April 2025 Reads

 

April has been busy, busy, busy and I know my reading has taken a knock because of this. It’s always a fine balance between finding time to read and getting out and about doing stuff. One of the highlights of the month was going to an author talk at my local library featuring Mari Hannah. Although I’d seen her just a month before at Bay Tales 25 (you can find out all about the festival here) when she was one of a panel of four, this time around it was just Mari. The hour just flew by. April is rounded off with a much-needed holiday. My Kindle is choc-a-block with books I want to read.

The month began with Dead Water, the third book in the Rees & Khan series from Simon Toyne. When a headless body is washed up on the banks of the Thames Khan immediately realises that Laughton Rees could be in danger. The body has links to an old case Laughton’s father worked on and has a very personal link to Laughton.

They Had It Coming by Nikki Smith is a destination thriller. Following a break-in, Jude and Sophie decide the time is right to visit their friends Nate and Layla in Bali. Obvious tensions between the two women cause problems but it soon becomes obvious that everyone is hiding secrets. The big question is how far will they each go to keep their secret hidden.

The Lost by Mari Hannah is the first book in the Stone and Oliver series. Recently paired detectives Frankie Oliver and David Stone investigate the disappearance of a young boy. When the case quickly evolves into murder the pair wonder what secrets the wealthy couple are hiding. I enjoyed the interactions between the detectives who complement each other perfectly, Frankie isn’t frightened of telling her boss exactly what she thinks.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the previous books I’ve read by Laura Pearson, so was over the moon to get a review copy of her latest, The Woman Who Met Herself. When Debbie Jones knocks on a stranger’s door the last thing she expects to see is her own face looking back at her. The two women hunt through their past to uncover why they grew up apart. A moving story about family and motherhood.

By Your Side from Ruth Jones has it all; humour, romance, mystery and heartbreak. Linda Standish is approaching early retirement working for the local council in the Unclaimed Heirs Unit. Her final job is to travel to a remote Scottish island to see if she can find the heirs of Levi Norman, a man who spent his final years on the island and died alone. The whole book is populated with wonderful characters, however, both Linda and Levi are superb.

I was looking forward to the nostalgic aspect of In The Family Way by Laney Katz Becker since it is set in 1965 but this book turned out to be so much more. Told from the perspective of three very different young women we learn how restricted life was for women in America in the 1960s, especially if you were an unmarried mother or in an unhappy marriage. This book really highlights how far we have come as a society and it is frightening to think that some women don’t have the freedoms we take for granted.

Into The Fire by G. D. Wright has an action-packed opening when a man risks his life rescuing a baby from a burning building. Everything is filmed by passers-by and he becomes an overnight hero. Unfortunately, his past, one he’s kept hidden from even his closest family and friends, returns to haunt him and he quickly becomes a hated figure by many. We’re left wondering if we can atone for something we did wrong in the past by doing something good now.

I fully expected twists from C. L. Taylor in It's Always The Husband but didn't realise I'd be left reeling after finishing the book. Single mum Jude is new to the area and one of the other mums tells her to avoid single dad Will, hinting that he's suspected of killing his two wives. This piques Jade's interest and she sets out to investigate, leading to lies, deceit, blackmail and more.

Human Remains by Jo Callaghan is the third book in the Kat and Lock series which has a detective paired with a holographic partner. The use of AI is at the forefront of everything these days, so its use in policing, particularly the analysis of evidence and data, is entirely plausible. If you've read the previous two books in the series, and you really should, then the character development continues leaving a shocking and ominous ending.

Milly Johnson creates a microcosm of life in a quiet corner of Yorkshire in Same Time Next Week. Five women, ranging in age from mid-twenties to mid-fifties, all have issues in their personal lives. A newly created support group helps them address the problems they face. As with all of Milly's books, it's amazing to see what life offers if you are willing to take a risk.

My first audiobook of the month was The Show Woman by Emma Cowing. Set in Scotland in 1910 we meet a group of young women determined to form their own circus to avoid marriage, poverty and abuse. We get a fascinating glimpse of life on the road and the women struggle against prejudice and hostility, all while someone is out to sabotage their acts.

Julie Tudor Is Not A Psychopath by Jennifer Holdich is one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to. Told from the perspective of Julie, a forty-nine-year-old office manager, we learn of the crush she has on a younger colleague, a yearning that she is sure is reciprocated. The only thing standing in the way is a fiancé! So Julie sets out to get rid of the fiancé and the listener discovers that this isn’t the first time Julie has had to deal with this kind of problem. I adored the dark humour throughout.

Publication dates to watch for:-

They Had It Coming by Nikki Smith will be published on 15/5/25 in ebook and audio format. The paperback will be published on 22/5/25.

Dead Water by Simon Toyne will be published 22/5/25 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

By Your Side by Ruth Jones will be published on 22/5/25 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

The Woman Who Met Herself by Laura Pearson will be published on 23/5/25 in paperback, ebook and audio format.

In The Family Way by Laney Katz Becker will be published on 3/6/25 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

Julie Tudor Is Not a Psychopath by Jennifer Holdich will be published on 5/6/25 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

Into The Fire by G. D. Wright will be published on 5/6/25 in paperback, ebook and audio format.

It’s Always The Husband by C. L. Taylor will be published on 5/6/25 in hardback, ebook and audio format.