Showing posts with label lindwood barclay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lindwood barclay. Show all posts

Wednesday, 21 December 2016

December Wishlist: Winter Wonderland

This is the last wishlist for the year 2016. And, it felt suitable to end the year with it with a snowy theme since it's December. And, since Crime & Horror are two of my favorite genres is it obvious I go for books that are not that jolly...

Clouded Vision (Keisha Ceylon #1) by Linwood Barclay

Keisha Ceylon is a psychic. At least, that's what she passes herself off as. The truth is, Keisha's real powers have more to do with separating troubled families from their money than actually seeing into the netherworld. Keisha watches the news for stories of missing family members. She gives it a few days, then moves in, tells these families she's had a vision, that she may have some clue to where these missing people are. And by the way, she charges for this service, and likes to see the money up front. Keisha's latest mark is a man whose wife disappeared a week ago. She's seen him on TV, pleading for his wife to come home, or, if she's been abducted, pleading with whoever took her to let her go. Keisha knows a payoff when she sees one.

 So she pays a visit to our troubled husband, tells him her vision. Trouble is, her vision just happens to be close enough to the truth that it leaves this man rattled. And it may very well leave Keisha dead.

Dead Man's Reach (Thieftaker Chronicles #4) by D.B. Jackson

Boston, 1770. The city is a powder keg as tensions between would-be rebels and loyalist Tories approach a breaking point. One man is willing to light the match to ensure that he has his revenge.

The presence of the British Regulars has made thieftaking a hard business to be in. Ethan Kaille has to resort to taking jobs that he would otherwise pass up, namely protecting the shops of Tories from Patriot mobs. When one British loyalist takes things too far and accidentally kills a young boy, even Ethan reconsiders his line of work. Even more troubling is the fact that instances of violence in the city are increasing, and Ethan often finds himself at the center of the trouble.

Ethan discovers that some enemies don't stay buried… and will stop at nothing to ruin Ethan's life. Even if that means risking the lives of everyone in Boston, including the people that Ethan loves most.


The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley

Michael Vyner recalls a terrible story, one that happened to him. One that would be unbelievable if it weren't true! Michael's parents are dead and he imagines that he will stay with the kindly lawyer, executor of his parents' will ...Until he is invited to spend Christmas with his guardian in a large and desolate country house. 

His arrival on the first night suggests something is not quite right when he sees a woman out in the frozen mists, standing alone in the marshes. But little can prepare him for the solitude of the house itself as he is kept from his guardian and finds himself spending the Christmas holiday wandering the silent corridors of the house seeking distraction. But lonely doesn't mean alone, as Michael soon realises that the house and its grounds harbour many secrets, dead and alive, and Michael is set the task of unravelling some of the darkest secrets of all. 

Dead of Winter by Brian Moreland

A predator stalks the frozen woods.

At a fort deep in the Ontario wilderness in 1878, a ghastly predator is attacking colonists and spreading a gruesome plague—his victims turn into ravenous cannibals with an unending hunger for human flesh. Inspector Tom Hatcher has faced a madman before, when he tracked down Montreal’s infamous Cannery Cannibal. But can even he stop the slaughter this time?

In Montreal, exorcist Father Xavier visits an asylum where the Cannery Cannibal is imprisoned. But the killer who murdered thirteen women is more than just a madman who craves human meat. He is possessed by a shape-shifting demon. Inspector Hatcher and Father Xavier must unravel a mystery that has spanned centuries and confront a predator that has turned the frozen woods into a killing ground where evil has come to feed.

The Detective's Daughter (Detective's Daughter #1) by Lesley Thomson

Kate Rokesmith's decision to go to the river changed the lives of many. Her murder shocked the nation. Her husband never pressed charges and moved abroad under a cloud of suspicion. Her son, just four years old, grew up in a loveless boarding school. And Detective Inspector Darnell, vowing to leave no stone unturned in the search for her killer, began to lose his only daughter. The young Stella Darnell grew to resent the dead Kate Rokesmith for capturing her father's attention in a way she never could.

Thirty years later, Stella is dutifully sorting through her father's attic after his sudden death. The Rokesmith case papers are in a corner gathering dust: the case was never solved. Stella knows she should destroy them. Instead, she opens the box, and starts to read...



Want to see more wishlist?
Check out these that my friends have posted:

Erin at Flashlight Commentary
Stephanie at Layered Pages
Heather at The Maiden's Court
Holly at 2 Kids and Tired

Tuesday, 1 November 2016

The Twenty-Three by Linwood Barclay

The Twenty-Three by Linwood Barclay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Linwood Barclay comes the third jaw-dropping thriller set in Promise Falls. 

Everything has been leading to this.

It's the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, May 23rd, and the small town of Promise Falls, New York, has found itself in the midst of a full-blown catastrophe. Hundreds of people are going to the hospital with similar flu-like symptoms—and dozens have died. Investigators quickly zero in on the water supply. But the question for many, including private investigator Cal Weaver, remains: Who would benefit from a mass poisoning of this town?

Meanwhile, Detective Barry Duckworth is faced with another problem. A college student has been murdered, and he's seen the killer's handiwork before—in the unsolved homicides of two other women in town. Suddenly, all the strange things that have happened in the last month start to add up…

Bloody mannequins found in car “23” of an abandoned Ferris wheel…a fiery, out-of-control bus with “23” on the back, that same number on the hoodie of a man accused of assault…

The motive for harming the people of Promise Falls points to the number 23—and working out why will bring Duckworth closer to death than he's ever been before…


**********

Finally! That's how I felt when I started to read this book. The last book had a terrible cliffhanger and I've been waiting months to get to continue with the story. So, did this book live up to my expectations? Yes, and no. Don't take me wrong, it's a fantastic book, a page-turner. I loved that everything was starting to come together. However, not everything felt completely resolved, and right now I checked to see so it really is a trilogy and that no more books are planned in the series because, if there were more books would the ending have felt more understandable. But, no, this is apparently the last one.

At least the identity of the serial killer is finally revealed and that was a bit of surprise. Also, the truth about the number 23 is revealed, a little less of a surprise there. A bit of surprise for me was the sympathy I felt for ex-mayor Randy Finley in this book. He has never really been a nice character, but behind all that sleaze, well he did have a soft spot.

The Twenty-Three was a good book, despite leaving some people's fate hanging in balance. I would love to know what happens next so I really hope that Linwood Barcley will write more about Promise Falls. Perhaps a new trilogy?

I want to thank Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!