fern' was repeated several times but came to nothing. The older siblings were mostly red herrings. The bad people in the tale, and there were a few, were believable, especially the worst. Think Jack Nicholson in The Shining in the final scene.  Overall a decent...

5* That KW is such a prolific writer makes me forgive the utter cliffhanger this 1st tale in Margot Phelan's new series ends in. Though this tale comes out around 6 months after the 5th and last book in the original Margot Phelan series, it starts 6 years later. Margot and Wes are settled about 3 hours outside of San Francisco and she's still working for law enforcement, now for the FBI manager that'd wanted to poach her, Andrew. A guy she's got a complex relationship with. Wes is a sports coach and part-time volunteer local law enforcement officer. They're raising rescue dogs, cats and chickens, living a quiet life. They're happy, she's off the booze, more trusting and learning to not be paranoid and listen to her late dad's teachings. She's succeeding with some but not all, which in fact, ends up helping her out professionally and personally. In some ways, she's her father's daughter and always will be. It's her superpower. Then Wes get...

2.5* Too many characters, telling too many lies, with too many things going on. Too much emphasis on the colour of various characters' skin, which as an Asian female, I found disruptive and off-putting. This had the potential to be a really good misper tale but ended up muggy, with too many lies; too many irrelevant characters (e.g. Selma, the cook, the old lady with the non-working aircon unit); and too much emphasis on people's skin colour. I don't think I've ever read a story where every Black person's skin colour was described - it was unnecessary and off-putting. It made the 2/3 Caucasians feel like a kind of reverse inclusion, just tokens there for a quota. The storyline started off great but never reached its potential. There was too much filler, too much happening, too many evil characters, too many with secrets, too many liars, too many without a conscience, too many 'relationships' based on lies. I lost track of who was who, as the tale was told fr...

 3.5* Didn't really pique my interest until about 6 chapters from the end. I nearly DNF'd this 3 times, but thought I'd stick with it as Christophe's many aliases and crimes started to be revealed. Whilst not entirely believable, it woke the tale up and I could sort of see Lexi doing what she did towards the end. Without breaking a sweat, without remorse, without even thinking about anything other than taking out someone without remorse, a murderer, a con man, a liar, a thief. He deserved his ending, anticlimactic as it was - there was no Terminator 2 thrashing, no words screaming that Lexi had gotten it all wrong, just passivity. Hmm. ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my reading pleasure.

 4* A good 3rd book in this series that didn't have me adrift, despite my not having read the 2nd. As ever, the cop/dog-behaviourist duo solve a case that puts them both in danger. This was a tale particularly well done because of the twisted 'grandson' of a person who'd been wronged decades before. The twisted part was sadly believable, as was the indoctrination that led to the tragic events, as was the person doing the indoctrination. I couldn't really blame her, tbh, but she seemed willing to risk her family for her need for revenge, which made her cold-blooded and selfish. When the reveals come, it's clear that several family members and generations have suffered because of her naivety and immaturity. It wasn't all her fault but she had the chance to start life over again at 16, but chose to become emotionally unavailable to her nearest and dearest, leading to the storyline.  Her revenge was hurtful and pointless. She hurt innocents and would've take...

5* I nearly abandoned this brilliant book because I'm unfamiliar with the series and struggled with the Scots speak. Gah, a GREAT start to 2026. So, maybe I'd have been better off reading the previous books in the DS Max Craigie series, as I found the Scottish terms and words (like heid for head, polis for police) irritating and tiresome. There was a deluge of characters that I'd not been expecting and I kept mistaking the female cops for Max's wife, wondering how she kept appearing. It started off really confusing. Once the Dent brothers made their appearance, things picked up. The storyline isn't far removed from 2026 real life, with Russian, Chinese and other hostile interference making it utterly believable. And some of the twists, the UC work, the willingness of Max's team to get things done was pretty kickarse. The tale wasn't pleasant, and so it was satisfying in a way that far too few books are, that everyone who deserved their fate got their fate. Y...

4* A good book right up until the very rushed, anticlimactic baddie/ending. I couldn't get into book 1 of this series - I think it was too much of an infodump, understandably, and it didn't move fast enough. I've picked up book 3 without a clue about events/what's happened so far, and had no trouble diving into a fluidly moving tale in some aspects but a bit meh in others (the Jayne-Scott romance).  This duo seems to run the only company in the US that does what they do, finding and identifying the long dead, working with paw enforcement. They're good at their stuff but not too clued in about checking unknown persons out - they were very trusting of the  Aussie and his late sister's boyfriend. The whole thing with the baddie happened at about 70% of the tale gone, and felt totally anticlimactic and low key. I mean, the ladies were 30-somethings who'd worked with remains and law enforcement, yet didn't have self-preservation in mind? Or rather, only had e...