What’s new on my bedside table . . .

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Yay!!!! Only three new ARCs arrived in my inbox this week! Excuse me while I do a little dance . . .

My first new title is a publisher’s widget – The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley. I see this isn’t getting great reviews, but I have enjoyed everything else I have read by her, so we’ll see . . . It certainly sounds enticing!

Midsummer, the Dorset coast

In the shadows of an ancient wood, guests gather for the opening weekend of The Manor: a beautiful new countryside retreat.

But under the burning midsummer sun, darkness stirs. Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests. And the candles have barely been lit for a solstice supper when the body is found.

It all began with a secret, fifteen years ago. Now the past has crashed the party. And it’ll end in murder at…

THE MIDNIGHT FEAST

I have read so many amazing reviews about Goyhood by new-to-me author Rueven Fenton that I just couldn’t resist requesting it.

When Mayer (née Marty) Belkin fled small town Georgia for Brooklyn nearly thirty years ago, he thought he’d left his wasted youth behind. Now he’s a Talmud scholar married into one of the greatest rabbinical families in the world – a dirt poor country boy reinvented in the image of God.

But his mother’s untimely death brings a shocking revelation: Mayer and his ne’er-do-well twin brother David aren’t, in fact, Jewish. Traumatized and spiritually bereft, Mayer’s only recourse is to convert to Judaism. But the earliest date he can get is a week from now. What are two estranged brothers to do in the interim?

So begins the Belkins’ Rumspringa through America’s Deep South with Mom’s ashes in tow, plus two tagalongs: an insightful Instagram influencer named Charlayne Valentine and Popeye, a one-eyed dog. As the crew gets tangled up in a series of increasingly surreal adventures, Mayer grapples with a God who betrayed him and an emotionally withdrawn wife in Brooklyn who has yet to learn her husband is a counterfeit Jew.

And to round out this weeks books is the latest in the Josie ‘nosey’ Parker cosy mystery series by Fiona Leitch – The Cornish Campsite Murder.

Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is back in 2024 with a brand new Cornish mystery to unravel…

Just along the coast from Penstowan, the local festival has filled the area with revellers young and old. Former Met police officer Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker has agreed to step in and help run the Pie Hard food truck, along with her rather reluctant fiancé, DCI Nathan Withers.

As they prepare for a weekend of camping and being elbow deep in shortcrust pastry, Jodie hadn’t bargained on witnessing a fight between members of the lead band.

But when the body of one of the band members is found dead not far from the campsite, Jodie finds it hard to believe it was an accident. Especially when the other members had so much to gain…

I still have 22 pending requests, 2 past publication date but which are not archived until some time later in May.

I have 515 books on my NetGalley shelf, one less than last week. Hey, I’ll take it. It’s a gain, or a loss, however you want to look at it! At least it makes my 72% feedback ratio a little more secure . . .

Goodreads group, All About Books is having another readathon starting at 12.01 am Friday 26 April and finishing at 11.59 p.m. Sunday 28 April for which I have signed up.

I have completed 8/9 books and all four books by Australian authors for my Aussie Readers April challenge. I will read the 9th and remaining book after I have finished my current read. I will easily complete this challenge before the end of the month.

I have just signed up for the May Aussie Reader’s challenge. The featured author is Sophie Green.

I have read 7/14 books for the Autumn Aussie Readers challenge, so I am right on target!

I have completed my first task of 24 for the World Book Day Challenge which I need to complete before 23 April 2025.

When I was at the library recently, our librarian introduced me to Beanstack an online reading library-based reading challenge but I didn’t get around to signing up for it until yesterday. There is a timer where you can log your reading minutes, Book bingo on which I have this morning completed my first square, and a place to publish your reviews. There are several other features that I haven’t yet had time to explore but will do as soon as possible.

My annual goals I am just going to update at the end of each month, and as it is the last Wednesday of the month, here goes –

I have read 87 of my goal of 225 books for my 2024 Goodreads Reading challenge- 18 books ahead of schedule; and 64 of my goal of 150 NetGalley titles. I can always increase my goals later in the year.

I have read 13 of my goal of 20 Backlist titles for 2024. These titles must have been on my shelf for longer than 12 months to qualify.

I have read 22 of my 24 book goal for my 2024 library love challenge, so I may need to reset that goal too.

I selected the My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) level of 30+ audiobooks for 2024. I have so far listened to 19/30.

Another few days and we’ll be 1/3 of the way through the year!

Dustin and Luke fly back from Perth Thursday night – that week has gone by fast! Luke loved the reptile park so much that they made a return visit yesterday and Luke got to feed a snake! He was so excited. He keeps messaging me telling me what he’s doing. He’ll be spending time with his Australian grandad for the last two days of his visit which will be nice for both of them.

I have a busy morning ahead. I need to tidy up my office desk as I have mislaid two vital bits of paper. My friend Annette is staying tonight after we get back from seeing Dragon in concert so I need to make up a bed for her. Pete’s dinner is simmering away in the crockpot, but I need to get some food in for the weekend, do laundry, and sort out what I am wearing tonight. The day is going to be beautiful, but not that warm. It will be hot inside the event centre but cold outside. What to wear???? Boots, definitely. I hate to have cold feet!

Have a wonderful week, and read on!

The Inn by James Patterson and Candice Fox

EXCERPT: He could tell his words tickled something inside her, stroked her in that exact right spot, piqued her interest. Success wasn’t something that rolled around here in waves. She was looking for it, the key to the door that led her out of her small-town world, the path to the kinds of things she saw in movies. Big houses, lavish parties, trips to New York, yachts. Dreamland on the horizon. Cline had her pegged. She was probably washing dishes in a cafe around here somewhere, scraping fried food off plates for minimum wage. Cleaning toilets. Daddy was absent – one of the crab wranglers who left and returned in the dark – and she’d promised herself a long time ago she wouldn’t end up with someone like him. Cline watched the pink lights dancing in her eyes.

ABOUT ‘THE INN’: Bill Robinson is starting over. The Inn at Gloucester stands alone on the rocky New England shoreline. Its seclusion suits former Boston police detective Bill Robinson, novice owner and innkeeper. As long as the dozen residents pay their rent, Robinson doesn’t ask any questions. Yet all too soon Robinson discovers that leaving the city is no escape from the dangers he left behind. A new crew of deadly criminals move into the small town, bringing drugs and violence to the front door of the inn. Robinson feels the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. His sense of duty compels him to fight off the threat to his town. But he can’t do it alone. Before time runs out, the residents of the inn will face a choice. Stand together? Or die alone.

MY THOUGHTS: I liked Bill Robinson, despite his rather gung-ho approach to life at times. A disgraced ex-cop widowed and struggling with his grief, he is shutting himself off from any meaningful contact, even with his housemates, a mostly bedraggled bunch who society has rejected, selected by his late wife.

The plot is relatively simple, the characters intriguing: Clay, a divorced, overweight sheriff; Angelica, a know-it-all novelist; Neddy Ives who lives entirely in his room and doesn’t interact with other household members; Vinny, a wheelchair bound ex-gangster; Nick, ex-Afghanistan veteran with a hefty case of PTSD; Effie, who doesn’t speak; Susan, ex-FBI; and Marni, the teenager Siobhan had rescued. Cline is the bad guy, a major drug distributor who moves his operation into Gloucester causing havoc in the town.

While I admire Bill’s motives, I don’t like guns being the solution. There are a lot of guns, shooting and dead bodies. I prefer a little more finesse. Yet despite this, I enjoyed the read which has a distinct vigilante seeking revenge theme.

#TheInnPattersonFox #WaitomoDistrictLibrary

⭐⭐⭐.7

THE AUTHORS: JAMES PATTERSON is passionate about encouraging children to read. Inspired by his own son who was a reluctant reader, he also writes a range of books for young readers. James has donated millions in grants to independent bookshops and lives in Florida with his wife and son.
CANDICE FOX is the middle child of a large, eccentric family from Sydney’s western suburbs. The daughter of a parole-officer and an enthusiastic foster-carer, Candice spent her childhood listening around corners to tales of violence, madness and evil as her father relayed his work stories to her mother and older brothers. Candice lives in Sydney with her family and is a volunteer rescuer of wildlife.

All of us Are Broken by Fiona Cummins

EXCERPT: Christine stilled, drawing in a sharp breath. Her mind raced faster than her heart. Missy and Fox had resigned themselves to death. And she understood what that meant, even as she prayed her children did not.
‘Do you want to live?’ Missy again. Quizzical. Mocking.
‘Yes. Please. Yes.‘
‘Then choose a child to die.’

ABOUT ‘ALL OF US ARE BROKEN’: It’s been a long time since the Hardwicke family has been on holiday. But thirteen-year-old Galen has wanted to see the wild dolphins at Scotland’s Chanonry Point for as long as she can remember, and her mother Christine – a lone parent since her beloved husband left – is determined she gets her wish. But their serene trip is about to be interrupted.

When DC Saul Anguish is called to investigate the shooting of an ex-police officer in Midtown-on-Sea, Essex, he quickly discovers that this is the first in a string of killings by Missy and Fox, a damaged young couple hell-bent on infamy, their love story etched in blood. In pursuit, Saul follows their trail north.

The paths of the Hardwickes’ and the deadly couple are about to collide. When Saul and his forensic linguist partner, Blue, arrive on the scene, they witness the unthinkable: a mother forced to make an impossible choice.

Saul must uncover the truth about the couple. But can he find the strength to lay the ghosts of his past to rest before they break him?

MY THOUGHTS: If you want a ‘heart jumping out of your chest’ read, this is it. With bells on.

Scary for its realism, All of Us Are Broken ticked all my boxes. It gave me all the feels. I finished it with torrents of tears running down my face. I can’t believe the complexity of the emotional depths plumbed in this novel. Hours later, and I am still trembling.

Fiona Cummins has taken the ‘famous for being famous’ ideology one step further to encompass the desire some people have to be famous for being infamous. Evil.

Dark and intense, there is respite in the form of Tom, an eight-year-old boy who has recently lost his father. He is a delight, the light in an otherwise black storyscape where death is the currency for infamy.

There is immense tension from the start to the finish. The plot is unpredictable, the pacing rapid, the characterisation nothing short of brilliant.

An outstanding read – go in cold.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#AllofUsAreBroken #WaitomoDistrictLibrary

THE AUTHOR: Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former Daily Mirror showbusiness journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing A Novel course. She lives in Essex with her family.

Twisted Crimes (DCI Sophie Allen #5) by Michael Hambling

EXCERPT: MONDAY – Week 1
Sharon Giroux was starting to feel worried. She was standing in the front porch of her parents’ bungalow in Blandford having rung the doorbell three times, and still there was no response. The bell was most certainly working. The sounds of the electronic chimes had carried clearly through the door, but no movement could be seen through the thick, patterned glass. She pressed her nose to the door and tried the bell one last time. Nothing. Sighing, she opened the zip on her shoulder bag and felt through its various contents to the smaller inner compartment, extracting the keys kept inside. Nothing serious could have happened to her parents, surely? Admittedly she hadn’t seen them for two weeks, having returned from holiday with her own family only the previous day. They hadn’t answered her phone call, made immediately after she and Pierre had put their two young children to bed, and that was strange. Her parents rarely went out on a Sunday evening, not with one of their favorite historical dramas being broadcast mid-evening. There had been no time to check on them earlier in the day, not with her own return to work and its incessant pressures. A GPs working life is one continuous log jam of problems that require immediate action, especially after a fortnight’s absence.
Sharon turned the key in the lock and opened the door. ‘Mum? Dad?’ she called. There was no answer, no sound of movement. The air seemed slightly stale as if no window had been opened for days.

ABOUT ‘TWISTEDCRIMES’: Sylvia and Ted Armitage, a retired couple, attend the wrong funeral service by mistake. A month later their daughter returns from holiday to find them missing.

The police make little headway in tracing their whereabouts until their bodies are found in their car, abandoned in the middle of a copse in a tranquil nature reserve. They appear to have committed suicide, but some of the forensic evidence suggests otherwise. The police slowly make progress and find several links to a shady organisation that owns a string of bars, clubs and cafes.

When another body is found in the same area, DCI Sophie Allen must use all her investigative skills to unravel the connections between these very different victims. Some of the suspects are involved in shady deals and corruption, others are masking dark family secrets.

Sophie is joined by two new police officers, Rose Simons and George Warrander, who will transform her team.

MY THOUGHTS: This is a series I am enjoying playing catch-up on. But, IMHO, it is far better read than listened to. Narrator, Cat Gould, sounds like she is trying to jolly along a class of reluctant kindergarteners.

This is a well written addition to the series, but it does have a few minuses, for me anyway. So, let’s get them out of the way first. The synopsis gives far too much of the plot away. It should have ended with the sentence: They appear to have committed suicide, but forensic evidence suggests otherwise. I feel it is all too easy to rely on ‘organised crime’ as a solution. Although, in the author’s defence, he does demonstrate just how easy it is for ordinary people to become caught up and then ensnared in these organisations. The ending felt a little messy – I expected more. I had a few unanswered questions at the end.

On the plus side, there are quite a few twists and turns as the story progresses and the final one I certainly didn’t see coming.

I like Sophie Allen. She is a kind and nurturing person, both professionally and personally. She is also very smart and resourceful, not afraid to turn to her mentors when she needs advice or wants to thrash something out. She is compassionate and encourages her team to be the best they can be.

While this is a series, each book is able to stand on its own. There are occasional references to past cases, but any information needed to understand the reference is provided.

⭐⭐⭐.6

#TwistedCrimes #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: I write crime/mystery stories which are more than simple whodunnits, stories that probe below the surface. I want my readers to feel part of the world that I create in my books, to relate to my characters and to be catalysed into feeling an emotional response to the events that I describe. I’d better explain that I dislike gender stereotypes and the portrayal of women as victims. Be prepared to meet women engineers and scientists, along with men who are receptionists. Victims may be from any gender.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Joffe Books via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of Twisted Crimes for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

This was a book from my 2017 NetGalley ARC backlist which I listened to via Hoopla courtesy of my local library.

Devil’s Lair by Sarah Barrie

EXCERPT: Callie paced, unable to settle. Paisley rang three times, and three times she’d refused her offer to lock up and come back. When she got tired she sat, staring into space and thinking about the possibilities. why wasn’t Dale back? She felt sick, her stomach rumbling making the churning worse. She forced down a sandwich. When the clock hit nine o’clock, she poured herself a glass of wine. At midnight she caved and called him. He didn’t answer. Nor at twelve-thirty, or at one. Was something wrong? Could something have happened to him? Around two in the morning, another thought crept in. Was he with Lisa?

ABOUT ‘DEVIL’S LAIR’: A lonely widow, a sinister act, a remote mansion with a dark past… After the violent death of her husband, Callie Jones retreats to a cottage in the grounds of an old mansion in Tasmania. The relative remoteness of the place and the wild beauty of the Tasmanian landscape are a balm to her shattered nerves and the locals seem friendly, particularly horseman Connor Atherton and his siblings at the nearby property, Calico Lodge. But all is not well: the old mansion has a sinister past, one associated with witchcraft and murder. As Callie is threatened by odd events in the night and strange dreams overtake her sleep, she begins to doubt her own sanity. What’s really going on beneath the surface of this apparently peaceful town? Are her friends and neighbours really who they seem? As events escalate, Callie starts to realise that the mansion may hold the key to unlocking the mystery, but the truth might have as much power to destroy as it does to save.

MY THOUGHTS: I was instantly enamored with and drawn into Devil’s Lair by Sarah Barrie. Callie Jones is a great character and I was rooting for her throughout. I could fully understand her reluctance to get into a relationship after her husband’s death and loved Connor for being so understanding.

But the real story starts with a black envelope, empty, with a few cryptic words written on the back. Sinister? You’d better believe it!

Odd little things happen as the story progresses, but the incidences increase in frequency and severity finally escalating into an eruption of violence. People are hiding things from Callie, manipulating her, though she is unaware of it.

There is a dark history attached to the mansion in whose grounds Callie lives, a place Cliff, the elderly man who lives there, refuses to leave though he is clearly unable to care for himself. He wears a charm around his neck and the walls of his mansion are covered in protective symbols. But who or what does he need protecting from?

The level of creepiness increases incrementally and several times while reading, I found myself holding my breath. Barrie has crafted a perfectly paced, page-turning tale with just a touch of supernatural menace, and dark unnatural secrets of a family with a lot to hide.

This was so very nearly a five-star read. I loved the tension, the characters and the plot. The title gives some indication of the content, but I definitely wasn’t expecting the mutilation and ritualistic killings of both humans and animals. Although the acts themselves aren’t described, the results are. The other negative for me was what Paisley allows to happen. I am not going to elaborate on that as it would be a major spoiler, but if you read this book, and I hope you do, you will understand.

A breathtaking read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

#DevilsLair #WaitomoDistrictLibrary

THE AUTHOR: In a past life, Sarah worked as a teacher, a vet nurse, a horse trainer and a magazine editor, before deciding she wanted to write novels. About the only thing that has remained constant is her love of all things crime.
Her favourite place in the world is the family property, where she writes her stories overlooking mountains crisscrossed with farm­land, bordered by the beauty of the Australian bush, and where, at the end of the day, she can spend time with family, friends, a good Irish whiskey and a copy of her next favourite book.

Dead Gone by T.J. Brearton

Dead Gone by T.J. Brearton is a title from my 2017 NetGalley backlist and, as I listened to the audiobook via Hoopla, qualifies for my 2024 audiobook challenge and my 2024 Library Love challenge.

EXCERPT: MONDAY
Tom was awake when the alarm clock buzzed. He switched it off, stared up at the twirling ceiling fan a moment and then went downstairs.
The sign hanging on the living room wall read: Congratulations, Tom!
He collected a couple of empty beer bottles and stuck them in the recycling bin. The coffee was already brewing, the timer set for six.
He stood in his sweatpants, watching the coffee drip into the pot, considering a half-remembered dream.
Tommy . . . Tommy, help me.
His cell phone rang in the bedroom snapping him out of it. He bounded back up the stairs and grabbed the phone.
‘Lange,’ he answered.
‘Special Agent Lange. Good morning.’ It was Director Turnbull.
‘What can I do for you, sir?’
‘Well, Lange, it looks like day one for you is going to be a big one.’
‘Okay, sir. I’m ready.’
‘Are you familiar with Paddle Creek Tours?’
‘No . . .’ Tom found his notebook next to his badge on the dresser and plucked a pen from the coin dish. He scribbled down Paddle Creek.
‘They do kayaking. Like canoeing, but one person per boat. You know where Rookery Bay is?’
‘Yes, sir.’ Rookery Bay was a nature preserve, a large mangrove estuary fed by the Gulf of Mexico.
‘Okay. Good.’ Turnbull said. ‘Shell Island Road. You drive past the research reserve headquarters. Down half a mile on the right is where you want to be. Special Agent Blythe will meet you there.’
‘Blythe, sir?’ He wrote that name down too.
‘Yes, she’s who you’re sharing the field office with, you’ll be taking your cues from her.’ Turnbull paused. Tom heard police radio chatter in the background. Whatever was going on, it sounded big. ‘A body was found in the bay. Everglades Counties Sherriff’s Office is already there. Check in with Blythe, I’ll speak with you later. Good luck.’

ABOUT ‘DEAD GONE’: A woman’s body is found floating in a sultry Florida mangrove. She has no ID and there is no indication of cause of death.

Who is she? Why was she murdered?

Rookie detective Tom Lange couldn’t have got a more difficult first case. The only thing he’s got to go on is the woman’s butterfly tattoo. His boss, Lauren Blythe, piles the pressure on and the medical examiner won’t tell him what he needs to know.

Meanwhile Tom’s neighbour Alicia has an abusive boyfriend who Tom clashes with in a way that will have far-reaching consequences.

The body leads Tom on a trail of seedy clubs, narcotics, and danger which is close to home.

In a tumultuous ending with a massive twist, Tom’s world is turned upside down.

MY THOUGHTS: I mostly liked the plot of this book, but the execution let it down for me. It dulled down what could have been a thrilling story. There is little excitement and even less tension to keep the reader engaged and the characters don’t have a lot of depth. We get background on Tom and his brother Nick, but not the little details that make the characters realistic and relatable.

There are a couple of plot points that don’t make much sense, such as one character who had to relinquish his vehicle to pay off a debt, but can afford to hire a car. 🤷‍♀️

The writing was quite stilted, and nothing felt real to me. I wasn’t drawn into the story and didn’t form any feelings for the characters. However, this is the first book in a new series, so hopefully the writing and the characterisation will improve.

⭐⭐.5

#DeadGone #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Timothy James Brearton lives in the Adirondack Mountains with his wife and three children. He’s loved thrillers and police stories for most of his life.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Joffe Books via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of Dead Gone by T.J. Brearton for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.