Death by Deceit by Jaden Skye.

This is book 5 in the Caribbean Murder Series but they do not have to be read in order as each book is stand-alone. We have the partnership of two private detectives called Cindy and Mattheus who respond to telephone calls to solve mysteries but this one is a little closer to home. Mattheus is married to Shelly who disappeared six years ago but now her body has been found. Can Cindy and Mattheus find the murderer and bring them to justice?

Death by Deceit is a cross-genre novel bridging crime, mystery and romance. The crime is the murder of Shelly. The mystery is why Shelly disappeared six years ago and what she did next. The romance is the relationship between private detectives Cindy and Mattheus.

Jaden tries to write a compelling novel by combining crime, mystery and romance. Sadly what Jaden produces is only an okay - 3 star read. The crime, mystery and romance parts are all only okay, nothing is noteworthy. Everything is low key and nowhere in her novel did I think “this is really good”. The closest she got was providing background to domestic abuse from workers at a women’s refuge shelter. Nothing is special, strong or gritty, no special forensic science or involved police procedure. The plot does not have a gripping mystery and the romance does not have any steamy sex. This whole novel is low key and is like having a soap opera on television playing in the background. Death by Deceit is NOT a bad novel and it does capture two moods rather well. People walking away from their marriage while their partner is unaware of how unfulfilled and unhappy they are plus women who go back to their abusive husbands simply because of how much they love them.

Death by Deceit passes the time and is an okay read that I will vote the middle score of 3 stars. If you want a mixture of crime, mystery and romance together in the one book, then I can recommend Loreth Anne White and Jaden Skye is clearly NOT in the same league.

Death by Deceit is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2012.

Razor’s Edge by Anne Marie Godfrey

Jennifer Brantley is found dead with her wrists slashed, is it suicide or murder? Detective Chris Jeffries and her partner Adam Hunt investigate in this crime drama set in Houston.

Okay, latex gloves on, this is a good one. Razor’s Edge is a regular Crime Scene Investigation thriller. Anne ticks all the boxes in her novel that reads like a dream. Good dynamics between the two detectives, plenty of science behind the forensics, a drug I have not heard of before, a plot that pokes suspicion at a lot of characters, an awareness of police procedures and the frustrations of police work. Anne has clearly done her research well and her book reads like any successful television police drama. Full credit to Anne because television viewers get their story in one hit, whilst book readers often read a few pages at a time. Yet her story is so beautifully put together that you can read it in short bouts and lose nothing from the content or flow.

The plot of Razor’s Edge is a good one and develops at a good, steady pace. I got a lot of pleasure from reading this book and look forward to reading other novels from Anne. I thought Razor’s Edge was a GOOD read and will vote it 4 stars. It was not an OUTSTANDING read for which I would vote 5 stars BUT Razor’s Edge certainly pleased me and gave me my daily fix of reading joy. This is not an okay read that just passes the time but a GOOD read that gets your brain searching for the answers to Jennifer’s sudden death.

Razor’s Edge is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2014

A Cornish Retreat by Lily Wells.

This novella is about Lucy who escapes to a holiday home rental in Cornwall to have a break away from it all. And then she meets Jake!

A Cornish Retreat is full of British and West Country character which makes for easy reading. The story is nicely dressed but the plot is shallow. This novella lacks depth and is a very weak story. It is very bland and just blunders along. Nothing exciting happens, just a hope that the story will improve. This is a very drab read that does not live up to it’s promise. Although Jake manages to stay the night with Lucy, the reader is kept in the dark about what happens behind closed doors.

A Cornish Retreat is a disappointment although it does have some nice scene setting. This is not a Bridget Jones’s Diary, more like the series of television adverts years ago for Cadbury’s Milk Tray. I thought this novella was a POOR read and shall only vote it 2 stars.

A Cornish Retreat is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2014.

Down Came November by Lisa V. Proulx.

This is the memoir of Elizabeth Frost and it is the tale of a woman’s love and loneliness between 1979 and 2006. It explores the love shared with her two live-in lovers, her mother and Kurgan, her Rottweiler pet dog.

I found this book an intense read, with a closeness you get with best friends. I developed an empathy for Elizabeth very quickly as she described fully her feelings towards men. It enabled me to get into the mind of this woman as she fell into and out of love with the two men in her life. It was a rollercoaster ride for her as she stumbled from one relationship crisis to the next.

Her writing style was easy to take on board and I was pleased that her memoir progressed steadily and did not jump backwards or forwards. She has lots of advice and social comment to pass onto the reader which added so much depth to her memoir. For example…

Whether it’s our father’s fault or someone else’s, we as women take it on ourselves to please a man and love him until we become lost inside his soul. It shouldn’t be that way, but it usually is.

...and…

He liked his women loud, tough, and a little on the trashy side. Bar brawling women who drank, smoked, and partied with the best of them. Rough talking whores who looked like they had been rode hard and put away wet.

...Her quick descriptions of her lovers were good too…

He was not an ideal candidate for a daughter to bring home to meet the parents. Ex-con, unemployed, drinking, tattooed rocker on a motorcycle.

...and…

Kurgan lay in my arms still asleep. That was it. I was cooked. The dog had my heart, my soul, and my love. For the next 15 years, I had his.

...I enjoyed reading Down Came November so much as it is such a frank and open memoir. And then I got to the end, when there is a big twist and I thought “Bugger, poor lass”. I consider Down Came November to be a good read and I will vote it 4 stars.

Down Came November is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2014.

Everything Comes in Time by N. Rae

This short story is a first person narrative about a teenage girl growing up and having crushes on boys. It is told with style and makes for very pleasant reading. N. Rae has a good choice of words that highlight the feelings and tensions of teenage life. For example…

The car starts and it swings up beside me and my friend’s sister’s boyfriend says, “Your ass is hanging out of those shorts”. He laughs. “Got a little dirt there and there”. My friend’s sister squints, eyes my ass, laughs louder. His mouth turns down like he’s got a bad taste of something. You know he’s going to jack off about it later. By the way my friend’s sister laughs, she knows it too.

… I found this short story a very good coffee time read. It hits the spot and brightened my day. I think it was written to showcase the author’s talent in the hope of writing longer material later. I hope that N. Rae does write some more, maybe a novella or even a novel. I really enjoyed reading this short story and the focus was right. The author has a talent for writing a bright and refreshing tale that I am unable to fault, so I will give this short story the top score of 5 stars. Well done for writing such a good script and having the confidence to publish.

Everything Comes in Time is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2014.

Terminal Rage by A.M. Khalifa.

Former FBI Special Agent Alexander Blackwell is urgently approached to help with a sudden hostage situation in New York. Terminal Rage is a crime thriller that is not run-of-the-mill. The plot is very involved and the character development is very good.

Alexander is thrown in at the deep end and like the reader knows nothing about the hostage-taker. So along with the help of other members of the Hostage Rescue Team, Alexander and the reader try to work out the identity and motives of the hostage-taker.

There are many, many surprises along the way and this novel has an unusual but welcome structure. Woven into this story is a mass of culture that includes the Arab Spring of 2005. The story moves along at a good pace and because of the depth of the plot, it gives the reader a thrill to the very end. I gets you thinking “but, but, but?” as you try to fathom out what has gone on. This story is told with style and the editing is spot on. The whole feel of this novel is similar to the popular BBC television series called Spooks, of which I was a fan. Terminal Rage has a good mix of powerful character development, crime, dodgy characters, realism, technology and terrorism.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Terminal Rage because the whole plot was so different from the norm in a crowded market. It was a pleasure to read and was both entertaining and refreshing. I liked how the mystery of the hostage-taker developed and how mistakes within the intelligence community can so easily be made. Terrorists are not petty criminals doing things on the spur of the moment but plan their actions with great skill over a number of years. The skill of A. M. Khalifa deserves a vote of the top score of 5 stars from me as his novel was such a brilliant read.

Terminal Rage is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2013.

Thunder In The Mountains by Kathryn Moon.

When we worry about attacks on computer networks by criminals, hackers and terrorists, here is a dystopian novel of what happens when ALL computers are shut down. This dark future is set in 2015 and features a group of characters surviving on a smallholding in mid Wales.

The background to this book is good, it sets the scene of global environmental problems and the hope of building a sustainable future. The story picks up when society breaks down and the focus is on survival. It is a tale of using old methods to build a sustainable community and it has full green credentials.

Reading pleasure is good and is a great escape for townies. Life on the Welsh smallholding is basic and it is a joy to read about their workarounds. We have such convenience in our everyday lives, it is refreshing to read such basic challenges of food and shelter. I enjoyed reading about the farming, especially the goats and how these sturdy animals do not fit alongside sheep.

Thunder in The Mountains explores how society strives and the politics that people play. There is plenty of dirty play in this novel and it does not show humans as being shining examples of conscience. How groups form, develop and change is central to this novel and how these people work together, sometimes falling out, is what drives this plot along.

Character development is okay but Raven treats her Welsh smallholding as an open house rather than a business, which is a little naive. Frank is happy to kill anybody who comes along and his slaughter is both evil and  unrealistic.

Thunder in The Mountains has plenty of action to entertain and to move this story along at a good pace. It has good green credentials which should prove popular. I liked the politics woven into the story and the issues raised gave you things to think about outside of the main story. This book is a little far fetched but is an enjoyable read, shame about all the bloodletting from Frank. Not many characters make it to the end of this novel, so their character development appears a bit of a waste and makes you feel a little down. But this is still a good novel and I will vote if 4 stars and a lovely introduction to goats.

Thunder In The Mountains is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2014.