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Friday, February 18, 2022

Published 14-20 February 2022

I'm expanding on my monthly listing. These are the 19 books published between 14 and 20 February 2022. Blurbs and covers taken from Amazon.

This is a trial set of posts for February so I'd love some feedback as to whether they're useful, and/or encourages you to seek out titles that a basic list doesn't. So far the feedback has been very positive. I think I'll have to stick with weekly lists for these type of posts, as there's too many titles for one post.


Adolfsson, Maria - Wild Shores #2 Doggerland trilogy tr. Agnes Broomé 
 
A disused quarry. A suspicious death. A dark past bubbling to the surface . . .

Though Detective Karen Eiken Hornby returned to her homeland, the island nation Doggerland, from London some years ago, she has largely avoided visiting the northernmost island where her father's wayward family reside.

But when a man's body is discovered in a flooded quarry on Noorö and with illness preventing any of her colleagues attending, Karen has no choice but to head north to investigate.

However, with limited resources at her disposal Karen is largely on her own - and she cannot shake the feeling that her relatives, with their somewhat lax approach to the rule of law, could be involved . . .
 

Alonge, Amen - A Good Day To Die #1 Pretty Boy
 
Meet Pretty Boy. Vengeance is on his mind.

His real name:
Unknown

His code of conduct:
Don't be a pawn in someone else's game.
Never underestimate the enemy.
Above all, survive. There is no glory in death.

His mission:
It's been ten years since Pretty Boy left the big city - today he's back. No one knows why, but it's clear that revenge is on his mind: he is determined to make the person responsible for his exile from the London scene finally pay. But his plans seem derailed when he takes possession of a bracelet, unaware that its original owner has set a high price for its safe return. Suddenly, the hunter becomes the hunted and Pretty Boy will have to find out if it is indeed a 'good day to die'.


Jam-packed with action, an unforgettable cast of characters and peppered with dry humour, A Good Day to Die marks the arrival of a fresh and exciting new voice in thriller writing.
 

Austin, Stephanie - A Devon Night's Death #5 Juno Browne
 
 
Barnes, Charlotte - The Things I Didn't Do 

A writer interrogates a woman who may or may not have killed her husband, in a taut tale of psychological suspense by the author of Sincerely, Yours.


After twenty-five years in the remote English countryside, living under an assumed name, Erica Miller has decided it’s time for the world to hear her story—from her point of view, rather than from the tabloids or the gossips who think she got away with murder.

She hires Prudence Carr to write about her privileged childhood, her marriage, the affairs, the day her husband disappeared, and the day his body was found in the marshes. Despite evidence against her, the jury refused to convict, leaving Erica to live a life of quiet isolation.

Erica has a lot to say. But as the story unfolds, so does Prudence. It is clear that this project could make Prudence’s career. In this compelling novel of mystery and deceit, everything will depend on who gets the last word . . .

Berry, Freya - The Dictator's Wife 
 
WOMAN
I learned early in life how to survive. A skill that became vital in my position.

WIFE
I was given no power, yet I was expected to hold my own with the most powerful man in the country.

MOTHER OF THE NATION
My people were my children. I stood between him and them.

I am not the person they say I am.
I am not my husband.
I am innocent.

Do you believe me?


Visceral and thought provoking, haunting and heartbreaking, The Dictator's Wife will hold you in its grip until its powerful conclusion and keep you turning the pages long into the night.


Comley,  M A - The Missing Wife #7 DI Sally Parker
 
Years have gone by, justice was served. The case closed. Until now.

The body of a woman, missing for twelve years, is discovered during a routine dig on a nature reserve. It’s up to DI Sally Parker and her team to revisit the evidence. Was the right man convicted? Are there more victims?

On-going investigations are piling on the pressure, forcing Sally to reach out to an old friend for help.

The team are driven to provide closure for the family, but can the killer escape conviction yet again?

From the New York Times Bestselling author who brought you the Justice Series, M A Comley now brings you The Missing Wife, the next gripping installment in the nail-biting DI Sally Parker Cold Case series.
 
Corcoran, Caroline - Five Days Missing 

I did this. The most awful thing…’

Romilly disappeared hours after giving birth, leaving behind her baby. Now, those closest to her rally around to look after the little girl, and to figure out what drove Romilly to do such a thing.
 
Her husband Marc has an explanation that makes total sense. But is the easiest solution always the right one? And does someone in Romilly’s tight circle know more than they are letting on?
 
As secrets spill out and old ties are tested to their limits, one thing is clear: the truth will come out. The question is, who will still be alive to hear it?

A twist-filled, emotional tale of dark pasts and even darker secrets – perfect for fans of Adele Parks and Heidi Perks.


Dixon, Helena - Murder in First Class #8 Miss Underhay 

All aboard a train bound for... murder.

Kitty Underhay is looking forward to a week of long lunches and wedding planning with her husband-to-be, Captain Matthew Bryant. But the plan is derailed when he is called on to collect a former comrade-in-arms, arriving on the 15:50 from Bakerloo. As the train bearing Simon Travers pulls up to the platform, a piercing scream rises over the screech of its brakes. Travers is dead in his seat, a dagger in his heart. 

Who gave this defenceless man a one-way ticket to the next life? And why? And could Matt's close connection put him at risk? Only a few individuals had access to Travers's compartment, and Kitty must find out which of these seemingly benign passengers is in fact a cross-country killer

But when Kitty's prime suspect, the travelling salesman with no merchandise, is found murdered, she is stumped. Until she makes the connection between the two victims and realises that this murderer has an even more deadly destination in mind. Can she stop them before they strike again? Or will Kitty's own next stop be the graveyard? 

A pitch-perfect and totally gripping Golden Age historical cozy mystery! Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss.


Ewan, C M - The Interview
 
It’s 5 p.m. on a Friday.
You have been called to an interview for your dream job.
In a stunning office thirteen floors above the city below, you are all alone with the man interviewing you.
Everyone else has gone home for the weekend.
The interview gets more and more disturbing.
You’re feeling scared.
Your only way out is to answer a seemingly impossible question.
If you can’t . . . what happens next?
 

Horst, Jorn Lier & Enger Thomas - Unhinged #3 Alexander Blix tr. Megan Turney 
 
When a police investigator is killed execution-style and Blix’s own daughter is targeted by the killer, he makes a dangerous decision, which could cost him everything. Blix & Ramm are back in a breathless, emotive thriller by two of Norway’s finest crime writers…





Jakeman, Jo - What His Wife Knew
 
SORRY

The only word scribbled on a note from Beth's husband before he disappeared.

The police believe that Oscar took his own life and this last apology was his way of saying goodbye to his wife. But Beth knows there is more to the story. As disturbing secrets about his life emerge, and the lies of those closest to her begin to unravel, she realises she never really knew her husband at all.

She wants to know what he was sorry for, and she's going to find out... but someone doesn't want her to discover the truth.

And they'll do anything to stop her.

What His Wife Knew is a gripping suspense which is not what it first seems. It is a tale of revenge and betrayal but also of family and loyalty, with a final showdown you won't easily forget.
 

Jarratt, Laura - Disappeared 

Let it burn. Let everything burn.

One day Cerys walks out of her comfortable life, never to return. Standing on a hillside at night with no phone and no possessions, watching her car set alight, she believes this is the end. And then Lily walks into her life.

Lily is desperate for a new start for herself and her child. More than that, she knows she has to disappear in order to keep them both safe.

The two women strike a fierce bond, and are both running from things that soon threaten to catch up with them. Can these two women keep each other safe... Can they trust each other ? Or are the pasts they've escaped too much for either of them to bear?

A deeply emotional and complex thriller that explores motherhood, love and the desperate need to protect it... at any cost.

Matthews, L V - The Twins

TWO SISTERS. AN INTENSE BOND. A BITTER RIVALRY.

Margo is a live-in nanny for an upper-class family. Cora is a penniless dancer on the cusp of a big break.

Total opposites, bound by the worst secret you can imagine.

And when it's revealed, only one can survive.

But can there be a winner when a secret is so dark?

 
 

McCleave,  Simon - The Lake Vyrnwy Killings (ebook only) #11 DI Ruth Hunter 

A missing husband. A gruesome discovery. DI Ruth Hunter and her partner, DS Nick Evans, must decide if the two are linked and if a local man is the victim of a Liverpool gangland hit.

Ruth and Nick are called to a gruesome discovery at the beautiful Lake Vyrnwy but have little to go on to identify the grisly remains. When a local man is reported missing, it seems that his links to a Merseyside gang might explain his disappearance. However, closer scrutiny seems to suggest that it might also be a domestic dispute that simply got out of hand.

When the man is spotted at various locations, Ruth and Nick must discover if he is on the run and hiding, or if there is a darker manipulation that could explain the sightings.

The Lake Vyrnwy Killings is the eleventh book in the DI Ruth Hunter Murder Case Snowdonia series. If you like chilling police procedurals, true-to-life characters, and psychological twists, then you’ll love Simon McCleave’s page-turning thrill ride.
 
McCulloch, Amy - Breathless 
 
When struggling journalist Cecily Wong is invited to join an expedition to climb one of the world's tallest mountains, it seems like the chance of a lifetime.

She doesn't realise how deadly the climb will be.

As their small team starts to climb, things start to go wrong. There's a theft. Then an accident. Then a mysterious note, pinned to her tent:
there's a murderer on the mountain.

The higher they get, the more dangerous the climb becomes, and the more they need to trust one another.

And that's when Cecily finds the first body . . .
 

Oswald, James - All That Lives #12 Detective Inspector McLean, Edinburgh

Two victims. Nothing connects them, except that someone buried them in the exact same way.
Seven hundred years apart.

An archaeological dig at the old South Leith parish kirkyard has turned up a mysterious body dating from around seven hundred years ago. Some suspect that this gruesome discovery is a sacrifice, placed there for a specific purpose.

Then a second body is unearthed. This victim went missing only thirty years ago - but the similarities between her death and the ancient woman's suggest something even more disturbing.

Drawn into the investigation, Inspector McLean finds himself torn between a worrying trend of violent drug-related deaths and uncovering what truly connects these bodies. When a third body is discovered, and too close for comfort, he begins to suspect dark purpose at play - and that whoever put them there is far from finished.

Raybourn, Deanna - An Impossible Impostor #7 Veronica Speedwell, adventuress and butterfly hunter, Victorian London

London, 1889. Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian beau Stoker are summoned by Sir Hugo Montgomerie, head of Special Branch. He has a personal request on behalf of his goddaughter, Euphemia Hathaway. After years of traveling the world, her eldest brother, Jonathan, heir to Hathaway Hall, was believed to have been killed in the catastrophic eruption of Krakatoa a few years before. But now a man matching Jonathan's description and carrying his possessions has arrived at Hathaway Hall with no memory of his identity or where he has been. Could this man truly be Jonathan, back from the dead? Or is he a devious impostor, determined to gain ownership over the family's most valuable possessions - a legendary parure of priceless Rajasthani jewels? It's a delicate situation, and Veronica is Sir Hugo's only hope. Veronica and Stoker agree to go to Hathaway Hall to covertly investigate the mysterious amnesiac. Veronica is soon shocked to find herself face-to-face with a ghost from her past. To help Sir Hugo discover the truth, she must open doors to her own history that she long believed to be shut for good.
 
 
Tallon, Emma - Her Betrayal (ebook only) #3 Scarlet Drew 
 
If you love reading Martina Cole and Kimberley Chambers you will be totally gripped by this gritty, gangland crime thriller. Once you meet fearless and strong Scarlet Drew, you won’t be able to stop reading.

Head of the family crime business, and with a new guy in her life, things have never been better for Scarlet Drew. Working with her aunt Lily on their biggest ever job – revenge on the woman who set fire to their factory, with Lily’s daughter trapped inside – Scarlet is suddenly dragged into the local police station to answer questions about the death of a local gangster. The face she sees across the interview table shocks her to her core. It’s her new boyfriend, John.

Hours later, John is banging on Scarlet’s door, telling her he loves her and she can trust him. Can Scarlet risk believing the only man she’s ever loved, or is she putting her family in unthinkable danger?

As the night of Lily’s plan draws near, the police come knocking once again. This time with evidence that could see Scarlet locked-up for good. Can they still pull off their biggest job yet, or has Scarlet made a fatal mistake and let John get one step ahead of them?

A completely unputdownable crime thriller that will keep you up all night!
 

Veste, Luca - You Never Said Goodbye
 

A DEVOTED MOTHER
Sam Cooper has a happy life: a good job, a blossoming relationship. Yet, there's something he can never forget - the image seared into his mind of his mother, Laurie, dying when he was a child. His father allowed his grief to tear them apart and Sam hasn't seen him in years.

A LOVING WIFE
Until an unexpected call from Firwood hospital, asking Sam to come home, puts in motion a chain of devastating events. On his deathbed, Sam's father makes a shocking confession.

A LIAR?
Who was Laurie Cooper? It's clear that everything Sam thought he knew about his mother was wrong. And now he's determined to find out exactly what she did and why - whatever the cost.

What happens if you discover you've been lied to by your own family for twenty-five years?

Sam Cooper is about to find out.

 

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