Clickbait by L. C. North

 

TV reality show Living With The Lancasters has been running for seventeen years. During a tribute section, they show a twenty-year-old home video, which reignites interest in a missing person case, a missing person who was last seen alive at their home.

If you are going to read this book, then cancel any plans you may have because you won't want to put it down. Clickbait by L. C. North is the equivalent of those TV series you binge-watch. The author uses a variety of different media, as she did with her previous novel, The Ugly Truth, to get the reader's attention and then keep them gripped. This is one of those books where you'll keep saying to yourself, "Just one more page," and before you know it, you've finished the book.

Clickbait focuses on the rise and fall of a "real-life" family, the Lancasters. Mum, Lynn, and her adult children, Taylor, Locke and India. For the past seventeen years, they've been the stars of their own reality TV series, very much in the same vein as The Osbournes, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and even Made In Chelsea. The family has always been used to living in the public eye as Ed, the father, was a premiership footballer. Shortly after his unexpected death, Lynn Lancaster got the idea for the reality TV series.

It is during a tribute episode to their father that the children show an old family video from before the days of the TV series. Eagle-eyed viewers spot someone in the background of one of the shots, Bradley Wilcox, a teen who went missing after attending a party at the Lancasters' home. The family has always maintained that Bradley left the party in a taxi with a group of footballers, but the new video clearly shows this to be a lie.

Investigative journalist Tom Isaac takes up the missing person case; he's got a vested interest, as he knows the family, and this gives him access that other journalists don't have. In keeping with the reality TV theme, Tom posts all his findings via his YouTube channel, asking his followers what they think. By chipping away at the story and interviews with the family, the facade of Living With The Lancasters drops, and we see a family, particularly Lynn, who will lie, manipulate and fabricate to get what they want, at any cost.

There are twists galore, and you know not to believe what anyone is saying; not a single person can be trusted. Even with all this in mind, the conclusion is still a shock and left me feeling indignant.

Clickbait by L. C. North will be published on 11th April 2024 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Transworld Publishers for a review copy.

Author Details

L.C. North studied psychology at university before pursuing a career in Public Relations. Her book club thrillers - The Ugly Truth and Clickbait - combine her love of psychology and her fascination with the celebrities in the public eye. When she's not writing, she co-hosts the crime thriller podcast, In Suspense. She lives on the Suffolk borders with her family.
L.C. North is the pen name of Lauren North. Readers can follow her on Twitter @Lauren_C_North and Facebook @LaurenNorthAuthor.

A Clock Stopped Dead by J. M. Hall

 

A disappearing charity shop is the scene of a tragic car accident one foggy January evening. Pat, Thelma and Liz investigate the spooky goings-on and encounter events which put their friendship to the test.

A Clock Stopped Dead by J. M. Hall is the third book in a series featuring retired primary school teachers Pat, Thelma and Liz, and is set in North Yorkshire. The book sits well in the cosy crime genre and can easily be read as a standalone novel, however, reading the previous two books will give you an insight into a few of the characters mentioned in this book.

The story has a supernatural element right from the beginning and this thread is continued throughout the book. Marguerite, an ex-colleague of the investigative trio, wanders down an isolated country lane and stumbles across a mysterious charity shop. Upon entering the shop she feels that something isn't quite right, and when a strange apparition appears she bolts. Returning the next day Marguerite finds only a piece of waste ground, the charity shop has disappeared.

Hearing about the eerie event Pat, Thelma and Liz are sceptical until they learn that a woman was killed in a car accident in the same spot at the same time. The trio begin to wonder if there is something to their friend's story and begin to investigate.

The investigation leads to a troubled family and a house that seems to be frozen in time. Pat in particular is affected by the house, she has a sense of deja vu, and this maintains the ghostly theme. 

Strong feelings about whether they should be supporting Marguerite's belief that mysterious forces are at play causes a rift in the trio. The rift is widened as they go off in separate directions investigating and Pat makes a new friend, Jamie. I did like Jamie, although he was stereotypical, as he allowed us to see a different side to Pat.

Set around North Yorkshire means that the places mentioned are familiar and I felt as if I was with the trio when places were visited. What really endears me to the books though are the characters. I love how Pat, Thelma and Liz use their skills developed as primary school teachers to help them solve crimes; organised, teacher stares, using silence as an interrogation technique and knowing when someone, even an adult, is lying.

All the different threads come together in the conclusion. What had happened and why were not a surprise but I certainly hadn't figured out how and who. 

A Clock Stopped Dead by J. M. Hall will be published on 11th April 2024 in paperback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for a review copy.

Author Details

J.M. Hall is an author, playwright and deputy head of a primary school. His plays have been produced in theatres across the UK as well as for radio, the most recent being Trust, starring Julie Hesmondhalgh on BBC Radio 4.

The Final Hours Of Muriel Hinchcliffe M. B. E. by Claire Parkin (Audiobook)

 

Ruth and Muriel, friends for 76 years, live together. One evening Muriel predicts she will be dead in exactly 72 hours, sending Ruth's life spiraling out of control.

The Final Hours Of Muriel Hinchcliffe M. B. E. by Claire Parkin had me gripped, the more I listened to this tale of elderly friends living together, the more I wanted to know. The twists and turns of the story were narrated wonderfully by Jenny Funnell, who was able to give voice to two distinctly different characters. 

At the beginning of the book, we meet the elderly pair of friends as Muriel makes her terrifying prediction. Ruth isn't particularly bothered by this as she's used to Muriel and her overly dramatic ways. What's different this time is how specific Muriel is about the time of her death. As the story progresses we then learn about the intertwined lives of the pair.

Born fifteen seconds apart, their mothers bonded on the labour ward. When the friends say they've known each other all their lives they mean it. Pretty Muriel needs constant affirmation in her life, as a child she gets much of this from Ruth's mother. You can feel the resentment festering from an early age as plain Ruth is denied her mother's affection. This animosity continues throughout their lives and is at its strongest now. Ruth is entirely reliant on Muriel for somewhere to live since her career as a journalist had many ups and downs.

From the outset, you are sympathetic towards Ruth. It would appear that Ruth needs Muriel just as much as Muriel needs Ruth. What slowly becomes apparent is that Ruth is a classic unreliable narrator. The more we learn about Ruth's life, the more we realise she has been responsible for much of her own downfall. Mental health plays a major part in the story and there were times I was convinced that Ruth's mental health was central to the story; was she living with dementia? There were even times when I was convinced Ruth and Muriel were different personalities of the same individual.

I loved the way the minutiae of life and the house were described. The once genteel area of London that is now on the up, with neighbours describing the shed as a summerhouse and extensions as orangeries. I could vividly imagine the cluttered house, frozen in time, that Muriel and Ruth lived in.

I was honestly filled with sadness when I finished this book. Partly because it was finished and partly because of the way it ended. A story of two lives filled with jealousy, manipulation and resentment. Two women whose lives would have been vastly different if they had never known each other, but through chance happened to be born fifteen seconds apart on the same ward.

The Final Hours Of Muriel Hinchcliffe M. B. E. by Claire Parkin will be published on 21st March 2024 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan UK Audio for a review copy.

The Devil You Know by Neil Lancaster

 

Davie Hardie, a member of the Hardie crime family, offers information regarding an old missing persons case in exchange for better conditions during his prison sentence. He's also willing to supply evidence about the powerful person who ordered the murder. Hardie's one stipulation is that DS Max Craigie is not to be involved.

The Devil You Know by Neil Lancaster is book 5 in the Max Craigie series. Fans of the series know to expect a no-holds-barred, action-packed story and this is no different. The build-up to the involvement of Craigie and the rest of the Policing Standards Reassurance Team is a little slower than usual because of the way in which the storyline is introduced.

Davie Hardie hates Max Craigie, he holds him personally responsible for his family's downfall. As a result of this he doesn't want Craigie anywhere near the deal he's going to make for an easier life in prison. When Max hears about the deal he's immediately suspicious. 

Fans of the series will have an inkling of the way in which the storyline will develop when Hardie is taken, under police guard, to an isolated Loch, the place where the missing body has been dumped. What they won't expect is what happens next!

I almost expected Craigie to say "I told you so" as the team are called in to help with the case. From this point on the pace and the action never lets up. Someone is feeding information to a hitman, making the protection of their witness extremely dangerous. No matter how small the group of people in the loop, the information keeps getting out. Once again corruption within the police force is front and centre.

There seemed to be less banter between the members of the team this time around, but the story was set over a very short time period so there was less opportunity for them to sit around the office and make fun of each other. In book 4 of the series, Blood Runs Cold, I enjoyed finding out more about Barney. After this book he's become my favourite member of the team, he shows absolutely no respect for authority.

The conclusion will have you filled with fear and on the edge of your seat as the team appears to be in an impossible situation. 

The Devil You Know by Neil Lancaster will be published on 28th March 2024 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and HQ for a review copy.

February 2024 Reads

 

February is a funny month. January seems to last forever and February disappears in a flash, even with the extra day we had. I’ve had that horrible “100 day” cough that seems to be doing the rounds, luckily mine only lasted about 40 days but it did mean I struggled to concentrate on my reading and only managed six books. Added to this I really struggled to engage with a couple of them. I did, however, manage three audiobooks.

The month started with one of the books I found difficult to engage with, Moral Injuries by  Christie Watson. Three friends meet at medical school and at a party something happens, something they keep a secret for the next twenty-five years. When two of their teenage children are involved in a similar incident the women are faced with a moral dilemma. I liked the premise of the story and the characters were engaging but, generally, I found the story a little slow.

The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas was a complete contrast, the pace never let up, and there were a variety of different storylines and lots of twists and turns. Tasha and her husband snatch a much-needed break thanks to her sister and brother-in-law who offer to house-sit and baby-sit. While away the house is broken into and the brother-in-law is killed. A note implies it was the wrong sister that was targeted.

Another book I struggled with was Still See You Everywhere by Lisa Gardner. A prisoner on death row asks Frankie Elkin to track down her sister before she is executed. This involves Frankie going undercover on a sparsely populated Hawaiian island. Once again, this story had lots going for it, but every so often the momentum ground to a halt as the lead character dwelt on the past. Far too much navel-gazing for my liking. Added to this, I never want to see a coconut crab in real life after reading this book.

Things picked up from this point on when I read The Outsider by Jane Casey. This is an off-shoot of the Maeve Kerrigan series and explains what happened to Maeve’s boyfriend, police officer Rob Langton, after they split. My nerves were in shreds as Rob went undercover to infiltrate a crime family. It felt as if Rob was going to be caught constantly as he walked the fine line between staying on the right side of the head of the family and not breaking the law.

Ten Seconds by Robert Gold saw a return to the town of Haddley with the third book in the Ben Harper series. Ben’s boss, Madeline, is kidnapped and it looks like there are links to a murder years earlier where Madeline’s dogged reporting led to the killer being caught. It’s a race against time for Ben and Madeline’s father to track down the kidnapper.

The month finished off with A Stranger In The Family by Jane Casey, book 11 in the Maeve Kerrigan series. The crime the team are investigating is linked to a child abduction sixteen years earlier that was never solved. Revisiting the missing person case makes this more of a murder mystery than an action-packed police procedural. Fans of the series will be more interested in the developing “will they, won’t they?” relationship between Maeve and her boss, Josh Derwent. The sexual tension between the pair is off the scale, but you’ll just have to read the book to find out what happens.

Audiobooks

Murder By Candlelight by Faith Martin has all the hallmarks of a locked-room murder mystery, quaint village setting, lots of suspects, a wealthy spinster and ghostly apparitions. Add to the mix a bumbling accidental ghost-hunter and you have a cosy murder mystery that is enjoyable from start to finish.

The Antique Hunter’s Guide To Murder by C. L. Miller is great fun. It flows a little like an Indiana Jones style story as Freya Lockwood tries to uncover why her estranged mentor has been murdered. As she investigates, she learns about events years ago and the murder of her lover. The story is filled with larger-than-life characters, many of whom aren’t what they seem.

How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin concerns Annabelle Adams who discovers she’s going to be a beneficiary in her great-aunt’s will. On the day she is to finally meet her great-aunt Frances, Frances is murdered, bringing about a sixty-year-old fortune teller’s prediction. Annabelle needs to solve the murder if she is to inherit a vast fortune. Plenty of twists keep the listener/reader on their toes with a pantomime villain thrown in for good measure.

Publication dates to look out for are:-

Moral Injuries by Christie Watson will be published on 14/3/24 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas will be published on 14/3/24 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

Still See You Everywhere by Lisa Gardner will be published on 14/3/24 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

Ten Seconds by Robert Gold will be published on 14/3/24 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

A Stranger In The Family by Jane Casey will be published on 14/3/24 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin will be published on 26/3/24 in hardback, ebook and audio format.

Ten Seconds by Robert Gold

 

When news editor Madeline Wilson is kidnapped, her family is in a race against time to rescue her. The only clue they have is a cryptic link to a twelve-year-old murder.

I have enjoyed all three of the books in the Ben Harper series by Robert Gold, however, I think Ten Seconds is the best to date. The book works well as a stand-alone story, however reading the previous two books in the series gives a greater understanding of the characters involved in Ten Seconds.

Investigative journalist Ben Harper lives on the outskirts of London in the town of Haddley, a town where everyone seems to be harbouring a secret. Fans of the series will know that Ben is the type of character who never gives up when he has a story in his sights, even if his own life is put at risk. The situation is no different in Ten Seconds.

Madeline Wilson is Ben’s boss, she’s also the daughter of Sam Hardy, Ben’s old mentor. Sam is now retired but Ben still turns to him for advice, there is almost a father-and-son style relationship between the pair. With this in mind, Ben is determined to help find Madeline. The kidnappers have stressed that the police are not to be contacted so the pair have to use the skills they have developed as journalists. This also puts Ben in a difficult position as his girlfriend is a police officer.

Ben and Sam realise that the kidnapping is linked to an old murder case. Years ago the police had given up trying to solve the case, but Madeline refused to give up and through dogged determination and relentless reporting an arrest and conviction was finally brought about. As Ben and Sam investigate they travel the country looking for clues, learning that people close to home may be hiding secrets linked to the original murder.

Set over a short window of time means that the pace never lets up. The description of the kidnap fills you with trepidation, fearful that there will not be a successful conclusion to the story. The deeper Ben digs, the more you suspect everyone. A secondary storyline also adds confusion for the reader. I was deeply worried about Ben and Dani’s fledgling relationship. Time constraints, along with the kidnapper’s warning, meant that Ben didn’t confide in Dani. Dani felt that there was a lack of trust between them.

The finale was filled with tension as a number of lives were at risk. As all the loose ends are tied up there is a sense of relief but the conclusion is tinged with sadness.

Ten Seconds by Robert Gold will be published on 14^th March 2024 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for a review copy.

A Stranger In The Family by Jane Casey

 

What initially looks to be a case of murder-suicide of an elderly couple soon has Maeve Kerrigan and the rest of the team investigating a years old missing persons case involving the couple's nine-year-old daughter, a case that was never solved.

A little over a year ago I read The Close by Jane Casey not realising it was book 10 in a series. Since then I was determined to read the rest of the books in the series before book 11 was published. I'm pleased to say that I managed to read them all, along with the spin-off, The Outsider, which is set in the Meave Kerrigan universe and takes place between books 10 and 11.

I really can't recommend this series highly enough. Every time I've read one of the books I'd comment that it was better than the last. Each one is brilliant on its own and would be a satisfying standalone read but if you really want to understand the motivation of the characters I would suggest reading the series from the beginning. If that sounds like too much then possibly read The Close before you read A Stranger In The Family.

One of DS Maeve Kerrigan's strengths is noticing little details that others may miss. So when the team is called to a flat where it appears an elderly man has murdered his wife and then taken his own life it's Maeve's observational skills that make them realise that a double murder has taken place. The team quickly realise that the couple are the parents of Rosalie Marshall, a nine-year-old who went missing from home sixteen years previously and has never been found. While half of the team investigates the murder, the others, including Maeve, look into the cold case to see if there are any links.

The focus on a sixteen-year-old missing persons case makes this more of a mystery story compared to other books in the series. The story flits backward and forwards between now and the days in the run-up to Rosalie's disappearance. We meet characters involved in both time periods, none of whom come across favourably. Even Rosalie herself is a strange character, one of those children who is wise beyond their years and is not above manipulation to get what they want.

The murder investigation seems to be plodding along, with little progress in either case, until a startling discovery is made. Things then progress quickly, showing how dangerous assumptions can be, and leading to a bittersweet conclusion.

It's not the crime itself that the vast majority of fans will be interested in though, it's how the relationship between Maeve Kerrigan and her boss, DI Josh Derwent, has developed since the events in the last book. For a variety of reasons Josh has tried to distance himself emotionally, he even appears to be the one who is a victim of jealousy this time around. Josh seems to be in an impossible position, he's trying to keep everyone around him happy and making himself miserable in the meantime. The usual brash and insensitive veneer Josh displays is rarely seen. Maeve is wary, she can sense that Josh is conflicted, and wants to be a supportive friend, but she can't deny the sexual tension between them. Author Jane Casey keeps the reader on tenterhooks with the constant "will they, won't they" scenarios. Since my reviews are always spoiler-free I'm not going to tell you if they do or they don't. What I will say is that the epilogue will leave you in suspense, wondering how the author can leave fans with those final words and how long will it be before we find out what happens next.

A Stranger In The Family by Jane Casey will be published on 14th March 2024 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollinsUK for a review copy.