A Murder for Christmas

Check out this book on Goodreads: A Murder for Christmas (STAC Investigates) http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13103251-a-murder-for-christmas

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

John Grisham has turned a satirical eye on the overblown ritual of the festive season, and the result is Skipping Christmas, a modest but funny novel about the tyranny of December 25. Grisham's story revolves around a typical middle-aged American couple, Luther and Nora Krank. On the first Sunday after Thanksgiving they wave their daughter Blair off to Peru to work for the Peace Corps, and suddenly realise that "for the first time in her young and sheltered life Blair would spend Christmas away from home".
Luther Krank sees his daughter's Christmas absence as an opportunity. An accountant, Luther quickly estimates that "a year earlier, the Luther Krank family had spent $6,100 on Christmas", and had "precious little to show for it". Luther makes an executive decision, telling his wife, friends and neighbours that "we won't do Christmas". Instead, Luther books a 10-day Caribbean cruise. All goes well until people get wind of the Kranks' subversive scheme. Everyone, from Christmas card salesmen to horrified neighbours, besieges the couple with questions; what about the Christmas party, carols and the erection of Frosty the Snowman? Things start to turn nasty in the local neighbourhood.
Grisham builds up a funny but increasingly terrifying picture of how the tightknit community turn on the Kranks, who find themselves under increasing pressure to conform. As the tension mounts, will they ever manage to board their plane on December 25? Skipping Christmas is Grisham-lite, with none of the serious drama of earlier books such as The Pelican Brief, but a funny poke at the craziness of Christmas. --Jerry Brotton

Seperated at Death by J J Salkeld

A wonderful typically English book, a good read, great characters.

The teenage daughter of a wealthy Kendal family is found strangled in Serpentine Woods. This DI Andy Hall's third ever murder case and leads are hard to come by, and his personal life is in crisis. Meanwhile, his Sergeant, ex-Marine Ian Mann is faced with a very puzzling case, involving a local bad lad who suddenly seems to be scaling the ladder of criminality. Are the two cases connected? Can Hall and his team crack the murder case, and offer the very coldest of comfort to the bereaved family?

Separated at Death is the first in The Lakeland Murders Police procedural novel series, set in and around England's beautiful Lake District, and introduces the team of DI Hall, DS Mann and DC Jane Francis, a former research scientist and the newest member of Kendal CID.

Mat Coward's review of Separated at Death appeared in the Morning Star on the 19th of June 2013:

"If you like your police procedurals to be thoroughly British - and stuffed cover to cover with them - then I recommend Separated At Death by JJ Salkeld (currently only available as an e-book, £1.53).

The beautiful Lake District has plenty of problems the tourists don't see but even so Kendal CID's Andy Hall is rarely called upon to investigate a murder.

When the teenage daughter of a leading local businessman is found killed, with no evidence of a sexual motive for her death, DI Hall and his team look closely at her family and friends.

With the police suffering from austerity budgets and merger threats, Hall is painfully aware that the resources he spends on this investigation could mean job losses next year.

Separated At Death is a solidly plotted, well-peopled and a very enjoyable start to what looks like a most promising series."

Fatal Legacy by Elizabeth Corley

A great book, thoroughly enjoyed it.

All is not what it seems at the respectable firm Wainwright Enterprises. When the managing director Arthur Wainwright dies in a suspicious accident, his last will and testament throws the business and family into turmoil. Not only was Wainwright far, far richer than anyone had imagined, but, to the horror of the rest of the family, he has left the bulk of his estate to his nephew Alex and Alex's wife Sally.

The cry by Helen Fitzgerald

It was an ok kind of book, but not really my type of book, no mystery at all.

He's gone. And telling the truth won't bring him back...
When a baby goes missing on a lonely roadside in Australia, it sets off a police investigation that will become a media sensation and dinner-table talk across the world.
Lies, rumours and guilt snowball, causing the parents, Joanna and Alistair, to slowly turn against each other.
Finally Joanna starts thinking the unthinkable: could the truth be even more terrible than she suspected? And what will it take to make things right?
The Cry is a dark psychological thriller with a gripping moral dilemma at its heart and characters who will keep you guessing on every page.

Ghost in the Machine by Ed James

A brilliant book, i loved it.

Detective Constable Scott Cullen of Lothian and Borders has only been three months in CID as a full DC. He is assigned a Missing Persons case which has stretched his uniform colleagues. Caroline Adamson - a young, recently divorced mother from Edinburgh - has disappeared whilst on a date.

The more Cullen digs into her disappearance, the more he unravels her private life. Who was she on a date with? What happened during her divorce from Rob Thomson? As Cullen's own private life gets messier and the relationship with his DI deteriorates, Caroline's body turns up and he finds himself hunting for a ghost in the machine.

Book one of the Scott Cullen series.

Louisiana Longshot by Jana DeLeon (Author)

OK but a bit far fetched

A Miss Fortune Mystery Book 1

It was a hell of a longshot…

CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever – in Sinful, Louisiana.

With a leak at the CIA and a price on her head by one of the world’s largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element. Posing as a former beauty queen turned librarian in a small, bayou town seems worse than death to Fortune, but she’s determined to fly below the radar until her boss finds the leak and puts the arms dealer out of play.

Unfortunately, she hasn’t even unpacked a suitcase before her newly-inherited dog digs up a human bone in her backyard. Thrust into the middle of a bayou murder mystery, Fortune teams up with a couple of seemingly-sweet old ladies whose looks completely belie their hold on the town. To top things off, the handsome local deputy is asking her too many questions. If she’s not careful, this investigation may blow her cover and get her killed.

Armed with her considerable skills and a group of old ladies referred to by locals as The Geritol Mafia, Fortune has no choice but to solve the murder…before it’s too late.

Kiss the Girls by James Patterson

A fantastic read, with an unexpected ending.

In the most suspenseful thriller yet from the author of Along Came a Spide and Jack and Jill, Detective Alex Cross is on the trail of 2 murderers who may be working together. Casanova preys on talented college women from the Carolinas to Florida. The Gentleman Caller is terrorizing Los Angeles. The case takes Cross coast to coast and to the Deep South, where his niece, a law student, has been abducted. Will she be the next victim of one, or both, of the killers?

48 hours by J Jackson Bentley

A wonderful book, well worth reading, i thoroughly enjoyed it.

“If you don’t pay me £250,000.00 in the next 48 Hours you will die”. The text on Josh Hammond’s BlackBerry was blunt and chilling. Surely it must be a joke, but when Josh is attacked in broad daylight and people around him start to die he knows that his blackmailer is deadly serious. Can Josh raise the money, can his attractive new bodyguard protect him, who is blackmailing him and why? He has 48 hours to find out. The first novel in the acclaimed City of London Thriller series is a hit which will enthral everyone who knows and loves its London settings. Rich in detail and truly evocative it is a real page turner, told in around 100,000 words.

Backlash by Lynda La Plante

An amazing book, well worth a read.

Late night on a notorious high-rise estate in Hackney a white van is being driven erratically. The driver is pulled over by the police and questioned. A woman on the street after a long evening's drinking...She never makes it home. A suspect...an arrest...a confession...A case done and dusted! Five years earlier, a 13-year-old girl disappeared in broad daylight on a busy London street. DCS James Langton headed the investigation; the case was never closed. It has haunted him ever since. And now comes another confession, to this murder, and to one more besides. Too good to be true! DCI Anna Travis, pulled into the fray, isn't so sure that they have their man. Then the suspect changes his story...

The Remains by Vincent Zandri

To begin with, i thought this is going no were and was thinking of giving up on it, then all of a sudden it gripped, after a rocky start it became a good gripping book.

It’s been thirty years since the terrifying abduction of twin sisters Rebecca and Molly Underhill by a deranged man who lived in a cabin behind their house in upstate New York. Fearful of retribution against their family, the girls kept the incident secret.
Rebecca, now a painter and art teacher, and alone since Molly died of cancer, suddenly begins getting strange and anonymous text messages—the first with just her name. Is Molly trying to communicate with her? Not possible, thinks Rebecca, who’s never believed in God or an afterlife.
And it couldn’t be their attacker from so many years ago; he was imprisoned for a similar crime at about that same time. Surely he’d still be in jail or dead by now—wouldn’t he?
But things get stranger. Rebecca’s art student Francis, an autistic savant, gives her a series of paintings he’s done. Rebecca, with increasing dread, realizes the sequence of scenes depicted in the paintings match the nightmares she’s had every night since the horrific ordeal three decades earlier. How could Franny know? Is it a ghostly warning of some kind?
Unnerved, Rebecca spills the whole frightening account of the abduction to her ex-husband and friend, Michael, who, dismayed by the story, vows to help sort out the mysterious texts and disturbing series of paintings.
What happens next is a frightening rollercoaster ride that builds up to a soul-shattering climax that will leave the reader checking the locks on their doors and windows…

Gingerbread Man by Maggie Shayne

 Wow,  a great book, i loved it, it had everything you could possibly want in a good thriller.

Publisher’s Weekly Raves: “A moving mix of high suspense and romance, this haunting Halloween thriller will propel readers to bolt their doors at night.”

“A gripping story of small town secrets. The suspense will keep you guessing. The characters will steal your heart.” –New York Times Bestselling Author Lisa Gardner

Since the day her baby sister was taken, Holly’s mind hasn’t been the same. PTSD, panic attacks, nightmares and blocked memories have plagued her ever since. And now they’ve returned.

Hard-edged Detective Vince O’Malley’s most recent case penetrated even his protective shell. Ordered to take time off to recover, he can’t let go, and on his own, follows the clues to Holly’s small upstate NY town.

His presence stirs ghosts from the past, shadows of a little girl lost, the suspicions of some tight-lipped locals with secrets to hide, and more than that inside Holly’s fragile mind and untouched heart.

Disappear by Iain Edward Henn

A great book, i enjoyed every minute of it.

On a rain-drenched night, a young husband runs to the corner shop - and never returns. Eighteen years later, his body reappears. -Reappears, wearing the same clothes, and on the same street, from which he went missing. -Reappears, and is the victim of a hit/run driver. He looks exactly the same now as when he vanished. His widow, Jennifer Parkes, is determined to solve this enigma once and for all. Other bodies are found. All missing eighteen years. None seem to have aged. On the trail of a vicious killer, Jennifer and homicide detective Neil Lachlan are drawn into a human minefield of deception and terror; into the depths of a mystery that baffles the police and defies logic. Investigating at the forefront of scientific and medical technologies, they confront a threat that is much closer than either of them could ever have imagined. Praise for Iain Edward Henn, (author of The Delta Chain, an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Quarterfinalist and an Amazon UK - Mystery and Thrillers bestseller): "The novel's pacing is solid...hooks readers into caring about the chase..." - Publisher's Weekly. "...bona fide suspense...thoroughly compelling..." - Renee Washburn, Apex Reviews "Fast paced, great plot...hard to put down..." - from Amazon.com

Melissa and the Impossible Frenchie by Averil Ireland

This book was written by Averil Morgan who lives in Heacham she used to work for us, i heard about it from a friend.

I am not into Georgian Romance but i loved this book from start to finish, i enjoyed the characters and the storyline.

Melissa found Andre impossible: he was arrogant, proud and he drove her to distraction, but she could not help her heart leaping every time she saw him.

Andre is haunted by things that Melissa can know nothing of. He knows he must return to France and rescue those he loves. He has no time for romance in his life and he particularly does not wish to be bothered with a troublesome English miss – but Melissa will not be ignored. He becomes involved with her despite his determination to stay aloof but when she forces him to take her on his dangerous mission to France, he is determined to punish her.

Melissa is falling deeply in love, but the Frenchman is impossible and he makes her want to weep. However, she will not give into her distress and is determined to fight back. Despite needing his help on several occasions, she too has her pride.

Can Andre tame the fiery Englishwoman – and can Melissa overcome the impossible Frenchie’s arrogance. Can they find happiness together at the last?

Chimera Code by Andrew Towning

An exciting fast paced book, unbelievable at times, but a great read.

From Scotland to Sandbanks and Santorini Jake Dillon is lured into another thrilling assignment opposing an inimitable yet unseen adversary - the ultimate destructive technology - The Chimera...

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Last Line by M Pepper Langlinais

When Holmes returns to his childhood home after the death of his brother, Watson is confronted with the delicious opportunity to pry into his reticent friend's family history.

The Eden Project by John Bolin

A good book, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Anthropologist Alex Forsythe spent three years studying a remote tribe in the Amazon jungle when they mysteriously vanished without a trace. Months later, a teenage girl from the tribe turns up babbling about a horrifying place her people had been taken. The girl’s body is ravaged by a strange malady, and blood tests reveal an unknown, lethal pathogen. Alex realizes she must find the source of the outbreak if there is to be any hope of a cure.

Nearby, former Army Ranger Peter Zachary leads a small team into the jungle to film a reality show created to explore and explain paranormal phenomena. When Alex and Peter’s paths cross and they join forces, they face the most dangerous adversary they’ve ever encountered—and a technology that threatens the future of humanity. Faith and science collide as Peter and Alex discover the dark secret at the heart of The Eden Project.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

 A wonderful book of twist and turns, it includes everything in it, and the final surprising conclusion was awesome.

1961: On a sweltering summer's day, while her family picnics by the stream on their Suffolk farm, sixteen-year-old Laurel hides out in her childhood tree house dreaming of a boy called Billy, a move to London, and the bright future she can't wait to seize. But before the idyllic afternoon is over, Laurel will have witnessed a shocking crime that changes everything. 2011: Now a much-loved actress, Laurel finds herself overwhelmed by shades of the past. Haunted by memories, and the mystery of what she saw that day, she returns to her family home and begins to piece together a secret history. A tale of three strangers from vastly different worlds - Dorothy, Vivien and Jimmy - who are brought together by chance in wartime London and whose lives become fiercely and fatefully entwined. Shifting between the 1930s, the 1960s and the present, The Secret Keeper is a spellbinding story of mysteries and secrets, murder and enduring love.

Corpse Way by Susan Parry

Not too bad a book but i felt it was a little naive.

A quiet summer holiday in the picturesque Yorkshire Dales was just what Millie needed. No excitement, fresh air and huge helpings of her Grandmother's home cooking.

But Millie is drawn into an intriguing mystery that surrounds the isolated shooting lodge on the moor, the Dutchman who rents it and the sudden death of two residents in the village. Convinced that Lizzie Banford did not die of natural causes, Millie sets about finding the truth.

Set in the lead mining area of peaceful Swaledale, this is the first in the series of Yorkshire dales Mysteries.

The Archivist by L P Ferguson

A reasonable enjoyable read.

BS Moreton has a perfect life. Archivist to the Earl of Duntisbourne, he is admired by his colleagues for his intellect and steely morality, but when Sam Westbrook arrives from the British Museum to create a new exhibition from a unique hoard of erotic artefacts which have been locked away from public view for over a century, he is appalled, believing the collection will corrupt the minds of the visitors to Duntisbourne Hall. Sam has other worries. Is the collection real, or is it an elaborate eighteenth-century dirty joke? Did Peter the Great actually own a pudenda display tray by Fabergé? And could the eighteenth-century smother box really be in the style of William Kent?

As the new curator digs deeper, BS Moreton’s world begins to unravel, and the secret behind the Dywenydd Collection turns out to be more surprising than anyone could have guessed.