July Book Round-Up

If a book is marked * I kindly received it from the publisher via Netgalley or directly for a blog tour. Here's what I've been reading in July:

Critical Incidents by Lucie Whitehouse - having adored Risk of Harm (review) I had to go back and read the first one in the series. DI Robin Lyons has been dismissed for misconduct from the Met. She and her teenage daughter, Lennie are going back home to Birmingham, something Robin is dreading. Back to her parents house and her taunting brother Luke.

Her best friend of 20 years, Corrine is happy to see her back and is looking forward to catching up then something tragic and unexplained happens and Robin needs to know why. She sets up her own investigation alongside that of the police. Her ex Samir is the Officer in Charge.  She's also working with her mother's friend Maggie, a Private Investigator on the case of a missing young woman.

I absolutely devoured the book and loved hearing the backstory of Robin's and her friends lives. Can't wait for book #3!

Truth or Dare - DI Helen Grace #10 by M J Arlidge - having been left on a sort of cliffhanger in book #9 I couldn't wait to buy and read the next instalment. It didn't disappoint!

DI Helen Grace seems to be unable to slow the crime rate in the city much to the enjoyment of DS Joseph Hudson and reporter Emilia Garanita. Hudson is hell bent on destroying Helen and taking over the Team.  He and Emilia are doing all they can to make this happen.

Helen is missing her friend and colleague, DS Charlie Brooks who is on maternity leave. It seems her authority is being thrown out at every turn. The story is fast paced and twisty and it's good to see those get their just desserts near to the end! Roll on book #11 is all I say! Absolutely love this series.

*Missing Words by Loree Westron - this enjoyable short read isn't published until early next year, so catch my review then.

*Dolly Considine's Hotel by Eamon Somers - I took part in the blog tour with an extract - see HERE. I found the story richly drawn and multi-layered. It's set in Dublin in two timelines – the 1950s and the 1980s and in the latter against a background of the Pro Life Constitutional Amendment of September '83.

Paddy Butler is meant to be having a summer of freedom with his best pal but it's not to be. He therefore reinvents himself and becomes Julian Ryder, a would be writer and young man about town. A chance meeting sends him to Dolly McClean's (nee Considine's) hotel, the bar which is a den of iniquity and therefore a perfect setting for Julian experiencing all life has to offer while writing up about it of course. After he helps one of the bar staff fight off an IRA thug, Dolly hires him as a lounge boy on a temporary contract.

I found the story and characters within it believable as well as interesting and the story totally engrossing, if something I'd not have normally have picked up.

*Little Bones - DI Lottie Parker #10 by Patricia Gibney - this latest instalment in the Lottie Parker series doesn't fail to disappoint! It's not published until September so I'll share my review then - it's great!

Time for the Dead - Rhona MacLeod #14 by Lin Anderson - it was so nice being back in the world of Rhona, Chrissy and McNab! I'm taking part in the blog tour for book #16 so thought I'd better catch up! Currently reading book #15. 

Forensic Scientist, Rhona MacLeod returns to Skye to recover from her previous case. By chance she discovers a crime scene and is soon back in the thick of things. With Chrissy in Glasgow she recruits tracker dog Blaze to be her assistant.

When they discover a body at the foot of Kilt Rock they are keen to speak to a group of Army Medics who seem to have disappeared. McNab has been keeping in close touch with Rhona and they believe there's links to the bodies in Skye with a Glasgow investigation.

As ever, a brilliant read which I couldn't put down. Highly recommend it!

Rounding up my July reads is the fantastic My Name is Monster by Katie Hale which was July's The Boozy Book Club pick. There's been global war and the sickness which killed off everyone. Monster had been safe in the vault and emerges off the coast of Scotland alone in a post apocalyptic landscape.

She takes the long walk south, scavenging what she can along the way. It's a lonely existence, the only sign of life is the packs of wild dogs. She settles down in a farmhouse near the city. One day she discovers a feral child and renames herself Mother. She teaches Monster all that she knows. 

Monster is happy to learn but she's also got a mind of her own and does something quite unexpected. I found the story beautifully and sensitively written and would highly recommend it.

What have you been reading this month?