February 2023 Reads

 

Six books read this month so my reading rate is slowly improving. Quantity may be a little low but the quality was outstanding. All six books were thrillers and all the authors are known to me so my expectations were high to begin with but I know that each author delivers quality.

February started with I Will Find You from Harlan Coben. I've been a fan of the author since the 1990's when I discovered the Myron Bolitar series but have always found Harlan Coben's standalone thrillers to be far superior. He has a knack for taking ordinary people and putting them in precarious situations, this makes you really empathise with the characters. In I Will Find You David Burroughs has given up on life having been sentenced to life for the brutal murder of his son. He's adamant he's innocent but feels he deserves the punishment for not protecting his son. When his sister-in-law uncovers a possible photo of her nephew taken recently David breaks out of prison to learn the truth. Plenty of action, tons of coincidences and pure escapism. It's the characters that really make this story and I love it when Win Lockwood puts in an appearance.

Next up was the cozy crime novel A Pen Dipped In Poison from J. M. Hall. This is the second book in a series featuring three retired primary school teachers. Set in North Yorkshire I really felt as if I knew the people and places. The mystery to be solved this time around was a little more gentle than in the first book, poison pen letters are being sent to staff at a primary school. Descriptions of school life are spot on thanks to the author working in a primary school. He also, sadly, describes the nature of academisation very well, showing how schools are more of a business now than a place of nurture. 

Book three of the month was the much anticipated (by me) Blood Runs Cold, the fourth installment in the Max Craigie series by Neil Lancaster. This series just gets better and better with each installment. The author uses his background of working in the Met to produce a novel which feels extremely real and very timely. Max Craigie and the rest of his team work to uncover police corruption. When a young girl goes missing they don't realise initially that corruption within the force, and other agencies, are involved. Great characterisation, particularly as we learn more about the individuals in the team. A story with a very human element, it certainly made me think a little bit more about some of the conclusions I jump to. There's also a couple of villains who make you shiver and fill you with trepidation as you read. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

Conviction by Jack Jordan was next up. Anyone who has read Do No Harm will see some similarities, this time around a barrister is being blackmailed to throw a trial and ensure her client is found guilty. From the opening pages there is an air of mystery and you are filled with numerous questions, not least of which is how Neve Harper is going to resolve her predicament. The story is fast paced because of a condensed timeline, this means the momentum never lets up. By the end I was as exhausted as the lead character.

When I read The Close by Jane Casey in January I didn't realise it was book 10 in the Maeve Kerrigan series. I loved the book so much that I promised myself I would read the rest of the series so February saw me making a start on book one, The Burning. Someone is assaulting young women and burning their bodies. When victim five is found Maeve isn't convinced it's "The Burning Man" who's responsible and starts to dig into the life of the victim. This is a brilliant introduction to the series as I really got to know Maeve, an ambitious detective in a male dominated team. As she investigates Maeve meets some cold and calculating individuals, people you'd hardly want to call friends, and a possible link to a seven year old accidental death.

Final book of the month was The Twenty by Sam Holland. I raced through this wanting to know where the story was going. Five bodies are discovered on wasteland, each one is numbered as if counting down from 16 to 12. The police realise quickly that they are racing against time to prevent the killer reaching the end of the countdown as more bodies are uncovered. The countdown is reminiscent of a serial killer who has been in prison for twenty-five years. Is there a connection? I loved the characters but early on had an ominous feeling that things were going to turn out badly. The descriptions are stomach churning at times in this gritty and fast paced serial killer thriller. When I was trying to decide on my rating for this I wavered between a 4 and a 5, finally settling on the 4. The downgrading was because I felt that the author was a little too descriptive at times, I'd have preferred the "less is more" approach.

One audiobook this month, Death Of A Bookseller by Alice Slater. This is a very modern crime thriller, I thought it would sit well with other recent novels such as How To Kill Men And Get Away With It by Katy Brent and How To Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie. A tale of obsession told from the perspective of two people. Brogan Roach, fan of true crime and serial killers, becomes obsessed with new employee Laura Bunting. The characters are the complete opposite of each other but Brogan is convinced they have a connection. The more she tries to get closer to Laura, the more she alienates her, resulting in murder. The narrators were fantastic, portraying each character to perfection. As an audiobook this worked really well.

More detailed reviews of each book are available on my blog.

Publication dates to watch out for are:

I Will Find You by Harlan Coben will be published on 16th March 2023 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

A Pen Dipped In Poison by J. M. Hall will be published on 30th March 2023 in paperback, ebook and audio format.

Blood Runs Cold by Neil Lancaster will be published on 13th April 2023 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

Death Of A Bookseller by Alice Slater will be published on 27th April 2023 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

The Twenty by Sam Holland will be published on 11th May 2023 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

Conviction by Jack Jordan will be published on 22nd June 2023 in hardback, ebook and audio format.