Category: Mystery

High Force by L.J. Ross

On By BarbaraIn Audiobook, Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery, Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

High Force (DCI Ryan Mysteries, #5)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: DCI Ryan Mystery #5
Publication Date: 1/30/17
Period: Contemporary Northumberland
Number of Pages: 265

Oh! What an exciting, thrilling, fast-paced story! I started reading this series with the 16th book, and I loved it so much that I’m now reading those first 15 books that I missed. For me, it isn’t a problem to read them out of order because each book has a stand-alone mystery. While there is a core cast of characters whose growth and relationships develop incrementally throughout the series, it tickles me to already where they are heading.

There is a nationwide manhunt in progress because a heinous serial killer has escaped his maximum-security prison. It was an exceedingly daring escape, but nothing out of the ordinary for Kier Edwards, a former medical doctor and serial killer known as the Hacker. DCI Ryan and his crew captured Edwards and put him in prison, but the cost to Ryan was unfathomable. (Read The Infirmary for that story) Now, Edwards is out and has someone very close to Ryan as his captive. Can they find and rescue MacKenzie before Edwards butchers her?

It is all hands on deck for the manhunt – every police department is working together to re-capture Edwards. He outmaneuvers them at every turn and bodies are showing up again. How many will Edwards murder before they catch him this time? This is Edwards’s former hunting ground and he knows it like the back of his hand. He knows every back road, every wooded area, every neighborhood. He is handsome, smart, and sly. How will they ever find him and rescue MacKenzie – or is it already too late?

This author’s books are always outstanding and she is right up there with the best in the genre. She has a way of making you feel as if you are right in the scene with the other characters – yet she isn’t overly wordy in her descriptions. The crimes are believable as are all of the steps in the investigation.

I listened to the audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed it. Jonathan Keeble (narrator) has a smooth voice that is easy to listen to and his delivery is well-paced. I will definitely listen to more of his narrations in the future.

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Blog Tour – Not Mushroom For Death by Helen Golden

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About The Book

TV Chef Luca Mazza Dies After Collapse at Food Show on the King’s Private Estate.

Luca Mazza (38), who was taken ill during a food demonstration at the Fenn House Food and Wine Festival two days ago, is now known to have ingested poison. Lady Beatrice (36), the king’s niece, who is working on a refurbishment project at Fenn House with her business partner Perry Juke (34), is believed to be comforting Luca’s boss and close friend Sebastiano Marchetti (38), who she began dating last month.

Is he crazy? Why else would Detective Chief Inspector Richard Fitzwilliam suggest that Sebastiano poisoned Luca without any evidence? So now, with the help of her little dog Daisy and her best friends Perry and Simon, Lady Beatrice will have to prove to Mr. Know-it-all Fitzwilliam that Seb is innocent. But with so many people having access to the food preparation area at the show, how will she find out who did murder Luca before Fitzwilliam lets his personal dislike get the better of him and arrests Seb?

Purchase Links

Amazon UK            Amazon US

Author Bio

Hello. I’m Helen Golden. I write British contemporary cozy whodunnits with a hint of humour. I live in a small village in Lincolnshire in the UK with my husband, my stepdaughter, her two cats, our two dogs, sometimes my stepson, and our tortoise. I used to work in senior management, but after my recent job came to a natural end I had the opportunity to follow my dreams and start writing. It’s very early in my life as an author, but so far I’m loving it. It’s crazy busy at our house, so when I’m writing I retreat to our caravan (an impulsive lockdown purchase) which is mostly parked on our drive. When I really need total peace and quiet, I take it to a lovely site about 15 minutes away and hide there until my family runs out of food or clean clothes.

Social Media Links

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Barbara’s Review

Lady Beatrice, Simon Lattimore, and Perry Juke are back at it again and totally at odds with Detective Chief Inspector Richard Fitzwilliam. If you’ve read the previous books, you know that Lady Beatrice and DCI Fitzwilliam always rub each other the wrong way.

A celebrity cooking event is being held at Fenn House, the king’s private estate in Fenshire.  Lady Beatrice and her business partner Perry Juke are at the estate to refurbish several rooms of Fenn House while Sebastiano Marchetti (Chef Seb) is there to oversee the cooking event which features several celebrity chefs.  If you read the second book in the series, you’ll know that Lady Beatrice and Chef Seb are dating.  However, Chef Seb sees it as a much more serious relationship than Lady Beatrice does.  For Lady Beatrice, the shine has begun to tarnish as she has gotten to know the chef better.

When celebrity chef Luca Mazza becomes ill at his demonstration and subsequently dies DCI Fitzwilliam has to investigate and decide if it is accidental or murder.  All of his hopes of Lady Beatrice and her cronies staying out of his investigation evaporate when he boldly tells her that it must be Sebastiano who did it.  Lady Beatrice, of course, was certain that Sebastiano didn’t do it and gleefully set about proving the obnoxious, overbearing Fitzwilliam wrong!

This was an interesting mystery with plenty of clues and dead ends to keep you wondering who did what to whom.  Of course, the star of the story is Daisy, Lady Beatrice’s West Highland Terrier who is cute, lovable, bold, protective, and a great judge of character.  I still don’t like Lady Beatrice’s mother, but she did come across as more likable in this story than she did in the last. 

I can definitely recommend this book with its intriguing mystery along with the good humor and lively banter among the recurring players. Should you choose to read it, I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.