Requiem (Kate Redman Mysteries #2) by Celina Grace.

Follow DS Kate Redman as she solves the death of a young woman she met in a pub the night before.

This is the second book in the Kate Redman Mysteries but it can be read as a stand-alone. As always it is better to read a series in the order they were published. I liked how Celina developed the relationships between the police officers, both for the reader and Kate Redman as she has recently joined this West Country constabulary.

I liked how Celina continued her character development of Kate, members of her family and the other police officers. I loved the plot and the emotions Kate felt having met the victim for the first time before she died the next day. What an awful position to be put into with the shock of it all as Kate walked along the river bank, responding to the crime scene.

I felt cosy reading about Kate’s day job and the reader feels very much fly-on-the-wall. Requiem is a very easy book to roll along with. The pace is steady and has a lovely flow. I liked the linear time frame and the hint that romance could blossom between the police officers later in this series.

All in all I feel that Requiem is a GOOD 4 star read and I will be more than happy to read other books in this series.

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

The Mother of all Things by Gabriel Grace.

Elaine Davis is happily spending time with her family at a fun fair in London when her son Charlie goes missing. Follow Elaine as she copes with Charlie’s disappearance and secrets from her past.

I did not take to The Mother of all Things as this story got off to a bad start. The early chapters of this book alternate between the present day and 5 years earlier when Charlie disappeared. This chopping back and forth between time zones really annoyed me.

Elaine then moved to Helmsley in North Yorkshire where she spent her childhood years. Thankfully from then onwards this story remained in the present day. But many more frustrations lay ahead. Gabriel would at great length describe his scenes centred around Elaine only for the reader and Elaine to discover she was having a bad dream or nightmare. This constant challenge between her dream world and the real world really irritated me and spoilt any possible enjoyment I might have been able to get from this novel.

Gabriel teases the reader a lot throughout his novel. “Beware zero six four two” features time and time again through this story, making the reader want to discover what 0642 relates to.

There is a dark side to Elaine and mental health issues are thrown into the mix. Try not to smile when Elaine gives Ashton a surprise to remember!

The story rolled on with the action accelerating to a tremendous climax. But when I got to the end of The Mother of all Things, there were many details that were not resolved. I finished this book and was very disappointed with all the loose ends that were left behind. It is okay authors leaving room for the next book but most readers want closure when they have got to the end of a book.

I was not impressed with The Mother of all Things and consider it a POOR 2 star read. This is the first book I have read from Gabriel but I shall not invest my time to read another book from him.

The Mother of all Things is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2018.

Hushabye (Kate Redman Mysteries #1) by Celina Grace.

And welcome to a new author for me and a new series to enjoy. Hushabye is the first book in the Kate Redman Mysteries. Kate is a Detective Sergeant on her first day in the West Country. She is not faced with a garden shed burglary but a missing baby and a murdered girl.

This is a typical British police procedural thriller that is easy to read and follow. Celina’s writing flows crisp and swift with a tabloid style that is easy on the brain. Sadly Celina does not use real locations but makes up fictional and generic settings for her scenes. So bang goes the added value of holiday makers touring the West Country spotting the locations from this novel.

The plot was interesting with the usual finger pointing you would expect from any mystery. I will not give any spoilers, you can make your own assumptions as to who and why somebody took the baby and murdered the girl.

Character development of Kate and her fellow officers was standard and typical of average television police dramas. The dialogue between characters was functional, for example…

“We’ll be off now, but we’ll be in touch very soon. There’ll be a family liaison officer staying behind to support you and of course, if there are any problems, don’t hesitate to get in touch. DS Redman, could you come with me?”

...I think that although Hushabye is a routine and quite standard police procedural, it is indeed a pleasant 4 star GOOD read.

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

Asking for a Friend by Andi Osho.

 Remember years ago before online dating apps you could persuade one of your friends to approach a stranger to put in a good word on your behalf to ask them out for a date. The common used phrase at the time was “Asking for a Friend”. Move forward to the current day and follow 3 best friends as they share good and bad times, plus a number of dates.

I loved the format of this novel. Each chapter is from the point of view of the 3 best friends, Jemima 42, Meagan 29 and Simi 35. There is a strict linear time frame so that when you start a new chapter, it follows the moment after the previous chapter ended, even if the same characters are still in the same room. This made this novel extremely easy to follow and made the reader feel like the fly on the wall. In many ways the dynamics and chemistry of this book is the same as the popular British television series Birds of a Feather.

I think the writing quality is very high and with an extensive vocabulary. The pace is lovely with good editing, so there are no slow or boring bits. The story is a continuous roll as though you are living along with the characters. I found this novel to be engaging, bright and refreshing with a huge feel good factor.

Character development is very good and although it is centred around 3 women, this novel should appeal to male readers too. This is because Andi Osho is a successful British stand up comedian and her humour appeals to both genders. Of course men find some things especially funny, so here are my top 3 from this book…

‘You got her to take a shower?’ said Jemima as Meagan walked back into the living room. ‘She smelt like a steak bake, babes.’

What happened to the cursory ‘hi’ followed by a frantic quickie? One time they’d got down to it so fast it was only afterwards she realised she still had her handbag on her shoulder.

Nether regions that felt like a pounded chicken escalope. Yep. Sex had taken place.

… I wonder if Andi knows how many men are attracted by the smell of steak bakes? Apart from the thought of making love to a girl smelling like a steak bake, there is a fair amount of romance in this story but nothing to offend your grandmother or 69 year old wife.

Andi is a very intelligent woman and by coincidence I saw a repeat on television the other night of her appearing on The Chase back in 2017. The 3 other contestants did not get through to the final round, so Andi was on her own against the Chaser. Generally the Chaser always wins in this television quiz as it is their day job. However, Andi was so good at the vast range of questions, she beat the Chaser and won £7,000 for charity.

Asking for a Friend is the debut novel that is simply a pleasure to read. I was really impressed by the quality and her talent shines bright. I think this book is an OUTSTANDING read that gets the top score of 5 stars from me. This story would make a great television comedy drama to be broadcast after the 21:00 watershed, maybe sponsored by Greggs.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher HQ Harper Collins for giving me a copy on the understanding that I post a review.

Asking for a Friend is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2021.