***** NB This post first appeared as part of a Damppebbles Blog Tour. When the son of a hard-hearted Seattle mayor is accused of rape, it throws his mother’s candidacy for state governor into jeopardy. Meanwhile, crime-lab worker Clark is in trouble—with mounting debts and a threat to his wife’s career, the possibility of smoothing…
Category: Crime
‘A Fine Day for a Hanging’ by Carol Ann Lee
***** When 28-year-old Ruth Ellis shot her lover, David Blakely, in 1955, she set in motion a trial that rocked the country. Found guilty, she was sentenced to death and became the last woman to be hanged in Britain. With many theories about what really happened, this account attempts to lay out the facts, rather…
‘Still You Sleep’ by Kate Vane
***** In her own place and with her family and a support worker nearby, Vikki Smith seems happy – until she is found dead by a burglar. With a video and Vikki’s name trending on social media, the trolls come out of the woodwork. But could one of them be responsible for her death, or…
‘Pietr the Latvian’ by Georges Simenon
**** Georges Simenon’s first outing with his Parisian detective follows the pipe-smoking investigator round the seamier side of the city, as he attempts to track down master criminal, Pietr the Latvian. My first impressions of this book were that either Simeonon was a really crap writer, or that the translation is at fault, my reasoning…
‘The Moving Toyshop’ by Edmund Crispin
**** Poet Richard Cadogan sets off for a much-needed holiday to Oxford. Arriving late one night, he becomes intrigued to find the door of a toyshop unlocked. Snooping around, he discovers the dead body of an elderly woman. Before he can do anything else, someone bops him on the head. Informing the police, Cadogan is…
‘No Love Lost’ by Robert Crouch
***** When Kent Fisher interviews a young woman as a prospective new employee, he gets a bit of a surprise. But agreeing to help track down the woman’s mother, who abandoned her as a baby, he also sets in motion a series of dramatic events that could change his life forever. Aided by cop pal…
‘How the Wired Weep’ by Ian Patrick
**** Covert ops detective Ed needs a network of informants. Recruiting Ben, a young man recently released from prison, he must find a way for them to work together. However, vicious gang leader Troy soon drops them into a difficult situation, putting them both at risk. Battling their individual loyalties, can the two men fight…
‘In Harm’s Way’ by Owen Mullen
***** After an idyllic first year of marriage, Mackenzie realises she’s made a mistake. Her controlling husband Derek dominates her life, refusing to let her see friends and restricting contact with her family. But Mackenzie’s drinking is getting out of control and when she tells her siblings about a stalker, they don’t believe her. When…
‘The Quality of Mercy’ by Malia Zaidi
**** Returning home to London, Lady Evelyn plans to start her own detective agency and having done so, soon finds herself with a dead body on her hands. With her forthcoming marriage to Daniel also on the cards, Lady E must also consider what she wants out of life. In the meantime, she has to…
‘Deadly Harm’ by Owen Mullen
***** Five years after being abducted and held captive, Mackenzie Darroch is making a difference in the world. Running a refuge for abused women, things are going well. Then she’s thrown into a bizarre situation when she saves the life of a car-crash victim. But offering the woman a place to stay, has consequences –…
Colin Garrow 