Blog Tour Book Review: Candles and Roses

Title: Candles and Roses
Author: Alex Walters
Publisher: Bloodhound Books

Synopsis:

Who will live and who will die? 

DI Alec McKay is a man haunted by the loss of his daughter.  As he obsesses over a missing person case that is going nowhere, McKay’s investigation is interrupted when bodies start appearing on the Scottish Black Isle. Soon McKay and his team start to identify a disturbing pattern behind the killings.

Why are candles and roses placed around the bodies?

What is this twisted murderer trying to achieve?

While the police follow their own leads, a young woman who discovered the first victim begins an investigation of her own.

As the case unfolds McKay will be forced to face his own demons.

To catch the killer McKay must discover the true motive and untangle the web of truth and lies.

Candles and Roses is the first book in the explosive new DI McKay Series.  

Terrific debut novel! DI Alec McKay is a brilliant character and I already can’t wait to see more of him. An interesting plot that had me turning the pages long after I’d told myself ‘only a couple of chapters’ – I found I’d finished half the book in one sitting and was running late to meet a friend for dinner!

You see the victims point of view as the murders take place which is really unusual and so gripping. This set me on edge as you begin to get that looming sense of dread, internally screaming at the characters not to put themselves in a dangerous situation, knowing how it will end.

Real nail biting stuff – seriously, I have none left. I felt more part of the investigation instead of feeling like an observer watching the progress throughout the story so my emotions were running high as they were trying to find the culprit. I spent most of the book shouting at characters for different things which is testament to how the writing and flow of the book dragged me in and didn’t release me until I finished that final page.

Perfect ending and I won’t say anymore on that – you’ll have to read it!

Rating:

The rest of the blog tour from the #bloghounds…

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Blog Tour Book Review: Time to Play

Title: Time to Play
Author: K A Richardson
Publisher: Bloodhound Books

Synopsis:

DI Alistair McKay is still reeling from the ‘one that got away’ but when he is called to deal with a potential murder at the water side, he must put his personal worries aside.

As police diver, Marlo Buchanan, starts pulling bodies out of the water, it becomes clear that something isn’t right.

Someone is torturing young girls and dumping them in the local reservoir.

Then the body of a man is discovered and Mackay and Buchanan are pulled into the seedy underworld of human trafficking.

As the team race against the clock tensions start to run high.

Can they overcome their personal demons to work together?

And will they find the killer before he strikes again?

The team are back in the third novel from the gripping North East Police series.

I didn’t know at first that this was the third book of a series! This can most definitely be read as a standalone but I will 100% be going back to read the first two.

I’ve never read about a Police Diving Team before and I found this fascinating – so interesting to find out how this operates. I was immediately pulled in by the two main characters, Ali and Marlo, who are extremely likeable and relatable. They are both suffering separately from past events and the way they are written just makes you feel like you have an understanding of them as a whole and you can’t help but root for them to find love!

Fantastic storytelling and K A Richardson deals with revealing the devastation of human trafficking in an honest and stark way. There is no holding back on the descriptive violence and on more than one occasion I was wincing because it just felt so real.  My heart sank as I began to understand the realism behind the story and the desperate situations children find themselves in.

Gritty and moving, there are many layers to Time to Play and the story combined with the characters will have you flying through the pages.

Also, it’s only 99p at the moment in the Kindle Store! Go for it!

Rating:

The rest of the stops on the blog tour… #bloghounds

Blog Tour Book Review: Lazy Blood

Title: Lazy Blood
Author: Ross Greenwood
Publisher: Bloodhound Books

My stop on the Lazy Blood blog tour! Thrilled to be part of it and chuffed to be bits to be part of the #bloghounds group.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Did you make friends at school?
Are they still your friends now?
Do you trust them?
Will is on his way to prison. His life is a mess, but who is to blame?

Set over thirty years, Lazy Blood is a dramatic tale of the endurance of friendship, the frailty of life, the drama of love and how they can all be ruined by broken people, random events and idle choices.

Where do I start?!

Superb storytelling. You meet Will, Darren, Aiden and Carl as schoolboys and travel through with them to adulthood – and the level of detail poured in to every character makes sure you are entirely wrapped up in their journey. I could barely put the book down I was gripped from the first few pages right to the very end and I can’t remember the last time I felt so connected to a character as I did with Will.

Dark, gritty, but with the theme of friendship shining through and some genuinely laugh out loud moments this book will tug at your heartstrings as much as it will want you to throw it across the room in frustration!

The story progresses perfectly through time and captures the hardships that life can throw at you, and this really did make me pause for thought. I think Ross Greenwood has a special talent for engaging the reader and I can’t wait to read his next book this is a terrific debut!

Rating:

Here are the rest of the stops on the blog tour take a look at the other reviews, author interviews and a giveaway for tomorrow’s stop!