The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths.

This is the ninth Dr. Ruth Galloway story and like all of Elly’s novels, can be read as a standalone. In The Chalk Pit the reader explores some underground tunnels in Norfolk, a couple of murders, some missing people and the plight of the homeless.

Ruth Galloway works closely with the Police in their investigations and also mixes with them socially. This is not a crime thriller in the usual sense, it is not a gritty novel with a heavy plot. What we have is a gorgeous character driven novel. Elly builds her characters up with style and you can identify with each and every one of them as though they were your workmates, friends and family. Through your reading sessions, you feel as though you are living your life alongside them. You get so strongly drawn into their lives and relationships that you wish them all well. Elly has this magic to draw her readers into the story. The fact there is a crime and criminal elements involved, just adds depth to her story. My wife loves watching a lot of television but I am not bothered. One of her favourite programmes is the popular hospital drama on BBC1 television called Holby City. But whenever it is on and I am reading my Kindle or using my Chromebook, the strong characterisation written into the script of Holby City just draws me in and I end up watching part of it! The Chalk Pit is told in a similar style to Holby City were the day job of the characters is not the main pull but the relationships between them are the focal points.

I really enjoyed reading The Chalk Pit and it gave me a lot of pleasure with a nice cosy feeling. It is a lovely soft read that does not have a WOW! factor or shocking bits but is very engaging and I liked how you got the whole picture with it’s comments on social trends. I look forward to the next Ruth Galloway story and vote The Chalk Pit 4 stars for being such a good read. Oh and I loved the use of urban legends that make you wonder where those homeless people you see in doorways etc sneak away to at night.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Quercus for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review.

The Intrusions by Stav Sherez.

Follow Detectives Carrigan and Miller in this British crime thriller. Although this is the third book in the series, it can be read as a standalone. I have not read any book written by Stav Sherez before but this was recommended by a friend on Goodreads.

I found this novel to get off to a poor start and I did not engage with Detectives Carrigan and Miller. The story appeared to be quite dull although it involved a missing young woman in alarming circumstances. But I urge readers to bear with it as this story vastly improves once a profiler becomes involved. Then I engaged fully with this novel and found the profiler's input to the case very interesting indeed. My interest increased further when the title of this novel came into play. The Intrusions are those enabled by modern technology and social media using Remote Administration Tools. For good measure, throw in a cocktail of drugs including DMT - (N,N-Dimethyltryptamine) and you have a very entertaining and thought provoking novel.

I think The Intrusions is a good contemporary tale. Some people use social media so heavily, they forget about the dark forces behind the scenes which could come into play. I particularly liked the exploration of Remote Administration Tools as their use can be quite creepy. People can forget that although they see a lot of cameras, there is often one camera that they fail to spot. We now live in a world where these intrusions happen 24 hours a day. Many coach drivers on the National Express network here in the UK have been sacked due to those 12 second video clips downloaded using Remote Administration Tools on the Dashboard cameras, one facing forward the other spying on the driver.

I enjoyed reading The Intrusions. Characterisation was not marvellous and I did not develop an empathy for any of the characters. It does not qualify as a character led novel as their roles were weak. But where it scores heavily is in the social commentary on social media and Remote Administration Tools. Years ago the worry was of Big Brother watching your every move, now in 2017 the worry of The Intrusions is of those dodgy individuals covertly watching you from afar. I think this novel is a good read, there are novels with better characterisations and plots but The Intrusions is very thought provoking about the way our society has progressed, so it is 4 stars from me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Faber & Faber for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review.

Watch Me by Angela Clarke.

Follow DS Nasreen Cudmore and her old pal from school, Freddie Venton in this British crime thriller that involves revenge porn and social media. Watch Me is the second book in this series but can be read as a standalone.

I have NOT read the first book in Angela’s Social Media Murders series called Follow Me. But this is not a problem as Watch Me can be read as a standalone AND bit by bit through Watch Me, you are given the gist of Follow Me and the #hashtag murderer. It irritated me how this novel kept going back to the first novel. It seemed as though you were only getting half a new novel and I suspect readers who had read Follow Me would feel short changed.

This novel does explore what can go wrong with social media and how images can be used for a wider audience. The plot is a little far fetched but together Nasreen and Freddie have the skills to catch the bad guys. However, this buy one, get one free style of policing is a little hard to believe. Nasreen gets her police salary but her old school pal Freddie can work unpaid alongside the police team to get the result. Freddie is even given a lanyard to wear, calling her a consultant, so she can stroll around the police station at will. Pull the other one, Angela.

The characterisation of Nasreen and Freddie develops at a fair pace. They have a long standing and cosy relationship that is easy for the reader to play along with. But for all the seriousness of this novel, including suicide or perhaps murder, our crime solving duo come across just like those charming television presenters Mel and Sue.

As I read through Watch Me, I could not get the image of Mel and Sue out of my mind. Even the way the evidence was presented seemed so much like an episode of The Great British Bake Off. Regular police work involves a lot of disciplines and tools but good old Freddie needs just the one tool to solve the case, her blasted smartphone. I read so much about Freddie using her wonderful smartphone, I just hoped she would trip on the stairs and her internet enabled mobile would crash up her backside.

I found Watch Me to be an okay read, it has it’s faults but passed the time. It has a happy ending and can serve as a warning to new users of social media. But for reading pleasure, Watch Me gets the middle score of 3 stars from me. Having read this, I will not bother to read the first book as I get the general idea. I would not be surprised that as more social media platforms are launched, Nasreen and Freddie will embark on another half crime solving adventure that repeats Follow Me and Watch Me in book 3. When authors write a series, each book should have new content and not rely on previous work.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Avon Books UK for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review.