Now You See Her by Heide Perks

 Harriet needs someone to look after her young daughter while she attends a course. Her best friend, Charlotte, is more than happy to help out. All is well and good until Charlotte takes her eye off her for a brief moment and Alice (the daughter) vanishes.

Obviously both women are distraught, a huge wedge has been driven into their (former) friendship but it may just be that they are the only two people who can get a positive result from the situation.

As the story begins it is two weeks after the event and both women are being questioned by police. The early parts are mainly told in flashback as Charlotte and Harriet relate their version of events. It soon becomes apparent that there is more going on here than a straightforward child abduction.

I'll be honest, this one had me guessing till quite late on in the narrative. Right from the off it makes for a quite uncomfortable read as both women try to come to terms with what has happened. As the mystery unravelled I did find myself having a few later nights than I had intended as things got just that little bit more twisty and dark. It's one of those books that just keeps you wanting ' just one more page's.

Heidi Perks is certainly an author I will be keeping an eye on.

Highly recommended



https://www.waterstones.com/book/now-you-see-her/heidi-perks/9781780898834

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-You-See-Her-compulsive-ebook/dp/B076VWD8SF/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531843980&sr=8-1&keywords=heidi+perks

Disbelief by MJT Meijer - a blog tour review

First and foremost, thanks to Anne Cater and Crimson Cloak Publishing for inviting me onto this blog tour. Now, down to business...

Disbelief was, for me, quite an intriguing novel. With multiple killings at religious sites around the world, an artist who, seemingly, paints the killings, quite unknowingly, before they happen, a serial killer leaving bodies in Amsterdam hotel rooms and a psychic who is helping the police solve the Amsterdam crimes this could have been an overly ambitious effort but, somehow the author manages to pull it all together, and in a way that works well.

In true thriller style it all leads to a dash around various cities and sites worldwide in the hopes of saving the day and, I'll be honest, it was a dash that kept me up reading late into the night,  needing to know 'what next?'

What lead me to look up this book in the first place was, I'll be honest, the fact that some of it was set in Amsterdam, one of my favourite cities. What could have put me off was that it sounded a bit 'Dan Brownish' - I am not a fan of Mr Brown's books or writing style. Thankfully the city won out and this turned out to be a cracking tale with good characters and a pace that, as I said, kept me turning the page long after I should have been asleep.

If you like Dan Brown's novels you'll love this, if you don't then let this book show you how it should be when it is done right.

I'll certainly be looking out for the next in the series

Please be sure to visit the other spots on the tour, thank you

Snapshot - A Brandon Sanderson Novella

 Brandon Sanderson is probably best known for his big, sprawling Cosmere series and they are something he does well... but then there are his novellas and for me that's where he really comes into his own.

 Snapshot is a case in point. I only found out about it yesterday and in one sitting it was gone but this is a tale that will be staying with me for a long time.

 In the near future a machine has been built that can create a snapshot (hence the title) of a single day, populated by 'dupes' - duplicate copies of the populace who will cease to exist once the Snapshot is turned off. Into the Snapshot can be inserted Davis and Chaz, two law officers who investigate what crimes and gather clues that can help get a prosecution 'IRL' (In Real Life). In this particular Snapshot though they come across a crime they are told to keep well away from, a case that may involve the police IRL. What happens when they go against orders?... SPOILERS!! Yeah, you'll have to read this for yourself as, if I reveal any more it really will ruin the tale for you.

So, in short, Sanderson does Sci-Fi mixed with Crime Fiction, and does it very well indeed. Do yourself a favour and get hold of this novella as soon as you can. I'm still getting my brain round it now.

5*

Killing Pace by Douglas Schofield

In Big Cypress National Reserve, Florida Lisa Green is in a road traffic 'accident' that leaves her, battered, broken and suffering with amnesia. As she and her fiancee lay up in a cabin while she recovers Lisa starts to feel something here isn't right.

As her memories are gradually returned she regains training and skills she was unaware of and, as well as realising she is actually a prisoner of the man she thought was her fiancee, she also finds she is really Laura Pace, U.S. Border Protection officer - and a very good one at that.

At this point the story flashes back to Sicily and how she eventually ended up in the here and now.

As Laura (as she is now) escapes from the hut that has been her prison she must assemble a rather dodgy 'team' in the hopes of clearing her name and serving justice.

It's no big secret that I am a massive fan of the Jason Bourne films (not the original books though, never those) so the idea of what could possibly be seen as a female Bourne character left me in two minds. It could be a cheap rip off of an original idea or it could be marvellous. Thankfully Killing Pace fell firmly into the second camp. LP is a formidable creation with some very good skill sets that will hopefully be back for future adventures (and hey, maybe a big screen outing too - I feel this would translate well as a movie)

The only downside (and it's only minor) was that the flashbacks threw me slightly out of the story at times, but as the Pace picked up (ha, ha, see what I did there😂) I found myself tearing through this book to get to the resolution.

 Laura Pace stands on her own two feet as a series lead character and I am certainly looking forward to her further adventures.

4/5*

Girl In Snow by Danya Kukafka

Wow! What a surprise this was. Obviously I expected to enjoy it, that's why I opted to review it, but just how good it was was a revelation.

The story revolves around 3 main characters, told from their own perspectives and really, although it is about a murder, it is much more about the lives of the 3 and the small Colorado town they live in.

Cameron is a troubled teen who takes to sneaking out at night and staring through windows at people's lives.

Jade doesn't 'conform' to the teen girl image and is a bit of an outsider but also an observer of people in her own way.

Russ is a police officer, who used to work with Cameron's dad, who has secrets of his own.

When a local girl is found murdered most fingers seem to point at Cameron, who was quite obsessed with her, although Russ also thinks it may be his ex jailbird brother-in-law. To be honest, Cameron looked like the best suspect to me for a large part of the story too.

On the way to catching the killer we learn a lot about the past of all 3 and it is to the author's credit that each had a strong air of authenticity. Throughout the story they all come across as varying shades of 'broken' but by the end they just might all have a chance of some kind of redemption.

A cracking novel, and an author I will certainly be keeping an eye on.

This kept me hooked deep into the night

4.5/5 *