The Stepmother - Claire Seeber

The Stepmother - Claire Seeber 

My thanks go to Claire Seeber and the publishers Bookouture via NetGalley for allowing me to read and review a copy of this book.  This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.   

The Stepmother is about Jeanie and her sister Marlena.  They had a difficult childhood and one which affected their adult lives, each had their own secrets and problems.  The story is told from the two sister’s perspective in alternating chapters.

Jeanie has met and married Matthew and is now living in Matthew’s house, trying to create their own family unit, Jeanie with her teenage son and Matthew with his two children.  However Jeanie has a secret!

Marlena is a high flying journalist, always following an important story, and never really having time for her sister apart from a snatch few minutes on a phone every now and again.     

It was a dark and mysterious tale of how step parents have obstacles to overcome by bringing two families together, the impact things can have on their lives.  A psychological thriller that had you wanting to know more.      

I would like to apologise for the delay in writing this review, this has been for two reasons, the first due to family and personal commitments and secondly, because this book has had me thinking of how to write my review.   Don’t get me wrong I liked this book and it kept my interest as I went along, had me turning the pages frantically to see what happened as the story progressed, but I was somehow not drawn into the story immediately. 

I loved the short snappy chapters each told from a sister's point of view, but this took me a while to get my head around and the way the story was being told.  I felt that at the end of some chapters some things were left unanswered and not covered until further along in the story and despite me frantically turning the pages to see what happened next, I felt that the ending of the book had my questioning a few things.

I will say that Bookouture do a fantastic job in designing covers that draw the reader in and this cover is no exception.  It makes the reader wonder what the story will be about, will it or won’t it be a fairy tale.    

The author Claire Seeber certainly knows how to write a story and keep her readers entertained and I have already got one of her other books on my TBR (to be read) pile in readiness for reading shortly.

The Jungle - Mark Dawson

 The Jungle (John Milton #9)

John Milton is back, and helping out a friend by driving a lorry to Europe, via Calais (and the camp which is known as “The Jungle” where the refugees camp out, before trying to hitch a ride via whatever means they can over to the United Kingdom.

This book centres around a young man who manages to hide in Milton’s friends lorry and upon arriving in the UK is found by Immigration and sent to a holding facility whilst his case is reviewed, but not before Milton manages to obtain the reason as to why he travelled in the back of the truck and the sole purpose of the reason he wanted to get across the border.

Milton advises that he will help him, after hearing his tale and the fact that the young man in question wants to find his sister, who has been kidnapped by people smugglers and sold.  Milton therefore enlists the help of Hicks to assist him in this “mission”, and we are also treated to another personal insight into what makes Milton tick, what his inner demons are and what he is trying to do to keep these at bay.

Another cracking read by Mark Dawson and I am so looking forward to the next episode in this series. 

If you haven’t read any of Mark’s books, I would suggest starting from the beginning to understand who Milton is and why he is the way he is.  However, these books can be read as standalones should you wish.

My thanks go to Mark Dawson for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.  I look forward to reading book 10. 

Valentina - S E Lynes

 

 

Valentina 

My first thoughts on starting reading to read this book, after the first few pages were “do I have to continue?”, not because I didn’t want to read this, I did!  It sounded right up my street, but because the opening pages were not what I expected to read.

Once I read a quarter of the book (my cut off point as to whether to continue) I realised why the writer / author wrote as she did and set the scene as it’s set.

Shona and Valentina are friends, they met through their children after Shona visits a nursery with her daughter Isla, upon moving to a rural cottage in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with her partner Michael (Mikey) who works away on the oil rigs, on a rotating shift of two weeks on / two weeks off.  Valentina is a mysterious woman, married to a man (that Shona never gets to meet) and they also have a son, who is the same age as Isla, Shona’s daughter.  Shona is happy and excited to have made a friend, as she is lonely after moving into the remote cottage, but then things start to happen which makes her question the friendship.       

This is a book that once I finished, had me thinking about friendships / relationships and the hidden depths people go to!   

This book makes you think, makes you question the things that can and do happen in relationships.  The lengths some people go to, to keep / get what they want.

My thanks go to S E Lynes for contacting me and asking would I like to review this book.  I am so glad I did.  I look forward to reading more by this author.  I would also like to the publishers Blackbird Digital Books.   

Hope to Die (Alex Cross #22) - James Patterson

Hope to Die (Alex Cross #22) - James Patterson

What do Marcus Sunday and Alex Cross have in common?  Thierry Mulch!

Sunday is a psychopath who has kidnapped Cross’ wife, two sons and daughter along with Nana Mama.  He is taunting Cross and has a list of tasks he wants Alex Cross to do before releasing his family members back into the fold.

Will Dr Alex Cross save his family?  Will he follow the instructions completely or will he ignore and do his own thing?  This is Alex Cross after all.

John Sampson, Alex Cross and a new detective are in the thick of it and determined to solve this and Alex needs to rescue his family.

This is the follow up to Cross My Heart and despite possibly being able to be read as a standalone read, I would suggest you read Cross My Heart and then this to understand the story.

James Patterson does it again with the Cross series and had me hooked and turning the papers rapidly to find out how this progress and what the end story is.

 

 

1000 Yards - Mark Dawson (A John Milton short story) 

An introductory novella book, introducing you to John Milton.  The opening of the book had me confused as to how the story was going to develop.  What and who is John Milton?

The book delves into a bit of his background, Group 15 and a snippet of who they are, the way Milton deals with day to day situations, from the personal traumas of dealing with blackouts (his), each one more severe, to the constant name changing and new identification documents that each one brings.

This is a good introduction to Milton and with each book I have had the pleasure of reading, (I’ve read a fair few now), the character has gone from strength to strength and the author has developed and is now ranked as one of my Top 10 authors.

I chose to go back to the beginning of John Milton as this book has been in my TBR (To Be Read) pile since 20 September 2013 and despite reading other books of Mark’s and knowing the character, I thoroughly enjoyed going back to the beginning and understanding a bit more of John Milton and what makes him tick, and the methods that he uses in dealing with situations.

Mark Dawson’s books can all be read as standalone reads and I look forward to reading more John Milton books as well as Mark’s other books shortly.