My review of Red Snow by Will Dean




Two bodies, two coins, two weeks and so the story unfolds. I loved Dark Pines and couldn't wait to read this one and follow Tuva Moodyson's journey. Tuva is now preparing to leave Garvrik, which I for one, am sorry about. I love shivering when I read about this cold, isolated place where when you open a window, 'freezing air pours in like seawater' and where 'everything’s white. It looks like God poured a bottle of correction fluid over the whole town, and who the hell could blame him.' The author's descriptive writing is so good you are transported to Garvrik and chilled to the bone as you read.
Before Tuva leaves she has one last job to do, research on the liquorice factory and the secretive family who live there.
The author's last book left me with strange images of trolls and this book has left me with images of snow skulls! Very creepy and I loved the information about liquorice.
Tuva is a great character, very well drawn, very real and I hope she continues to feature in future books. I so wanted her to find love, especially when we find out what's going on in Tuva's head, for example. 'When she stands in front of me my head turns into a soft clump of overcooked pasta' or 'we're slowly tangling together like climbing roses.'
The writing throughout this book is beautiful, descriptive, excellent and this, together with the fantastic array of characters, makes this an outstanding book.

My review of Good Samaritans by Will Carver.

I so loved this book and once started I could not put it down. The characters are very well done, there are 5 main ones, Maeve, Seth, Hadley, Ant, and Dect. Sgt. Pace who's lives become interwoven in a very twisted and shocking way. I really can't say more without giving the plot away.
The points of view change from first person to third person with the occasional author interjection. The author breaks the rules here and it works, it works very well.
The writing style is original, like the plot with short, sharp sentences and paragraphs, for example,
I wait. Breath held. Looking over the girl.
I wait.
Then I scream.
This just adds to the pace and the tension and keeps the story moving breathlessly along.Every so often, the author breaks up the stark writing with a lovely gem, like this one;
'her jeans held on to the skin of her legs for dear life.'
A very dark and intense book that thoroughly enjoyed. My first from Will Carver but not my last.

NEWS NEWS NEWS!!!!

Just signed up with BHC Press for my next novel.

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Exceptional storyline and writing.
Read the 4MK first otherwise you will miss out on a real treat of a series that is compelling, exciting and unputdownable.
This book, like the first, is fast paced and so tense my toes curled. It has multiple storylines, but you won't get lost or confused because J.D brings all the threads together - eventually. It has multiple POV's but again you won't get confused because each character is unique with their own distinct voice. You will enter a world full of believable personalities and this book is rich with excellent dialogue.
I loved Sam Porter even more in this book, but now we have some unanswered questions and I can't wait to find out what's going on. But I will have to wait because this is, of course, not the end.
And then there is Anson Bishop, the sociopath that Porter is obsessed with finding. He has such a brilliant, twisted mind that I'm left admiring him! and that's bad right? Because he's a serial killer, but he draws you in to his sick games where you keep trying to guess his next move and never get it right. He's scary, thrilling and I'm left enthralled by him. He's a man with, 'a steady tick of a clock somewhere in a little nook of my subconscious, a clock more accurate than any hanging on a wall.' And his 'anger can be held in check, bottled and stored and opened when it is most needed.' He makes me shiver with delight.
This is a dark, gritty, compelling read where the tensions builds from the start and doesn't end. I can't wait for the next instalment. Thank you J.D Barker for another masterpiece.

I only give 5* to books that are the complete package, a gripping story, deep, believable characters and powerful, clever writing. This is the complete package & quite brilliant with it. I finished reading it a while ago but I couldn't find the words to do it justice. It is also a book that you want to think about, long after you have read it. It challenges you to stop and think.
The writing is so clever that it draws you in and you cannot stop reading. The characters, all of them but especially Vincent, are made to come alive on the page, you live Vinnie's life with him, every step of the way. This makes for a difficult and uncomfortable journey, one I found to be very emotional due to the author's honest writing. When an author writes from the soul you feel it on every page.
Throughout the book, Vinnie never loses his sense of humour which often made me laugh out loud. It was his humour that made me love the character and want to protect him. Quite brilliant to combine humour with such an emotional story and to pull it off so well.
I would recommend this book to everyone, one of the best books I've ever read.

My review of Triptych by Karin Slaughter

This is my first Karin Slaughter novel and I'm so impressed I will now read everything she has written. The plot was fantastic, but it is her characters that did it for me. So utterly well done, so believable that they get hold of you emotionally and don't let go, particularly Special Agent Will Trent, you just can't help but love him.
The plot is very gritty and covers gruesome violence and prostitution with twists and turns and a brilliant ending.
Now to read the next book in the series, Will Trent is my favourite special agent ever.
Loved it.

My book review of The Art Of Fear by Pamela Crane

My first Pamela Crane and it won't be my last. I very much enjoyed this book even though it covered some very disturbing issues like sex trafficking of children and physical and mental abuse. Although these issues are gut wrenching and the author did not hold back in making it quite plain how harrowing it is for the victims. It is possible to read and enjoy this book because of Ari Wilburn, the main protagonist.
Ari is herself a damaged woman, carrying the burden of her sisters death on her shoulders, she hates herself, has low low self esteem. However she sets up a suicide support group and that's when her new life begins.
I loved Ari because she was flawed and grew into a strong, resilient character. She was funny right from the start. I also loved Tristan, her sexy love interest, friend and crime solving partner.
The book has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and the characters are so well developed you just have to keep reading and willing them all to succeed. Great novel, great read