July 2023 Reads

 

What a month July was, I managed to get through ten books and three audiobooks; a big improvement over previous months. The increase is probably because I had a bit more time on my hands, but then again it could be down to the quality of the books I read. All of the books I read were thrillers and over half of them gained a five-star rating from me.

Author Alice Feeney has taken the art of misdirection to another level in Good Bad Girl. The lives of four very different women become intertwined when someone is murdered. As snippets of each person’s life story is revealed you begin to make judgments and assumptions, only for further revelations to leave you speechless and having to re-evaluate everything you thought.

Zero Days by Ruth Ware is a thrilling read, the plot and pace are exhilarating – they work exceptionally well with the theme of the novel. Jacintha “Jack” Cross works with her husband exposing the vulnerabilities of companies. When a job goes wrong, Jack returns home to discover her husband has been murdered and becomes the police’s number one suspect. Jack needs to evade the police while she tracks down the real murderer.

I didn’t realise that Just Between Us by Adele Parks was a sequel to Both Of You, however, it doesn’t really matter as the novel works well as a standalone story. We learn that Kylie Gillingham is a bigamist who is missing, presumed dead. One of her husbands is accused of her murder, despite the fact no body has been found. I found the variety of different perspectives, and what seems to be a completely unrelated character, disrupted the flow and I couldn’t immerse myself in the mystery. However, around two-thirds of the way through everything changed and I was totally gripped.

For me, the best dystopian fiction is that which changes the society we live in just slightly but has a huge impact. The Sentence by Christina Dalcher does just that. Set in America, the death sentence still exists but any prosecutor demanding it has to be totally convinced about the guilt of the criminal. Should the criminal later be exonerated, the prosecutor will face the same punishment.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting Fearless from M. W. Craven. As a huge fan of the Washington Poe series from the author, I was keen to see how his new novel featuring an action hero would hold up. We meet loner Ben Koenig, on the run from the US Marshall Service. He’s finally tracked down by his old boss who asks him to help after his daughter goes missing. There’s lots of action and a high body count in this pacey thriller.

C. M. Ewan’s latest offering, The House Hunt, will seriously make you consider putting your house on the market, or even view a property. From the opening pages, there is a sense of menace as Lucy, a young woman struggling with a range of neuroses after being attacked two years before, is left alone to show a potential buyer around her home. You begin to have palpitations as the viewing spirals into nightmare territory and Lucy has to face her fears if she is to survive.

I remember reading a few books by Linwood Barclay previously but haven’t tried any for a while. The Lie Maker is full of irony when struggling author Jack Givins is approached by the witness protection team to help them create back stories. They don’t seem to realise that Jack’s own father entered the scheme years ago. A number of unexplained deaths make Jack realise his father’s life is at risk and he needs to try and track him down. Twists galore and a race against time to save the people Jack loves.

I’ve loved David Fennell’s Grace Archer series since stumbling across The Art Of Death. Needless to say, I was over the moon to get my hands on book three in this series, The Silent Man. Archer and Quinn are on the hunt for a serial killer who creeps into homes during the night and suffocates his victims by wrapping their heads in duct tape. While dealing with this, Archer also has to contend with her nemesis, gangland criminal Frankie White. White wants Archer dead and this leads to some extremely tense, and emotional, situations.

Amanda, grieving the loss of her husband and daughter wants the man responsible for their deaths to pay for his crime. Unfortunately, there is insufficient evidence, so Amanda decides to kill him herself, however, she is unable to get close enough to carry out the crime. At a support group, she meets another grieving mother and they agree to swap murders. For most writers, this would be sufficient enough of a plot but not for Steve Cavanagh. The author fills Kill For Me Kill For You with so many twists you are left reeling as they come at you thick and fast. It’s one of those books that you just have to keep reading to see where the plot is heading next.

I finished the month off with the highly enjoyable cozy mystery The Golden Spoon by Jessa  Maxwell. A murder takes place during the filming of a baking competition. It’s obvious that someone is trying to sabotage the competition, but is it one of the contestants or could it be someone on the film crew trying to boost ratings? And would they stoop to murder? I found the characters engaging, the descriptions of the baking mouth-watering and the pace zipped along.

A couple of the audiobooks I listened to in July offered a little bit of light relief from all the thrillers I was reading. First audiobook of the month was The Madonna Of Bolton from Matt Cain. Having read a couple of the author’s novels I knew that this would be an enjoyable listen. Starting in 1980s Bolton, we join nine-year-old Charlie Matthews on a voyage of self-discovery and acceptance, aided by the music of his idol, Madonna. Charming, funny, nostalgic and bittersweet.

My next audiobook was the gripping The Chain from Adrian McKinty. This is a story of a parent’s worst nightmare. Rachel receives a phonecall to say that her daughter has been kidnapped. For her daughter to be released unharmed she must kidnap another child. It is made clear that if she contacts the police her daughter will be killed. It is also explained that if anyone further along breaks “The Chain” the repercussions will ripple back and they will both be killed.

An Escape To Remember by T. A. Williams was a nice bit of relief from all the thrillers I have been reading and perfect for the summer. Louise finds her boyfriend with another woman. Her job as a trouble-shooter for a luxury hotel chain allows her to disappear to Italy and oversee the upgrading of a rundown hotel. A variety of possible suitors appear, but Louise is adamant she’s not interested in romance. Or is she? The Italian setting, people, wine and food make this perfect escapism, even if the romance is run of the mill.

Publication dates to watch out for are:-

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney will be published 3/8/23 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh will be published 3/8/23 in hardback, (ebook and audio format are already available).

An Escape To Remember by T. A. Williams will be published 10/8/23 in audio format.

The Sentence by Christina Dalcher will be published 17/8/23 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

Just Between Us by Adele Parks will be published 17/8/23 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

The Silent Man by David Fennell will be published 31/8/23 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

The Lie Maker by Linwood Barclay will be published 31/8/23 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

The House Hunt by C. M. Ewan will be published 31/8/23 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell will be published 14/9/23 in paperback, ebook and audio format.