Book Review - On My Life by Angela Clarke - #HolidayReading Thailand

The Amazon Purchase link below is an Amazon Affiliate link.

Amazon UK

Title: On My Life

Author: Angela Clarke

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Mulholland Books

Publication Date: 11th July 2019

Rating: 5 Stars

Framed. Imprisoned. Pregnant.

Jenna thought she had the perfect life: a loving fiancé, a great job, a beautiful home. Then she finds her stepdaughter murdered; her partner missing.

And the police think she did it...

Locked up to await trial, surrounded by prisoners who'd hurt her if they knew what she's accused of, certain someone close to her has framed her, Jenna knows what she needs to do:

Clear her name
Save her baby
Find the killer

But can she do it in time?

An intensely gripping story, as we discover just why Jenna is in prison, why she is adamant she is innocent, and the events leading up to that fateful night. 

What really struck me about this story was how much research the author must have put in, to make account of what happens in jail so vivid, realistic and claustrophobic. 

You feel as though you are incarcerated alongside Jenna, although the only difference is as the reader you are yet to be wholly convinced who is guilty, whether it is Jenna or as she suspect someone is framing her.  The lack of evidence pointing to anyone other than Jenna is overwhelming. 

I liked the pseudo friendships that were formed in the prison, you are never sure who you can trust, and the book definitely touches on issue that are relevant to real life prisons too. 

I was kept guessing throughout until the reveal as to just what happened the nigh that Jenna's fiance disappears and his daughter was brutally murdered. 

Previously I had enjoyed Angela Clarke's social media murders books, and was excited to see a new release from her, which was even better than her previous great books. 

I was completely hooked on On My Life. 

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

Book Review - Inspector Chopra and the Million-Dollar Motor Car by Vaseem Khan

Amazon UK

Title: Inspector Chopra and the Million-Dollar Motor Car

Author: Vaseem Khan

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Purchased

Publisher: Mulholland Books

Publication Date: 1st February 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

An enchanting Baby Ganesh Agency short story: a million-dollar car is missing. Chopra has two days to find it, or the gangster who bought it will not be happy.

The Premier No.1 Garage is the place to go in Mumbai if you want a luxury car. Even Mumbai's biggest gangster shops there - he's just ordered a classic race car worth millions.

But now the car is gone. Stolen from a locked room, in the middle of the night.

Who stole it? The mechanic who is addicted to gambling? The angry ex-worker? The car thief pulling off one last job?

And how on earth did they make it vanish from the locked garage?

Inspector Chopra has just days to find the culprit - and the missing car - before its gangster owner finds out ... and takes violent revenge.

Although I have been aware of the Quick Reads program for a few years, it has taken me until this year to actually get around to reading one of these books and I'm impressed. 

This is the first book Iv'e read also by Vaseem Khan but with this well crafted mystery made sure it won't be the last either.  

I spent the book scratching my head as to how a million dollar car can just disappear and enjoyed watching Inspector Chopra racing around Mumbai and the surrounds to try and solve this mystery. 

I had a whistlestop tour of Mumbai and had a feel for what life is like in India, while meeting assorted characters.  For a short story there were quite a lot of characters but it was all really easy to follow and the story was told in a logical fashion. 

However easily my favourite character was Ganesha, as lets face it you don't get baby pet elephants that often in fiction, and this one seemed especially smart and in tune with Inspector Chopra, a rather unique detecting partner. 

Really enjoyed this introduction to the series, and look forward to reading more books by Vaseem Khan in the future. 

Book Review - The Deaths of December by Susi Holliday - Rachel Reads Randomly Book #81

Amazon UK

Title: The Deaths of December

Author: Susi Holliday

Format reviewed: Paperback

Source: Purchased

Publisher: Mulholland Books

Publication Date: 16th November 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

It looks like a regular advent calendar. 

Until DC Becky Greene starts opening doors...and discovers a crime scene behind almost every one.

The police hope it's a prank. Because if it isn't, a murderer has just surfaced - someone who's been killing for twenty years.

But why now? And why has he sent it to this police station?

As the country relaxes into festive cheer, Greene and DS Eddie Carmine must race against time to catch the killer. Because there are four doors left, and four murders will fill them...

It's shaping up to be a deadly little Christmas.

Well I do love a good Christmas book, and this was certainly a great Christmas book - but one without the festivities, good will and light heartedness of the season. That is because there is clearly a murderer on the loose. A rather sick minded person who has slipped by for years without being caught. 

But this year, the murderer has upped the ante and rather wants to be caught if the police are smart enough.  

20 cold cases, each represented by a photo behind a door of an advent calendar that is sent to the police.  However is it a prank, or is there really a serial killer on the loose. 

Told from many perspectives including the photographer,  DC Becky Greene, DS Eddie Carmine and Carly we are slowly able to piece together the story, get insights into the mind of a mass murderer and also discover more about the personal lives of the detectives. 

I do love a police procedural and was fascinated in how Becky and Eddie were able to start analysing the data and look for clues. This was rather more involved though just due to the sheer enormity of what they are looking into and the distinct lack of anything obvious to work from. 

This is  a brilliant story that once it captured my attention, I was seemingly oblivious to my surroundings, until I could think of was the book. Carly is a potter, and travels to various craft markets selling her wares, so we did get some festive cheer with the descriptions of Christmas craft markets, but apart from that the book felt like the anti-Christmas with its goings on. 

Watch out for the epilogue, it caught me slightly unawares! 

Thank you to everyone that voted for this fabulous book, really do appreciate it, and always love reading your comments.  Rachel Reads Randomly will be back in January! Just in case I forget to write something a bit later this week have a very merry Christmas!