Book Review - Into The Darkness by Sibel Hodge - #HolidayReading Book 19

Book 19 of 28 read on my holiday to Cyprus in June 2018.

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Amazon UK

Title: Into The Darkness

Author: Sibel Hodget

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Thomas and Mercer

Publication Date: 3rd July 2018

Rating: 5 Stars

The Missing…

In a hidden basement, eighteen-year-old Toni is held captive and no one can hear her screams. She’s been abducted after investigating unspeakable things in the darkest corners of the Internet.

The Vigilante…

Fearing the worst, Toni’s mother turns to ex-SAS operative Mitchell to help find her missing daughter. And when Mitchell discovers Toni’s fate rests in the hands of pure evil, he races against the clock to find Toni and bring her out alive. But even that might not be enough to save her.

The Detective…

DS Warren Carter is looking forward to a new job and a simpler life. But when he’s called in to investigate the brutal murder of a seemingly normal couple, he becomes entangled in lives that are anything but simple. And as he digs deeper, he uncovers a crime more twisted than he could ever have imagined.

Into the Darkness is the chilling new thriller from the bestselling author of Duplicity and Beneath the Surface.

Dark and treacherous is the best way to describe this story, as it take in some of the dark side, thankfully not in too much gory detail!

The story is told in the sections from the points of view of The Missing, The Detective and The Vigilante.  At times I did wonder if or how or when there would be an crossover of stories, so although I was looking out for it when everything came together it was rather satisfying. 

In terms of the detective and the vigilante, their two ways of approaching their investigations are really different and what did make me laugh is the level of political correctness being used in the police force!

This is a fast paced, edge of you seat thriller, where you are never completely sure what the outcome will be, or just what the motives are either.

Into the Darkness is another cracking book from Sibel Hodge, and one that I'm sure will disturb my dreams tonight!

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

Book Review - Beneath The Surface by Sibel Hodge

Amazon UK

Title:  Beneath The Surface

Author: Sibel Hodge

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publication Date: 27th July 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Dean Hudson didn’t look evil…so what could drive an ordinary boy to kill?

When the teenage son of Holly Gold’s school friend brutally murders his parents before killing himself, her sleepy home town is rocked by the sudden tragedy.

Appalled, Holly investigates. What could have caused the happy-go-lucky boy she remembers to commit such a heinous crime? When another teen commits suicide, she uncovers a horrifying link between the recent deaths and a dark conspiracy to hide the truth.

But someone doesn’t want Holly asking questions and, as she hunts for evidence to prove her theory, she’s dragged into a nightmare that threatens her life and her sanity. Then tragedy strikes again—and this time it’s closer to home…

From a slow start where I was unsure exactly why I was continuing to read, as I wasn't really liking Holly or her brother Miles, it suddenly became really good, and interesting at the same time, to the extent where I needed to know what would happen next. 

The story starts with an awful situation when a teenager kills his parents and then commits suicide, and Holly used to know the family and couldn't believe the son would do such a thing. She promises the surviving family member that she would try and find out why, and from that she uncovers all sorts of information, mostly unpleasant and all rather unsettling. 

At times I found some of the revelations and research into the reasoning of this crime a bit hard to take in, as its not a field I'm fully interested in, but equally I believe the situations outlined in the book could so easily be happening in real life that its eye opening too. 

There are a good amount of characters to keep track of, and you are never completely sure if any of them are telling the truth. Occasionally between chapters there are messages between the villains, with no indication who they are, other than they seem to know a lot about what is going on from all angles. 

At times a rather harrowing book, with a troubled main character, who can be viewed as an unreliable narrator.   Oddly it was only as the complexity ramped up  that I found myself really gripped by Beneath the Surface, and its true you never really know what is going on beneath the surface of anything. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

Book Review - Duplicity by Sibel Hodge

Amazon UK

Title: Duplicity

Author: Sibel Hodge

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publication Date: 27th December 2016

Rating: 4 Stars

There are three sides to every story: Yours. Mine. And the truth…

Max and Alissa have a fairy tale life—newlywed, madly in love and enviously rich. Then Max is brutally stabbed to death at their home and Alissa, miraculously, escapes with her life. But why was she spared?

The hunt for the killer begins, uncovering a number of leads—was Max’s incredible wealth the motive? Had his shady business practices finally caught up with him? Or was it a stalker with a dangerous obsession?

Devoted friends rally around gentle, sweet Alissa as she is left to mourn the loss of her husband and pick up her life. But not everyone is who they seem…Deep-rooted jealousies, secrets and twisted love lie just beneath the surface, and not all fairy tales have a happy ending.

Duplicity is a suspenseful thriller from the bestselling author of Look Behind You and Where the Memories Lie.

For a lot of the first part of the book, I will admit I was wondering if I had made a mistake, the story seemed to be fairly open and shut at least on the police's behalf and it all felt too neat and tidy to me. Don't get me wrong I was still interested in what was happening, but I felt as though the story needed a bit more oomph! I then had a day at work and returned to the book, praying that my gut feeling was there had to be a twist that would make the book suspenseful and gripping, and thankfully that was my reward for reading on. 

From the point where things start to make a bit more sense, while understanding more about the murder, from the murderer's point of view, I was fascinated and hooked. 

You need to pay attention at the start of each chapter, as they are all written in the first person, but the person changes depending on the chapter, and the header tells you who you are for that section. I didn't quite twig to start with, so doubled back while I worked out what was going on! 

The main perspectives you get are that of the person "who did it", complete with their childhood background and everything leading up to the moment, in bite sized chunks, so you can get to know them over the course of the book, and try to understand potential motivations. 

The other perspective is that of the detective. I initially struggled to get to grips with this detective and his team, but I was impressed with his determination to not be too bossed about by his superiors and to follow his own hunches. 

As the story progressed I was drawn more and more into it, and it soon became really hard to put the book down at all. The twists were far better than I could have predicted myself, and I loved the whole sequence towards the end, where the pacing suddenly sped up, and there was  a race against time involved. 

This is what I would call a strong suspenseful police procedural that had be second guessing my hunches, and had me completely immersed in the writing towards the end.  There were even some traits from the villain that I was really impressed with, despite them clearly being a sociopath!

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this copy of the book. This was my honest and voluntary review. 

Book Review - Santa Claus, Lies, and Murder by Sibel Hodge - Rachel Reads Randomly Book #9

As I mentioned on Monday, this week was the last of my Rachel Reads Randomly feature until the new year. I counted the votes eagerly, and they came in as follows. 

2 Votes for Holly's Christmas Kiss by Alison May

8 Votes for Christmas on Primrose Hill by Karen Swan

8 Votes for Santa Clause, Lies and Murder by Sibel Hodge

Due to it being a tie, it was my decision between the two winning books. I love reading your comments along with the votes, and the general consensus was that the Karen Swan will be brilliant and that we all love her previous books. Which are thoughts I completely agreed with. However the people voting for Santa Claus, Lies and Murder were doing it purely because of amusement of the title, or because something about the book drew them to selecting it. And so I thought I would choose that one, so that we can all see just what the book is about.... I do intend to read the Karen Swan, but I may take it on my upcoming Christmas holiday with me instead, so that I have one Christmas paperback to read on Christmas day, to remind me of London!

Amazon UK

Title: Santa Claus, Lies and Murder (Amber Fox Mystery 4.5)

Author: Sibel Hodge

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Purchased

Publisher: Wonder Women Publishing Limited

Publication Date: 5th August 2014

Rating: 5 Stars

The Bestselling Cozy Mystery Series is back with more adventures!

Santa has gone missing and the fate of Christmas is in Amber Fox's hands...

When the bones of St Nicholas, the original Santa Claus, are stolen from a special exhibit at the Natural History Museum on Christmas Eve, insurance investigator Amber Fox is hot on the thieves' trail.

Jinxed spells, freaky insects, and a sack full of secrets take Amber on a bumpy sleigh ride. But can she restore the relics back to their natural resting place and preserve the true spirit of the Yuletide Holly Days? Or is Santa lost forever?

If you are looking for something just a bit different with your Christmas reading this year, then this could easily be the book for you. Santa Claus, Lies and Murder, is a short (under 100 pages) cozy mystery novella, that is very easy to read, has a great selection of characters and just one mystery to solve. 

The bones of the original St Nicholas have been stolen from a special exhibit at the annex branch of the Natural History Museum on Christmas Eve. That's right some lowlifes have stolen Santa on Christmas Eve! But of course the question on everyone's lips is who and why?

Amber Fox and partner Brad, investigate the theft for their insurance investigation practice, despite knowing they won't be giving a payout. But because its Christmas they feel its only right to attempt to return St Nicholas' bones to their rightful place, if they can. 

As this is a cozy mystery, you have a limited suspect pool to go for, and their computer guy Hacker is very fast at getting all the background information required on the suspects. One of the more disturbing pieces of information he finds, is about a fetish belonging to one of the curators, that is giving me the heebie-jeebies, and scaring me a lot. 

If you haven't read any of the Amber Fox books before, don't worry this does work as a standalone, especially as its so short, all the focus is on the mystery, so the background on the main characters although mentioned very briefly, isn't really needed. As someone who hasn't read one of these books for at least a year (I think I forgot to keep checking for new releases), I remembered the basics of Amber, Brad and other recurring characters quite easily, which did help with my instant involvement. 

Santa Clause, Lies and Murder is a wonderful addition to this series, and its very rare that you get to read a book that mentions Santa being stolen. There is also some interesting information about the bones, and about Saint Nicholas himself, as well as some other artefacts that were displayed. I didn't work out the motive or the thief, and it did make sense, and was wrapped up rather nicely.  This whole story takes place over one day, making it a short and sweet, festive cozy mystery. 

My Rachel Reads Randomly feature will be back in January, and will be back to using all the books on my kindle as a basis. Thank you to everyone who has helped me pick the 9 books featured this way so far, and I hope you all continue to help make one of my book selections that bit easier, each week!

Book Review - Where the Memories Lie by Sibel Hodge

Amazon UK

Title: Where The Memories Lie

Author: Sibel Hodge

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publication Date: 22nd September 2015

Rating: 5 Stars

Twenty-five years ago Katie ran away from home and never came back. But now she’s suddenly reappeared in her best friend Olivia’s life—in the form of a chilling confession. Olivia’s father-in-law, wracked with guilt, says he murdered her all those years ago. Tom suffers from Alzheimer’s and his story is riddled with error and confusion. Except for one terrifying certainty: he knows where the body is buried.

As Olivia and the police piece together the evidence, they are left with one critical question. They have a crime, they have a confession, and now they have a body—but can any of it be trusted?

Where the Memories Lie is a very gripping story, that had me hooked right from the start. It also deals with a variety of tricky issues and moral dilemmas, that if I put myself into Olivia's shoes, I honestly don't know for sure how I would have reacted. 

The main question is, if your father in law, who has Alzheimers, confesses to a murder, and also reveals the location of a body, and its of someone you used to be good friends with, what would you do. Do you risk making life tougher for your father in law and tell the police, or do you sweep it under the rug for the sake of your family. Is it even a real memory, or was he getting confused perhaps with a news story, or something on TV?

Well that is what Olivia, and her entire family are dealing with, in Where the Memories lie, and it leads to all sorts of consequences. 

And with regards the police,  once they inevitably do get involved, and find a body, there are then even more incredibly hard to answer questions about just what happened 25 years ago. Will dredging up ancient history have pleasant consequences for anyone, or will it just tear the family apart?

These are just some of the thoughts that are likely to go through your mind as you read the start of the book, and then of course you will have to wonder just "who did it, and why?" I was so enthralled by how the story was playing out in front of me, that I honestly didn't have a clue as to the answer to that, and hadn't come up with many theories myself. 

This is set in Dorset, and there were a whole bunch of settings named, that seemed incredibly familiar to me. I have a feeling I saw some of these places on an A-Level Geography field trip, or we learnt about them in school, but it was great for me to have some sort of familiarity with a setting, that isn't where I live!

Where The Memories Lie is the sort of psychological thriller that will get under your skin as you are reading it, picking at you until you get all the answers you desire. It is very well written, with just the right amount of details, and with enough details about the extended family life of  Olivia, to really care what happens to these characters. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.