#Review of Dead Festive By Peter Buckman @peterwordofmouthbooks @RandomTTours #PumpernickleMysteries #DeadFestive #Christmas #BlogTour

Dead Festive
By Peter Buckman

Review by Louise Cannon

Dead Festive is a book to get cosy with this Christmas season, well almost cosy with the cute dog, except there is a body count!
I’m on the Random T. Tours blog tour reviewing Dead Festive, A Pumpernickle Mystery today. Check out the blurb and my review below…

Blurb

“Everyone needs a Marion and Leo in their life. They are warm, kind, reassuring and funny.”
Patrick Neale
——
Murder, mince pies, and mayhem—a family Christmas takes a deadly turn.

For veteran lawyer Leo, Christmas Day is going according to plan. His vegetarian Wellington has been well received; his beloved partner Marion has finally introduced him to her dress-wearing brother Harold, who seems very happy with his partner Julian; Leo’s granddaughter Jazz is behaving impeccably; and his oldest friend Dennis, the doyen of crime journalists, is being kept under control by his wife Susan, helped by large quantities of wine. Even Leo’s dog Pumpernickel joins in the fun.

Until Julian, a reluctant player of charades, lies down to enact his last word, and fails to get up again. Suddenly, the festive mood turns dark. Was it a heart attack, something he ate, or could it be murder?

As they wait for the police to turn up, the tension isn’t eased by the arrival of Leo’s sister Becky with her husband and moody son. Family rows erupt and secrets jostle to the surface.

Why did the victim hide away a box of champagne truffles?

Who was really meant to receive Harold’s glittering bracelet?

Was Pumpernickel right in detecting the presence of poison?

Answers are provided in this romp of a story featuring all the main characters of Peter Buckman’s romantic cosy crime series The Pumpernickel Mysteries. This novella is a tale of love, greed, death, devotion, and brandy butter.

Review

Christmas seems normal as the festivities and joyous fun begins. There’s food, traditional family games and more… There are also the rows that families have at this time of year. The one problem is that those tensions don’t stay contained. They explode into a death that leaves so many questions unanswered over the course of a few hours. That is until the police show up and as you immerse yourself into this novella, you’ll also be guessing what happened to Julian.

Dead Festive is a cosy Christmas read with both a good festive atmosphere and an air of mystery and a cute dog called Pumpernickle.

For an extra book for a stocking or a treat for yourself, this is a great entertaining short, but perfectly formed Christmas book to take time out with and relax.

#Review of The Lines by Matt Brolly @MattBrollyUK #TheLines #CrimeFiction #Thriller #BlogTour

The Lines
By Matt Brolly

A little later than I had planned to publish this review due to a big family health situation, here is my review on the Zooloo blog tour of Matt Brolly’s latest thriller book, The Lines. It’s deep and atmospheric with fascinating character situations. Find out more below…

DS Liam Kilshaw was a former marine who almost died on a mission gone wrong. It’s an interesting and somewhat scary look into when missions do go wrong and the aftermath and how some, like DS Liam Kilshaw try to cope with PTSD. He sits at juxtapositions in personality. He has inner strength and enough within him to keep moving forwards as much as work and trying to solve crimes is concerned, yet there is also a fragility and vulnerability about him. The way he’s portrayed makes him an interesting character to delve into. He’s quite timely when men’s mental health is making waves in conversations.

The more than just highlighting of county lines is powerful and reminds, even though little to nothing is said in the news anymore about what is a very real concern that such activities still go on.

DS Kilshaw has a lot of work on his hands around the brooding Cornish coast. There’s the body of a young man floating in the water, but isn’t merely a tragic drowning, but is murder and the body of a young woman is also found. He reckons there could be a link between them both with county lines drugs gangs.
It soon becomes apparent he doesn’t know who he can trust, not even the water as crime solving and his memories collide.

The book is rather atmospheric, raw in parts and truly hooks you in. It’s a crime fiction book you wouldn’t want to miss out on.

#Review of The Nancys And The Case of the Missing Necklace by R.W.R. McDonald @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours #TheNancys

The Nancys and the Case of the Missing Necklace
By R.W.R McDonald

Review by Louise Cannon

Today I am on the Random T. Tour and Orenda Books blog tour with a review of The Nancys with a review. It’s a book to treat the young adult/teen in your life, perhaps for Christmas.

Nancy Drew, I loved reading about her mysteries when I was a teen. It’s one of the series that got me into liking crime fiction, that’s carried on into adulthood. This sort of brings it back to life, in a sense, but respectfully without re-writing them. This series is with a whole new character who discovers Nancy Drew’s mysteries. It’s a delightful way to introduce one character from the past that can still be read to another in present times. The representation of this merge feels significant and shows teens that they too can read books that perhaps their parents read and enjoy them as well as follow a new character all at once.
This time with 11 year old Tippy Chan who lives in a quiet part of New Zealand. She’s discovered her uncle’s old Nancy Drew books and can’t get enough of them. She’s so taken by her that she wants to be just like her newly discovered idol. The moment arrives when she discovers her teacher, dead beside Riverstone’s only traffic light. This sparks off the detective club, she affectionately calls The Nancys. Her mum isn’t exactly happy about it and between that and a wrongful arrest, all seems as thought lots is conspiring against its formation.

Tippy herself has a lot of imagination and lots of motivation about her, a bit like Nancy Drew. Eleven year olds, perhaps not to form a crime solving group, could find inspiring, that they can do more than just talk about something, but actually follow through with friends. Tippy may be the character to draw out something positive.

The book is charming, humorous and mysterious. Tippy herself is honest, bright, super observant and has a wit about her. She’s also dealing with grief as she’s lost her dad. This is handled sensitively and also, rather heart-warmingly, shows how escaping into books and also drawing some inspiration from them can bring about a bit of healing as well as remembering that bringing friends together can be positive too. It’s quite a meaningful book where its themes are concerned.

The mystery itself is one that teens can delve into and have fun trying to solve alongside Tippy and her crew of Nancys.

Readers also see Uncle Pike. He’s flamboyant and quite quirky. He’s also a hairdresser to the stars. He brings a different side to Tippy’s family, which is both fun and interesting. There’s also the rather cynical Melanie who is a neighbour. It brings Tippy’s outer world together and some fascinating conversations as well as those with The Nancys.

#Review by Lou of The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen @antti_tuomainen @OrendaBooks #TheWinterJob #ScandiNoir #Christmas #ChristmasRead

The Winter Job
By Antti Tuomainen

Review by Louise Cannon

Winter is upon us and the temperature is dropping, at least where I am, it’s a bit chilly, bordering on a bitterness in the air. There can be dark humour in these darker nights and it comes in the form of The Winter Job. A great Road Trip and Crime Christmas Read.

Antti Tuomainen is an interesting Scandi-Noir author and brings surprising twists and turns. If you know Scandi-Noir, it’s often quite dark in the themes and what happens. Antti Tuomainen cleverly turns some of this on its head. I first read The Rabbit Factor trilogy and saw this and he has written others that are stand-alone books, but this is the author who makes me want to read this genre. So, what did I think of this latest book that was a surprise gift left at Bloody Scotland Festival for me by Orenda Books? Find out below…

Review

There’s a Christmas promise to fulfil, a fabulous road trip which brings some unexpected people into the journey along the way, some with friendship, others with danger and there is a death.

There’s an important Christmas mission to avoid disappointment on Christmas Day. Ilmari has a piano to pick up for his daughter. There’s an important agreement to be made and he needs it for his daughter in 6 days time. It shouldn’t be too hard, but there is some poor driving and the transportation of something unexpected that defies the anything like any type of normal things that get moved. There are also suspicious businessmen along the way.

The Winter Job is not your usual Scandi-Noir nor your usual Christmas book. It’s quirky, it’s full of humour combined with dangerous twists. The big question is, will the piano get to where it needs to be in time?

For fun this Christmas with a crime theme, The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen is a great treat for readers either for yourself or a present for someone.

#Review of The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves @AnnCleeves @panmacmillan #TheKillingStones #CrimeFiction

The Killing Stones
By Ann Cleeves

Review by Louise Cannon

The Killing Stones has Detective Jimmy Perez in Orkney. He may have swapped Shetland for Orkney, but murders are still occurring giving him plenty of work ahead and mysteries to be solved. Check out the blurb and my review below…

Neolithic stones are often intriguing with engravings, markings and their formations. What makes this one so different is that it forms part of a murder case for Detective Jimmy Perez on the northerly island of Orkney, where he resides with his partner Willow and their young son.

The case becomes personal as he needs to delve into Andrew Stout, his childhood friend’s life as he’s found dead. Along the way, he also needs to untangle various webs of island tales to distinguish between factual truth and myth and legend.

The book is immersive in how it takes you into the lives of those who live on Orkney, whilst also showcasing the isolating, wild landscape, shaped by its challenging stormy weather. It’s a slow-burn to begin with, but sets the scene beautifully and allows it time to breath and readers to take both it and new characters who join the more familiar Detective Perez in. It’s interesting seeing someone move to a new place and how that works out for them, or in this instant, challenges them.

The mystery itself is intriguing with an excellently executed plot twist.

Whether you’ve read books by Ann Cleeves before or not, this is an excellent plotted book.

#Review of Fatal Shot by Brian Price @HobeckBooks #DCMelCottonSeries #CrimeFiction #Thriller

Fatal Shot
By Brian Price

Review written by Louise Cannon

Fatal Shot is book 6 of the DC Mel Cotton Series. If you haven’t yet delved into this Mexton crime series I highly recommend that you do with its interesting threads and thought-provoking, sometimes chilling concepts and main characters you can follow the lives of.
Today, I am on the Hobeck Books blog tour to review.
Please note I am not affiliated to any publisher nor bookshop and all opinions are my own.

Blurb

Pleasure or murder?

Was journalist Jenny Pike seeking extreme pleasure or was she murdered? Mexton police and her partner are suspicious. Things just don’t add up. Who would want Jenny killed and why? If she was murdered, then why was there no trace of the killer?

Deadly weapons

A mystery gunman is injured as his weapon blows up in his face. Someone is making blank weapons lethal. Mexton police are baffled. Meanwhile, a ruthless gangster is after a stolen laptop, and he will stop at nothing to get it back. What is on that laptop?

A dangerous turf war

Soon Mexton is in turmoil with illegal firearms, a vengeful crime boss and an impossible crime to solve. A turf war between drug dealers looms and the police seem powerless to stop it. Can DC Mel Cotton and her colleagues solve the riddles facing them without getting killed? Can a lethal conflict be prevented, before someone gets seriously hurt?

Review

There’s a turf drugs war going on with two rival gangs and with other crimes going on too, the dead bodies soon mount up in their numbers. There’s plenty of crime solving to do as threads cleverly interweave each other creating a rich crime story.

Guns that are supposed to be for blanks have become increasingly lethal, through the use of modern technology and there’s someone who is clever and evil enough to be able to use and manipulate it, in this case, 3D Printers, not for good though, but for nefarious deeds. It serves as a bit of a warning when technology comes onto the mass market, seemingly innocently, there are always people who will use it for deadly intent. The awareness and usage of how people can twist modern technology, including 3D Printers, in a fictional tale is intelligently done and brings it back to what can happen in the real world in the realistic writing.

As the action increases, it comes to a solid, satisfying end with a compelling middle to get you there.