Book reviews are new to my blog, and one reason I decided to include them now is that it can be difficult nowadays (especially for those of us who live outside the UK) to have our reviews posted on a certain large online bookstore. The mini-reviews I’ll include here are short resumes of what I enjoyed in the books, a few sentences giving my personal opinion. They’re posted in the order I read them.
My choices for this week are both recently published, but that’s all they have in common – apart from being really good books, that is.
First up, Her Rising Star by Rachel Sargeant. It’s the fourth in an excellent series, but all can be read as standalones too.
My review: An intriguing murder mystery – or was it a natural death?
A man dies during a live broadcast of a TV chat show. DI Steph Lewis investigates, and uncovers some surprising facts about the chat show panellists.
Steph is a very sympathetic character and comes across as a person as well as a detective investigating a crime. Having suffered from migraines in the past, I felt for her in her quest to get rid of hers, and her relationship with her mother is believable. Mothers and daughters are a theme in this book, alongside the sordidness of chat show gossip and manipulation. Who is hiding what, and is it relevant to the death? The ending came as a complete surprise to me, though the clues were there. I’m looking forward to the next in this compelling series.
In contrast, Confessions of Crime Writer by Louise Mangos is as much humorous fiction as crime. This one’s a standalone, though I do hope there’s a follow-up one day.
My review: Entertaining++
Nigel Inchcock is one of the most unforgettable characters you’ll ever read… A thirty-something still living with his mother, he nonetheless inhabits a world of his own where pink is green and his book is one step away from being a bestseller (and making him a millionaire genius revered by all in the world of crime writing). I enjoyed the little references to his childhood, especially his pocket money (he still gets it) and things he made watching Blue Peter (still in use), not to mention all the biscuits. Nigel’s friendship with elderly crime writer Edith and her dog, the aptly named Riddles, provides more comedy, as do his appearances at the crime writing festivals he attends. A man dies at one – but was it murder, and what part did Nigel play?
For the next review post in a few weeks’ time, we’ll have two books with very memorable city settings.
Happy reading!
