March 2022 Reads

 

March was definitely a month full of thrillers and an unintentional theme for some of them - dark.

Early in March I read After Dark by Jayne Cowie which focused on a Britain in the near future where men are under strict rules and curfew as a result of crimes against women. This is a thought provoking story that raises lots of questions and shines a light on current events. Then at the end of March I read The Dark by Sharon Bolton, this also focuses on crimes against women but from a completely different perspective. This time it's men who think that women have far too much power and have more rights than men. Some groups of men begin to act together to terrorise women and demand restrictions on their activities. I found this story terrifying as it seems so plausible.

Dark Objects by Simon Toyne has everything needed for a fantastic crime thriller: a "locked room" style murder, links to a dead serial killer, deliberate clues left by the killer to taunt the police and an investigator with a past as traumatic as the current crime. The lead characters, DCI Tannahill Khan and Dr Laughton Rees, work together really well and I tweeted that I hope readers will see more of them in the future. Simon Toyne replied that they will, the next book featuring them is already written.

Brian McGilloway is a new author to me, however the quality of writing in The Empty Room means I will certainly be hunting out his other novels. Essentially this is a missing person thriller but the focus is on the mother of the missing person. The writing focuses on all the emotions a person must go through when someone close goes missing. There are plenty of uncovered secrets to keep the reader engrossed, however it's the empathy shown by the writer that makes this story stick in your mind for a long time afterwards.

As usual my thanks to NetGalley and a variety of publishers for the review copies I read this month. Dates to watch out for are listed below.

After Dark by Jayne Cowie will be published on 12th May 2022.

The Island by Adrian McKinty will be published on 26th May 2022.

The Dark by Sharon Bolton will be published on 26th May 2022.

We All Have Our Secrets by Jayne Corry will be published on 23rd June 2022.

Dark Objects by Simon Toyne will be published on 7th July 2022.

Daisy Darker by  Alice Feeney will be published on 18th August 2022.