My Review (5 stars out of 5) Exploring murder in nineteenth century New England, crime writer Sue Coletta tells the stories of five female serial killers – Jane Toppan, Lydia Sherman, Nellie Webb, Harriet E. Nason and Sarah Jane Robinson. Delving into their individual backgrounds, she looks at the events that drove these women to…
‘High Risk’ by Ben Timberlake
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) Ben Timberlake delves into his various careers and non-careers as an archaeologist, Special Forces soldier, combat medic and drug addict, emerging in one piece, though perhaps not quite the same man as he once was. From a truly scary near-death experience in a very dodgy bar in…
‘Sherlock Holmes of Baking Street’ Nancy Holder and Margie Deck (Eds)
My Review (5 stars out of 5) This is a compilation of essays, personal reflections and short stories using the general theme of baking as a starting point. As with any anthology, some pieces are more appealing than others but for fans of the detecting duo Holmes and Watson, there’s definitely something for everyone. Several…
‘The Bleak’ by Keith Dixon
My Review (5 stars out of 5) When Sam Dyke meets a new client, her strange behaviour suggests he should drop her like a hot doughnut, but something about Margaret’s story intrigues him. Working in a secret research unit, the woman has serious concerns about her boss, whose own behaviour has taken a turn for…
‘Forgive Me’ by Kateri Stanley
My Review (4 stars out of 5) Amid lots of twists and turns this book reads like a mix of horror, fantasy and paranormal, with the narrative going off in different directions every five minutes. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – but for me it made the plot a little hard to follow…
‘The Dead American’ by Jake Needham
My Review (5 stars out of 5) When an American software engineer is found hanged in his Singapore apartment, the police quickly log it as a suicide and close the case. However, journalist Emma Lazar thinks otherwise and calls on Inspector Sam Tay for help, believing the police are covering up something more sinister. Trouble…
‘Biko’ by Donald Woods
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Activist and founder of the Black Consciousness Movement, Steve Biko was hounded by the South African authorities for his outspoken views on apartheid. Detained, arrested, banned and beaten by security police, Biko died on 12 September 1977. Daily Dispatch editor Donald Woods had become a close friend of…
‘Atlanta Deathwatch’ by Ralph Dennis
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Atlanta, 1974. Private investigator and former cop Jim Hardman takes what he can get in a world where getting beaten up and shot at are par for the course. Along with his pal Hump Evans, Hardman agrees to look into the disappearance of a young woman – girlfriend…
‘Let This Be Our Secret’ by Deric Henderson
My Review (4 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) True crime story set in Northern Ireland where an apparent suicide pact turned out to be a double murder. Eighteen years after the incident, dentist Colin Howell confessed to police, telling them he and his former lover, Hazel Buchanan, murdered their respective spouses. Although superbly narrated by…
‘Guardians at the Wall’ by Tim Walker
My Review (5 stars out of 5) At Hadrian’s Wall, a group of archaeology students explore the area close to the ancient ruins, searching for buried artefacts left by the Romans while guarding the barrier separating Roman Britain from the Caledonian tribes. Twenty-year-old Noah is delighted to discover a figurine, and hopes it’ll put him…
Colin Garrow 