July Book Reviews: Crime, crime and more crime

I was very excited about visiting Harrogate for the Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (see recent blog post for more info on that) this month and wanted to read a few authors that would be attending the event - hence the crime theme this month...

Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham 

I struggled with choosing a rating for this book... Let me explain: It's my first Mark Billingham book and I did enjoy it. I thought the idea was realistic and quite scary. However, the style was a bit confusing for me - I wasn't always sure who's point of view we were following. Also, I was a bit disappointed with the reveal of Thorne's memory that had haunted him for 15 years! I just expected more from it. I'd recommend this, and read the next in the series to see if I could get along with the style.

You can read my full review on Goodreads.

Click here to buy Sleepyhead on Amazon.

Mortal Justice: a justice series novella by M.A Comley

Eek! A #JusticeJourney fix was just what I needed. If you've read my reviews on Goodreads/Amazon you will know I am a huge Justice series fan, so loved to see a little novella pop up from Mel Comley.

Yes, it's a short story but it doesn't hold back and packs a punch, just as you would expect from the author. If you haven't started the justice series yet, this is ideally read between the first (which is free!) and second books.

You can read my full review on Goodreads.

Click here to buy Mortal Justice on Amazon.

Snatched from Home by Graham Smith

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It felt very raw - especially thanks to a few particular characters - but very real; there was emotion in there too. I can completely understand why DI Harry Evans has been dubbed by some as the inspector you love to hate.

Graham Smith has another book due out soon and, after reading Snatched From Home, I'm looking forward to it.

You can read my full review on Goodreads.

Click here to buy Snatched from Home on Amazon.

The Optician's Wife by Betsy Reavley

It's another 5 star read of 2016 for me! This book really held my interest and I was invested with the main character, Deborah. I enjoyed the way it was written and thought some of the characters were evil personified.

Definitely one to add to your 'to be read' list this year.

You can read my full review on Goodreads.

Click here to buy The Optician's Wife on Amazon.