Book Review - The Last Place You Look by Nikki Smith

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Title: The Last Place You Look

Author: Nikki Smith

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Penguin

Publication Date: 2nd July 2026

Rating: 5 Stars

Leo thought he knew his wife. Until she disappeared.

Leo Kennedy has it all: money, looks, the perfect marriage and luxury homes in the UK and South Africa. But when his wife Addison goes missing, his immaculate life detonates.

48 hours later, Leo arrives at their safari lodge to retrace her steps. Only there's no sign of Addison. Instead, Leo is met with a scene of blood and chaos, and on the wall a missing poster, with his face, his name and his details.

His wife may be missing, but someone wants Leo gone too . . .

From the author of The Beach Party comes a deliciously dark sunlounger thriller, perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl and Lucy Clarke's The Hike.

Once again Nikki Smith has transported us to a wonderfully exotic destination, and then made sure we all know just how dangerous it really is!  Half set in the UK and half set in South Africa at a wildlife lodge, this is a story that had me at times on the edge of my seat and had at least one WTF moment! 

In fact I'm still reeling from the finale section, where I literally didn't expect or predict anything that we were presented with.  It was totally fabulous and seeing how all the various thread actually intersected in more ways than I would have ever imagined. 

What starts to become really apparent quite early on is that you can never really truly know everything about your partner, and that secrets can exist even in the best of marriages.  It's just sometimes they are more dangerous than others. 

From the prologue, and in fact the blurb we know that when Leo gets to South Africa he is presented with a horrifying sight, from there we get lots of the lead up to his arrival in South Africa, which was really interesting. 

I can't say I particularly loved Leo, he definitely had some unlikeable traits, but once we get chapters from Addison's point of view too, I could say the same about her.  

What I completely loved were some of the descriptions of the African savannah, and of the animals, and later on just how dangerous the area is, before you add in humans potentially doing stupid or dangerous things. 

Another totally brilliant thriller from Nikki Smith, the queen of the destination thriller.  Wonder what country she will try to put us off travelling too next year! 

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - Murder In Rome by T. A. Williams

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Amazon UK

Title: Murder in Rome

Author: T. A. Williams

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 2nd May 2026 

Rating: 5 Stars

A road leading to Rome

Former DCI Dan Armstrong has been living and working in Florence for nearly three years—yet somehow, Rome has always eluded him. That is, until glamorous TV celebrity Tamsin Goodfaith turns up with a request he can’t refuse: investigate her uncle’s suspicious death in the Eternal City.

Murder at the castle

Philip Hastings was a billionaire financier, found dead at his magnificent—if slightly spooky—medieval castle in the Roman hills. Dan and his faithful canine companion, Oscar, soon find themselves surrounded by luxury, secrets and more suspects than sightseeing opportunities.

This time it's personal

But when a second murder follows close behind, the case turns dangerously personal. With whispers of ghosts and crumbling alibis, Dan and Oscar must sniff out the truth before he becomes the next victim. Harder to crack than castle walls—and harder still than stopping Oscar from stealing snacks—this Roman holiday is anything but relaxing. 🐾🐾

Well we get to visit a new part of Italy in this book, and it's one that Dan hasn't been to before either, for it's Rome! Ok technically most of the action is at a giant castle in the hills above Rome, rather than the city centre itself, but it's still a bit different. 

For a start we get to learn of different local delicacies, but equally as seems to be par for the course by now, wherever Dan goes, the dead bodies aren't far behind! 

And what a castle he gets to stay and investigate in, plenty of space for Oscar and what appears to be a closed door mystery.  Tamsin is convinced her uncle Phil was murdered, despite the police ruling it as an accidental death, and within hours of him arriving at the castle, one of Phil's sons is dead. 

And it escalates from there.  I'm not really sure I particularly liked anyone in the castle, they all seemed rather self centred, and the child we didn't get to know enough to be able to like her! I had absolutely no idea who the murderer was, and was very eager to discover the truth. 

Again for me one of the stars and most important characters in this book is of course Oscar.  I'm convinced that I'd love to see a book from his point of view as he is such a wonderful protector of Dan, and detective in his own right.  Ok he woofs a bit, and is very food orientated but he's got amazing instincts, and once again does a stellar job.  Oscar definitely needs a statue built in his honour! 

This was another incredibly enjoyable addition to this series, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  And this is a series that continues to go from strength to strength.  I look forward to seeing where Murder will strike next! 

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.