My Review for The Bookshop Murder by Merryn Allingham

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Bookshop Murder by Merryn Allingham.

Set in the 1950s, The Bookshop Murder is the first in a new series for Allingham, set in a sleepy Sussex, seaside village and featuring Flora Steele, a bookshop owner, along with her sidekick, Jack Carrington, an antisocial crime writer who seemingly only enjoys his own company. Jack discovers a dead body in Flora’s bookshop and, after the police write the death off as natural causes, they investigate the death together. Along the way, there appear to be many suspects, but Flora and Jack, with the natural inquisitiveness needed, set out to discover what really happened.

I found The Bookshop Murder fairly slow, to begin with, but to be honest, I find a lot of cosy mysteries begin this way and gradually become more fast-paced as we move through the story. I guess because of this; I wasn’t as invested quite as quickly as I usually like to be in a book. However, Flora and Jack bounced off each other and they are both great characters finding a way into my heart by the end. It will be interesting to see what happens between the two of them in future stories. 

There are a variety of other characters in the book who play their own part as the story progresses and I particularly wanted to visit Katie’s Nook and relax with coffee and cake! Merryn Allingham is adept at drawing readers into the lives of her characters and I could envisage myself in many of the situations which are described so well.

I would recommend The Bookshop Murder to anyone who enjoys a cosy mystery. If you’re an Agatha Christie fan or enjoy M.C. Beaton and her Agatha Raisin series, you will enjoy this.

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My Review for Welcome to Ferry Lane Market by Nicola May

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Welcome to Ferry Lane Market.

I’ve read one of the Cockleberry Bay series and I know at the time I wanted to read more. However, for whatever reason, I just didn’t get around to it, so when the opportunity arose to read the first in Nicola May’s new series, I jumped at the chance. Ferry Lane Market will be just as successful as Cockleberry Bay and I will definitely, definitely be going back and reading the rest of the Cockleberry Bay books!

Anyway, onto, Welcome to Ferry Lane Market...... Kara is a thirty-three-year-old who has lived all of her life in Hartmouth, Cornwall, Working on a floristry stall in Ferry Lane Market, since leaving school, she is very family-oriented and loves her Dad, her Grandad and her best friend Star. Dumping her cheating boyfriend, Jago, Kara slowly begins a new chapter in her life, starting with renting out her spare room to Airbnb guests. Then, mysteriously, a plane ticket arrives and Kara has to decide whether to embark on the trip of a lifetime.

I love Kara; she enjoys her independence, but she also wants to share her life with those she loves. As she takes her trip, she realises she has a choice. The way she lives her life, the responses to everything that is thrown at her - how she reacts - it’s her choice, and May certainly shares that viewpoint well with her readers. As Kara returns home to Hartmouth, she is a more confident person who knows what she wants from life and how to go about getting it!

Nicola May’s descriptions of Hartmouth and Ferry Lane Market just make me want to visit and to mingle with the residents. I want to visit Frank’s diner and sample his ‘under-the-counter’ gin! I want to take the ferry across the water to Crowsbridge, and I really, really want to visit STAR Crystals & Jewellery!

An exceptional read for these UK hot summer days! Definitely check out Welcome to Ferry Lane Market if you enjoy contemporary romance and a heart-warming feel-good story.

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My Review for Love & Pollination by Mari Jane Law

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thank you so much to the author, Mari Jane Law, for asking me to review Love & Pollination. I love a rom-com and it was a beautiful story to read in the sunshine, and definitely a 5 star read.

Perdita Riley is experiencing some unfortunate setbacks in her life. At the beginning of the story, Perdita loses her job, but we are then taken back a few months to see her falling into the grasp of a man who only wants one thing, but a man that Perdita has lusted after for years. The story is then a continuation of the events which follow these episodes. Perdita describes events that happen in her life as ‘setbacks’ and ‘most humiliating experiences’, and numbers them all as they occur. As Law describes each one, you just know that whatever it is, Perdita will call it one or the other! 

Perdita Riley reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant and I found similarities between the two characters. In my mind, Eleanor had some autistic traits, and Perdita, particularly with the strange nuances regarding plant comparisons, appeared to be the same. I don’t want to tell you any more about the plant comparisons because it might spoil your enjoyment of the story. They made me smile though, and I must praise Mari Jane Law for how she thought of and achieved all the different words and phrases!

As the book progresses, all the characters become intertwined, appearing in various parts of the book and linking with other characters in ways that you don’t necessarily see coming. Some characters you will love, some not so much. Violet is a hilariously wicked old lady who tries to play Cupid, not always with the outcome she wants at the time! Gavin and Luke are Perdita’s closest friends and are with her every step of the way, throughout her tumultuous journey throughout the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed Love & Pollination and if you fancy an easy read with some love and laughs along the way, then I would highly recommend this. I sincerely hope that Mari Jane Law is writing more because I can’t wait to read them!

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My Review for Dead Man's Grave by Neil Lancaster

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Dead Man’s Grave by Neil Lancaster.

Dead Man’s Grave is the first in the series of the DS Max Craigie books and the first Neil Lancaster novel I have had the pleasure to read, and it was a real page-turner. I sort of wanted to get to the end because I needed to know what happened, and I didn’t, as I didn’t want it to end! 

‘This grave can never be opened’. The inscription on the gravestone is just the first mystery we are faced with, and they just keep on coming. Max Craigie and Janie Calder are detectives with Police Scotland, and they discover the first murder victim but are quickly taken off the case as corruption within the force becomes clear. A feud that began in the 1800s has led to the first murder...but will there be more? Craigie and Calder go rogue, as they begin to investigate the goings-on, unofficially.

As a police procedural novel, Lancaster has nailed it (unsurprisingly though, as he used to be a police detective himself)! Details in the book are incredible, and for me, this will always make a story more appealing. I like to know what is happening and why things turn out the way they do! The craggy and beautiful descriptions of Scotland and its surrounding countryside will draw you in. I was watching the dolphins with Auntie Elspeth :-)

The end of the book sets itself up nicely for the next DS Craigie novel and I will be checking out release dates for the next one.

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My Review for The Secret Path by Karen Swan

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thank you to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Secret Path by Karen Swan.

Wow! Just wow! I adore Karen Swan’s novels and I couldn’t wait to read The Secret Path, her latest release, and I wasn’t disappointed. It had everything I expected from her, several plot, twists and turns and a bit of romance thrown in too. What more could you want?

Tara Tremain was living the life she’d always wanted, studying as a Medical Student in London and besotted by her boyfriend, Alex. However, when Alex suddenly betrays her, she is forced to move on without him. Skip 10 years and she is now a Consultant Surgeon and seemingly happy with Rory. The story takes a sudden twist when Tara and her friends and family take a trip to Costa Rica and in the space of a few days, her life is upended.

Swan immerses you in the story she is telling, transporting you onto the Costa Rican beaches and deep into the Costa Rican jungle as we journey along with Tara on her adventures. Bringing together family and friends, loyalty and love, the author is adept at keeping us entertained throughout. There are many jaw-dropping moments and I often skipped to the end of the page to make sure things were ok, before coming back up and reading it properly!

Karen Swan obviously researches all her books thoroughly, and The Secret Path is no exception. Costa Rica is described so remarkably well, from the density of the rainforest to the humidity of the atmosphere, the jungle creatures that call this their home and the tribes who live within the jungle itself. 

If you have never read a Karen Swan book before then make this your first one, and then go back and read all her others. You won’t regret it!

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My Review for The Therapist by Helene Flood

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Therapist by Helene Flood.

Sara is a Psychologist and Sigurd is an architect, and they are living in a house that has been gifted to them by Sigurd’s mother when her father (Sigurd’s grandfather died). Needing a great deal of renovation, the house is in a bit of a state, to say the least, but work has halted due to lack of funds and because Sigurd is so busy at work. One morning Sigurd kisses Sara goodbye and heads off for a weekend away with his friends...never to return! 

The novel follows the police investigation, which arises after Sigurd’s disappearance and we become involved with Sara’s life as she becomes paranoid that someone is breaking into her house and following her as she tries to continue with her life. Throughout the story, we are introduced to Sara’s sister Annika, who is there for her every step of the way, and their father, who appears to be somewhat of a mysterious academic!

Helene Flood included many tiny sub-sections to the story which hardly seemed relevant at the time of reading but all came together as the novel progressed as we begin to understand the whys, where’s and what-ifs.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Therapist, the author kept me guessing right until the end, and there were so many plot twists I wasn’t sure what would come next. 

As a thriller, The Therapist isn’t the fastest paced book I’ve read, but it was far from boring, keeping me entertained from beginning to end.

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