Breadcrumbs and Blindsides

A much lighter novella, and concise prequel to "The Good Daughter". A great little legal yarn, with some decent character development and a well developed plot twist. 3.5/5

Two young girls are the victims of a hellish attack connected to their defense attorney father. 28 years later a school shooting brings them back together as adult lawyers having lived very different lives. As always Slaughter brings us a plethora of, more often than not, visceral twists and turns. This novel is an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish and is not recommended for the squimish. 4/5

Two cases being investigated by Varg Veum become intertwined when the missing persons case also involves employees of an off-course ship he is investigating. An old-school gumshoe novel with loads of twists and turns. As always Staalesen is a bit stingy with his breadcrumbs and attentive reading is required to figure out the whodunnits. 3.5/5

A 15 year old girls commits suicide and it appears that she was driven to it by anonymous cyber bullying.  Her sister hires a hacker in her plight for vengeance.  One of those books you just cannot put down.  Very clever, clean and unique writing. So many twists and turns. 5/5

The final novel in the "You Me Fun" black comedy series, sees our actuary having to deal with a new competitor to You Me Fun, who does not charge entry fees and even gives food away. During a night-time clandestine spying expedition to the new venture our actuary comes face to face with the murder of the owner and becomes embroiled in a much deeper mystery. Tuomainen is brilliant at writing dark comedy and this final novel in the series is no exception. 4/5

A brilliantly compact Christmas murder mystery, to make any Christmas eve very special. The art of writing a fine novella is running strong in Swanson's veins. 4/5

"Palace of Shadows" is a gothic horror set in the Yorkshire Moors in 1899. The novel focuses on the lives of a number of people involved in the building of the largest manor house ever built and dark reasons for it being built as well as a number of unexplained deaths which occurred during the building process. Celestin, best known for his mafia-styled "City Blues Quartet", masterfully changes pace and adapts to the eerie oppressive writing style, so well known through the works of Arthur Conan Doyle. On a secondary level, the novel is an absolute treasure trove of metaphors and remarks on the era, human nature, religion and so much more. The juxtaposition between the "Palace of Shadows" and William Morris' "Red House" (Palace of Beauty) is something to behold. 5/5

In the latest novel in the Cormorant Strike series, Robin infiltrates a cult to find and attempt to extract the son of the firm's elderly client. However, (as always) some murders take place and the firm finds out that the cult is even more evil than initially thought.  A real page-turner with a plethora of twists and turns leading to a number of unexpected plot twists.  A must read for a follower of the series and a great read for the occasional reader of crime fiction. 4/5

In Dark Angel, Ruth is invited to a small Italian village by an old colleague to provide her expert opinion on an old skeleton uncovered during a dig. During the visit (inevitably) someone is murdered and some obscure events occur which leads to Ruth becoming more embroiled in uncovering the actual events.  Not a bad novel for a slow Sunday afternoon, though the storyline could have done with more complexity. The whodunnits are well written and there are a few twists and turns and the development of the backstory is as always decent without detracting from the whodunnits.  3/5