Cold Christmas: Alastair Gunn review

Cold Christmas (Antonia Hawkins #4) 

By: Alastair Gunn
Rating: 3 Star

DCI Antonia Hawkins is investigating a series of murders where there is no sign of any external trauma on the bodies. On top of that, things are not going well in her relationship with fellow officer DI Mike Maguire.

How is the murderer killing their victims and what connects the victims?

The Last Dog on Earth: Adrian Walker review

The Last Dog on Earth

By: Adrian Walker
Rating: 3 Star

Adrian Walker's debut novel 'The End of the World Running Club' was one of my favourite books of 2016 so I was delighted to get an early copy of his new title 'The Last Dog on Earth' for review via NetGalley.

The Last Dog on Earth is set in London in the not too distant future.

Its main characters are Lineker, the faithful and world-weary dog and former electrician Reginald. They live together in a nearly deserted London.

The Light Between Oceans - ML Steadman Review

The Light Between Oceans

By: M.L Stedman

Rating: 4 Stars

The Light Between Oceans tells the story about an Australian lighthouse keeper and his wife who have their world turned upside one day when a boat containing a body and a baby wash up on their island.

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman Review

The Graveyard Book

By: Neil Gaiman
Rating: 4 Star

I have read several Neil Gaiman books over the years and have so far always enjoyed them.

This is a story about Nobody Owens, a boy who grows up in a graveyard with only ghosts for company after a mysterious stranger murders his entire family.

The Phoenix Project: D.M. Cain review

The Phoenix Project

By: D.M. Cain

Rating: 4 Star

The Phoenix Project is set in a future where the government has come up with an innovative solution to keep prison populations down. 

A new type of prison is currently on trial in Salverford where prisoners fight to the death, on television, as public entertainment.

Wool: Hugh Howey review

Wool

By: Hugh Howey
Rating: 5 Star

Wool and its follow on novels, Shift, and Dust enjoy a huge following. Wool is the first of the series.

Set in an unspecified future, Wool follows the story of a group of people forced to live permanently inside a gigantic Silo.

See You in the Cosmos: Jack Cheng review

See You in the Cosmos

By: Jack Cheng
Rating: 4 Star



Alex Petroski is a space-obsessed eleven year old who narrates his story via a series of recordings on his iPod.

He plans to launch this into space on a rocket so that aliens can one day learn what life is like on Earth.

His faithful companion is his dog Carl Sagan (named after the famous astronomer) and they are about to embark on the adventure of their lives, covering Colorado, Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Los Angeles.

Written in Bones: James Oswald review

Written in Bones

By: James Oswald
Rating: 3 Star

Written in Bones opens dramatically with the gruesome murder of Bill Chalmers, an ex-policeman turned drug kingpin who is found dead high up in a tree in the Meadows, Edinburgh.

Detective Inspector McLean is called in to investigate the murder and the more immediate question of how the body ended up being dropped from the sky.

Theodore Boone: The Fugitive: Theodore Boone: John Grisham review

Theodore Boone: The Fugitive: Theodore Boone 

By: John Grisham
Rating: 3 Star

I didn't initially realise until recently that John Grisham had a new series of books aimed at a young adult audience.

When I first started reading The Fugitive though, I could immediately tell that it had been written for a totally different audience than 'A Time to Kill'.

Earworm: A Novel about the Music Industry: Sean McManus review

Earworm: A Novel about the Music Industry

By: Sean McManus
Rating: 4 Star

Simon and Fred are working hard to make it big with their band -they just need a way to get recognised by the music industry and make their name known.

However, music buying patterns have changed, and the small record labels have all been bought up by Bigg records. This means that the chances of Simon and Fred 'making it' are getting slimmer all of the time.

Stealing Snow: review

Stealing Snow

By: Danielle Paige

Rating: 2 Star

17-year-old snow has been incarcerated in the Whittaker Secure Mental institute for most of her life. 

The regime there is bleak, routine, and full of anguish for Snow as she is kept away from her one true sole mate Bale (who is also a patient there).

Holding: Graham Norton review

Holding

By: Graham Norton
Rating: 4 Star

Holding is Graham Norton's first fiction novel. It is a classic murder mystery set in a sleepy Irish village called Duneen.

The Easy Way Out: Steven Amsterdam review

The Easy Way Out

By: Steven Amsterdam
Rating: 3.5 Star

Evan is a palliative care nurse and a registered, legal, suicide assistant. For patients that want to end their lives, Evan and team provide a service to assist.

Strange History: Bathroom Readers' Institute review

Strange History

By Bathroom Readers' Institute
Rating: 3 Star

The Bathroom Reader's institute aims to educate the world while they... ummm... freshen up.

This is their latest publication.

Under a Pole Star: Stef Penney review

Under a Pole Star

By: Stef Penney

Rating: 3 Stars

Under a Pole Star is set in the time of the first Artic adventurers and their quest to explore and chart unexplored territories.

It is also a love story between two of those explorers, Flora Mackie and Jakob de Beyn.

Personal: Lee Child review

Personal

By: Lee Child
Rating: 3 Star

The Jack Reacher series from Lee Child has a huge following. 'Personal' is number 19.

The Last Kingdom: Bernard Cornwell review

The Last Kingdom

By: Bernard Cornwell
Rating: 4 Star

Bernard Cornwell is the author behind the popular series of Sharpe books and in 'The Last Kingdom' he turns his attention to the 9th Century United Kingdom in the midst of the Viking invasion.

Promise You Won't Tell?: John Locke review

Promise You Won't Tell?

By John Locke
Rating: 3 Star

Promise You Won't Tell is a fiction novel by bestselling author John Locke. It is number 2 in the Dani Ripper series after 'Call Me'.

Into the Black (Odyssey One, #1): Evan C. Currie review

Into the Black (Odyssey One, #1)

By Evan C. Currie

Rating: 4 Star (space opera)

Into the Black is the first in a series of books set aboard the NAC Starship Odyssey.

As a big Star Trek and Star Wars fan, I was really keen to see what Evan Currie's take on a future universe would be.

The Mangle Street Murders (The Gower Street Detective #1): M.R.C. Kasasian review

The Mangle Street Murders (The Gower Street Detective #1)

by M.R.C. Kasasian

Rating: 3.5 Star

In the Mangle Street Murders, we are thrown into a dirty, horse-filled, smoky, and crime-ridden 1882 London and the unlikely duo of Sidney Grice, (London's most famous detective) and March Middleton (who has the dubious pleasure of having Grice as her legal guardian).