The Club for Rebellious Ladies by Siobhan Curham

 

A dual timeline with fearless women. Elodie in 1918 finding it very hard to fit in a very rigid finishing school, meeting up with a man who becomes the love of her life, being raped by the benefactor of the school, ignored by her teachers and finally running away to Paris where she carves out a niche for herself in tge art scene. Fast forward to 2025, we have Rae buying the ruin of the school on a whim, with the idea of renovating the place. She feels a sense of belonging to the place, but realises there are many secrets hidden in its walls. She faces the hostility of her neighbours head on and is determined not to give into the petty annoyances and hindrances put in her way.

The discovery of a diary and papers give details of Elodie’s life post school and Rae sets out to Paris with the few clues she has to put her to rest. Elodie is supposed to have died in a tragic accident on the cliff walk, but investigations prove that was a cover up for Elodie’s escape. Elodie established herself as an artist, met Etienne again and had a child. Rae is determined to find out the child’s relatives and the story takes off from there with wonderful results.

A real page turner and one which ends so happily was a joyous read.

Sent by Bookouture for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Judas Kiss by J T Ellison

 

Taylor is lead detective on a horrifying case. A young expectant mother found brutally murdered in her own home with a toddler daughter left unscathed. Discovered after a couple of days in a virtual bloodbath because the toddler had tried to waken her dead mother and there was bloody little footprints everywhere. 

As usual the husband was the first suspect but he was miles away on a business trip. When his alibi did not quite pan out, and with the discovery of a sophisticated porn recording studio in this seemingly ordinary house the net has to be thrown wider to ring in a few more people. The detective herself comes under heavy scrutiny, with an obsessive vengeful killer stalking her, and to add to Taylor’s difficulties, secretly filmed sex tapes of her and a former lover are available on the net. There was the added complication of a senior officer also gunning for her suspension and dismissal. 

So many strands to be woven together in this very tense murder/detective story that it can get a little mixed up but I did find the telling of the story a tense one with just the right amount of edge.

I have requested two more from this author from Netgalley and I do hope I get them.

Sent by Thomas & Mercer for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Graham and the Flitchcombe Murders by David Fairer

 

Graham is on a working holiday. A crime writer his characters have passed their sell by date and his agent wants a change of scene, change of characters and even a change of name. Arriving in the Cotswolds seem idyllic, but small isolated villages seem to be anything but benign. What starts as a writers retreat ends up in murder, uncovering years of secrets, old, old antagonism, feudal warfare, very much alive and kicking in this century.

An interesting take on the cozy mystery genre adding a lot more to the story.  Totally unpredictable and a very good story.

Sent by The Book Guild for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Montecito by Michael Cox

Hollis is a very messed up man. He has been fired three times, always because he never could keep quiet and spoke up for what he felt was right but was not considered right by the big boss. Now in an affluent neighbourhood with fancy house neighbours, he is trying to do right by his very supportive family. Keeping up with the Joneses is not going to be easy.

A chance encounter turns out into what is supposedly a lucrative business offer, but what is too good to be true is really just that. Obvious from the word go, Hollis is taken for a ride from the word go, and unfortunately because he never disclosed the nitty gritty to his astute wife, he sailed on more and more towards disaster. How unsuspecting a manager could be is astounding in this story. Almost stupid.

It does get sorted in the end with murder, international money laundering, the Soviets getting involved and the FBI. That Hollis escaped with his life is a miracle.

The story is based on a real life experience, which makes it rather depressing. But it is a tense story nevertheless.

Sent by Inveniam Press for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

 

Lost in the Dark by Debra Webb

 

Dr C J Patterson made it out of Huntville. Her sister did not. Remorse hits CJ for not taking her sisters call and she returns to a childhood home that she detested to wind up stuff that needed to be done. In the light of what she feels no progress in the investigation, as to who killed her sister, CJ takes matters into her own hands, which puts her right as a target for the local crime boss who does not like attention, or what he feels is interference.

The romance part of this story comes from Detective Kevin who has lost his niece and now CJ’s sister in a similar scenario. CJ,s sister was his informant and he feels that he is inadvertently responsible for her death. The twist comes when the main suspect is found murdered in the most brutal way possible which opens the enquiry wide open, in an unexpected way.

Murder with a touch of romance with a lot of exposure to the seamier side of life.

Sent by Thomas & Mercer for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

The Case of the Christie Wedding Affair by Kelly Oliver

 

Set in 1930 on the Island of Skye, the setting was bleak for a joyous event. In secret to avoid the Press and because the Church of Scotland was kinder to divorcees, Agatha Christie was getting the banns for her wedding announced in Skye. With her are her friends from the Detection Club. 

The quietness of the occasion is shattered by the disappearance of Lord Blackwood who is part of a hunting party, sharing the lodge. His disappearance is strange because it is apparent that both the vicar and ghillie in charge are hiding grave secrets. When it is apparent that the Lady Blackwood and the general factotum of the lodge are also acting weirdly, Eliza and Theo start their own detection till a constable gets there. What is unearthed is a tale of brutality, cheating and sexual coercion going back decades which multiplies the suspects. Lord Blackwood was not a likeable character.

Very engaging with the romance of Eliza and Theo also very much on the scene, the story is very descriptive of the Island of Skye which adds to the starkness of the background. A cozy with a touch of historical fiction as well.

Sent by Boldwood Books for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.

Death was not on the guest list by

 

Twenty top socialites gather for a glittering evening. Many of them dislike each other intensely but on the surface it is all full of camaraderie, but the knives are out. During the evening, one of them is dead, and with a snowstorm on, there is no escape for anyone. It also means that someone within the household is the killer. 

With the detectives trying his best to get to the bottom of the mystery - there are many suspects. One has conveniently got rid of four husbands and one is well versed in poisons. The others have secrets they do not want to share. When a second body is discovered, the need for survival is paramount and everyone wonders who is next.

The ending was a good one. A good cozy.

Sent by Thomas & Mercer for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.