RoroblusMumReadsReviews/Rants

3* Good stortline but efforts at a romance were a waste - absolutely no chemistry between the leads, on top of very, very little time together.  This is a doesn't-feel-dangerous tale that has all the elements to make it a feels-dangerous tale, but they're not there in the right proportions: the graffiti doesn't feel sinister; not enough is made of the ex; the 'protector' lead doesn't get to protect hardly at all; the camping, right on the anniversary of the sad event the town is famous for, feels TSTL, not dangerous or suspenseful. One catty character is there for about 1/4 page, never to be seen again. The townspeople who maligned and threatened Harper were silent when the truth was outed.  Sigh. A good editor could've amped up everything by asking the author for - more. Not a waste of time, but ultimately, unsatisfying. ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my reading pleasure.

4* Intrigue, murder and blackmail in the English countryside. This has excellent could-be killers; a whole host of characters that turn out to be victims; some decent detecting; and tea, cake and biscuits, making it very English.  For someone so seemingly innocuous to be exposed for what they were, and to drag 'innocents' into their web, was pretty well done. We didn't get to find out a lot about the 'spider's past and motivations - not necessarily financial - which was a tad irritating, but they got what they deserved. How does someone so hateful live with themselves?  Some of the 'filler' aspects of the tale, such as the repeated praise of a certain female detective; the mumsy/dadsy stuff with the baby; the talk of diets and all the open-garden build-up was a bit boring and could've been edited out. Still, overall it was a decent enough murder-mystery that spawned organic parts, adding to the intrigue. ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer fo...

3* Some interesting aspects to it, but way more of the crying and emoting that book 2 was full of. Tbf, it's kind of understandable why, but this required a huge amount of suspension of disbelief. But, it has kittens in it, which are sort of a redemption.  There's, and there's not really, a lot happening here. Salem and Aurin are a couple, with Aurin fretting over the extent of Salem's injuries, and them having travelled deep into Cern's mountain to heal. That aspect was quite interesting, with explanations of who and what Cern is, who Fyn is, and what really goes on in the woods. There's partying, rejoicing, a rebirth ceremony and there's honey mead and lots of sex, thankfully not on screen, as the previous books had far too much of it. There's far too much mushy, lovey dovey stuff, and it's as if love's young dream has just descended on them. There's a lot of pronouncements, too. There's also a definite feel of one masculine character i...

2.5* Not believable at all, sadly. Not a single really likeable character, including Emma. The characters in this book lie, set others up, betray each other, cheat, hold back details, plot, use people and are hateful to domestic and wait staff, even though one of them started off as the same. Not a single one gad any redeeming qualities. Unless you count Emma's memory for details and spin, which serve her well in her profession. Sadly, the tale was poor and the killer was very obvious. Emma had no backbone, which didn't really tie in with her alleged barrister self. Her shameful secret wasn't shameful or secret - it was just bigged up to add faux intrigue and make her a bit less bland and boring. Not a good read.  ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for my reading pleasure. 

5* Not what I was expecting. Very, very well done, and sad, too. This is a complicated tale, with someone who's not intentionally lying, who I think is inherently decent as her current-day persona, yet traumatised, going to the police when she thinks she's remembered things from her past, needing to set the record right. And that opens several cans of worms.  The intertwining of past and present is well done. There are conflicting eye-witness accounts of a guy that's maybe good in some ways, not good in others. There's money talking, past and present, yet not future. The cycle has been broken. There's trauma and there's mental health issues. There's characters you feel sorry for and some you think should know better. There's some you want to hug, some you want incarcerated, some you feel sorry for, because they've lost  loved, lost again, were about to love again, but have lost yet again. And yet, maybe there's a different kind of love in store f...

3* Interesting premise, but spoilt by too much faux angst, faux hating, faux roaring, too much sex, and too little storyline.  This had the potential to be a decent book in a PNR world where so far, the octo guys' lives have been low-key and like they like it. At times it sounded as if they lived in the back of beyond, but all had travelled, had mingled with humans in every way, but almost never had sex with their own kind, and all seemed content with life as it was, with maybe just one having a case of unrequited love.  Then came Sawyer, a cop that the octo guys might not be able to run off, unlike his predecessors that couldn't cope with the boring life and the PNR aspects. What got me was the immature posturing and faux anger and roaring from Ciaran. Didn't 'roaring' and 'mine' and the sex fest the book turned into go out of fashion years ago? Yes, they found they were mates, but the instalove didn't feel believable. Everything felt a bit cartoon-like...

3* A decent follow-up to book 1 spoilt by too many sobbing leads, à la Tal Bauer; too many matings - 3 in this alone, plus one existing one that gets revealed - and a baddie taken care of far too easily.  I was mainly reading this for the siren follow-up that book 1 made clear would be the crux of this one. Sadly, that wasn't the case. This was matings galore, plus sobbing Dylan, sobbing Fray and sobbing Tobin. I mean, seriously, it's a miracle these guys weren't dehydrated from all the tears shed. Far too much sex in this, too, to mask the too little, too late, unexplained plot. Yes, the siren makes an appearance, but is there more than meets the eye and is she in collusion with a character that Sawyer was warned about in the notes from his predecessor? Not sure I care enough to read book 3, unless it comes up in my freebie KU period. Sawyer's boss has a low-key reveal in this, but no one asked questions, nothing got revealed and it could've been the end of the se...

2.5* Sadly, quite boring in parts; with a mismatched couple of leads who're not honest with each other; with a storyline that feels 'plonked in', i.e. doesn't feel organic. So, you'll get that I didn't love this book. James and Emily aren't likeable. He's lied to her by omission about their shared past, about not being sure he fancies or wants to be with her. She lies to him about her reasons for a road trip, and little things, but the bottom line is that they're not honest with each other. His mother and her parents are brought into the tale organically enough. No one else is. Not Midge nor Brandon, nor anyone else. Flashbacks to Brandon when he was going by a different name didn't feel believable. Nor did the other character and his M.O. The killer felt absolutely non-beliebable. I felt I'd wasted my time on this, unfortunately.  ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my reading pleasure.

3* Got a bit bogged down in the middle with 2 characters who really obfuscated things, but overall, pretty readable. This has been done before  - gaslighting, some naivety, some feeling sorry/guilty, etc. but there was no sense of true suspense or danger or creepiness. It had me skipping parts, especially when a pretty stupid character revealed their part in things,  because of immaturity and petulance and gaslighting.  The Fiat character had their part to play but it was with a bit too much gloss when their identity got revealed. The ending wasn't brilliant but it was a better life for Alice et al, as long as no one spills the beans or gets an attack of conscience. ARC courtesy of Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for my reading pleasure. 

4* Money corrupts, absolutely. But, also, love protects, though it creates secrets. I'm pretty sure this is my first LB novel in 50-odd years as a reader, and I wasn't disappointed. It's full of secrets. Secrets that 'protect', that threaten, that hurt, and one that for the present of the story, protects. But will the truth out and will that follow the pattern?  The characters are a mixed bunch. A cheating spouse that has a decent core. A vile woman that seems blinded by money and position, with her past actions having present-day repercussions. A fixer - a vile man without a moral compass. A good son and a troubled one that reminded me a bit of Hunter Biden. A wife strong in some ways, but not strong enough to stand up to her evil, conscience-free MIL. A grandson who knows what his grandmother is really like, but who adores, and is adored by his grandfather. And a cop who's getting a little too close to the truth for the comfort of some of the characters.  The ...

5* Didn't see this coming - hints and red herrings that good and that seamlessly embedded, that I had a mouth-drop moment when the penny dropped.  I thought this would be a typical 'wronged woman finds herself and finds the love of a good man' type of tale. Well, it was, but the love part came late and thankfully didn't have either the male lead thinking with his little head, or the female lead thinking with her hormones. Yes, there was an attraction but once burnt, twice shy - for both of them, believably, and their ages (mid-to-late 30s) - meant that they took things slow, without TSTL moments like having sex whilst the killer was on a spree.  The bounty hunting - fugitive retrieval - aspect was well done, believable and interesting. It made for a solid tale that brought the female lead into the male lead's vicinity, allowing them to cooperate, especially once the killer upped his speed. The identity of the killer was kept really well, but threw another red herrin...

3* Started off slow but OK - after the opening scene - but then required too much suspension of disbelief... Despite the punchy opening of the tale, this book quickly fell flat for me. The female lead seemed obsessed with others obsessing how she got to where she was at her age. Jesse seemed far older than his 38-40 years and yes, his job was interesting, but didn't really come into the tale much other than just before the end. And despite her intelligent, who goes out in icy weather, alone, wheb you're X months pregnant, risking a fall that was avoidable but that comes to pass? Really? Plot device, but it felt a bit TSTL. It turned into a Bollywood drama (I grew up on them - the wrong get their just desserts, and the wronged get some form of justice done) once the identity of a character was revealed, and complete with Bollywood suspension of disbelief, the tale went there, but the murkier side of things, the 'things we have to right' things didn't really get dealt...

5* Well-written, well-researched and utterly engrossing, even without Anna's past. And WOW, this is a debut novel.  I'm not sure what else I can say about the tale other than my title. I'm impressed. Seriously impressed and yes, I went checking for a website and other books but it looks like there'll be a bit of a wait for book 2, given that this one's not out until January 27. This book reads like a seasoned author's work. All the characters are great, and each has a role, with no one being 'carried'. There's a depth of knowledge and expertise and experience in the team, as well as a range of ages. The research, deducing, skills, instincts and Anna's 'superpower' make for an excellent, cohesive, gripping and satisfying tale. I'm not sure where Anna's back story will go, as as the tale ends, something a bit worrying is happening. Harry is that villain - the coercive, abusive, manipulative former charmer, but Anna's eyes are op...

3.5* Sadly, it feels like this series is going a bit off the boil.  Don't get me wrong, this is very readable but it's lacking the edge-of-your-seat feel of the Margot tales as a detective, and the underlying arc doesn't seem anywhere close to being two-and-two'd any time soon. The identity of the killer is starting to feel anticlimactic and Margot's suspicions about her brother kind of feel a bit 'well, why didn't you trust your instincts?' especially with what she overhears.  Life with Wes on the farm takes a big back seat. The black widow part of the tale is unsatisfying and the detective Margot's asked to deliver a message to is hyped up to be weird, has a questionable MO, and...it all goes nowhere. I wasn't sure why the author went here, as it felt like filler in an otherwise thin storyline. Still, there's something about the character and the writing that has me thankful that KW writes relatively fast. ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Stor...

3.5* Dragged a lot, maybe because I'm new to the series and am missing what's happened so far? This is bogged down in Scottish life and wasn't a very entertaining read. Add in some personal drama for the lead, and I got a bit bored. Of course there was a cover-up - that much was clear from the prologue. It's normally always money or sex, and here, things took 20-odd years to unravel, with innocents sacrificed because of greed. ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, for my reading pleasure. 

4* Been waiting for this one for a few years, and it didn't disappoint.  This book isn't the first Sci-fi tale from BE, but it's definitely unique - what sweet, lovely Joe is forced to do will make your eyes water, both times, and yes, he's tortured by it, but his instinct to live, by whatever means possible, means that it's inevitable. And, I think the part of him he left behind, definitely did its thing along the way for Kaden.  I don't know who I liked more. Gentle Kaden with his great dad and a great relationship with his dad, or lovely Joe who literally had no one and nothing to his name. I know who I didn't like - the ex, but for once, him not getting Scorpio-level-satisfaction comeuppance sat OK with me. I was hoping he wouldn't turn even more dastardly with the hitchhikers he'd picked up, but nope, Marmite  al rescate!   The book ends well, many years down the line. The boys are happy cat slaves. Joe's brain is helping him help humanity, ...

2* Has too many things going on, and nothing felt entirely believable. I've not read a GM book since his horror heyday, and probably shouldn't have bothered with this. The female lead is supposedly in a happy relationship with a judge, but gets into bed naked with a female subordinate, and doesn't hesitate to make a move on her before belatedly coming to her senses - this is despite just having reassured the judge that if she commits to marrying him, she'll be faithful. Hmm. Then there's the nursing home with the strange vibes and the residents forced to rewrite their wills in favour of the owners, under actual torture. With the aid of a corrupt solicitor. How was this not spotted by the regulators? How were the repeat deaths not considered suspicious? Do Irish authorities not inspect care homes or do DBS checks on employees?  The PIP aspect really, really, really deserves a strong warning of graphic animal cruelty. I had to skip several pages because of this.  The ...

3.5* Good storyline, progress towards Carve-Up's comeuppance, hopefully, but...MAJOR SPOILER.......... ....Andy Maslen copped out. All the Van/Marnie stuff, all the flirting between Kat and Jack was just a big fat nothing. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want either Kat or Van to cheat, but all the bigging up, all the innuendo, all the butterflies, and it was resolved with: THEIR MARRIAGE WAS FINE. MARNIE WAS JUST A HARMLESS, IF DETERMINED, FLIRT - LIKE JACK. SHE FOUND, WITH A SENSE OF RELIEF, THAT SHE DIDN’T EVEN THINK OF HIM THAT WAY NOW THAT HANNAH WANTED TO MAKE A PLAY FOR HIM. So yeah, twee and not-believable avoidance. And yet just pages before, there'd been mention of Van maybe not believing her protests about Jack. Hmm. Titillation for nothing.  The Hannah character stole the show. There's already a massive spoiler in this review, so I won't add another, but she kicked arse. Her neurodivergence worked, and it was great to see Carve-Up humiliated.  The Under...

4* Well executed but loses that 1* for me as the reveal of the actual baddie didn't feel believable, nor did the SOCOs attending the house and not spotting a phone was on charge...won't spoiler here, but yeah, a bit of a big one to swallow.  This is a well-done tale with several characters who could've been the killer/s, and events that felt sufficiently murky from 35 years ago, to make the then-story work well with the reveals in the now. I'm not sure that IRL the male detective - I've forgotten his name - would've been allowed to investigate events, given his connections with cases past and present, so that was a big suspension of disbelief ask of me. I managed it.  The detective work was good, aided by today's technology but British policing doesn't work at the speed that was described here, especially where budgets are concerned, and more so, where permission from local councils and use of GPR come into it.  Still, a decent tale not bogged down by pe...

3.5* Much improved writing and editing.  This follows on from A Body In The Forest, and you do need to read the predecessor so as not to be lost in this tale. Someone at Joffe has been hard at work weeding out all the editing issues and making a smoother read, so this was much easier to get into.  Some of the writing still isn't the clearest, such as why a character was expecting Samantha and didn't query why instead they were meeting Sam, a different person, nor why Sam took food to meet said person. Those bits were never explained.  The tale was in parts sad and in parts, shocking. Poor Sam. Poor Emmi. Poor dad. Poor mum. And some of the crimes were a bit farfetched for rural Wales, but you hsve to go with the flow. The trafficking storyline faded out a bit too conveniently, I suspect because there's no way to really bring that to a satisfactory conclusion where justice is done, but I rolled my eyes and went on. Is this the end of the line for the series? I think it's...