I am smashing this whole reading thing at the moment. I have finished 10 books this month. Ten whole books. TEN. I have never read this much and I am loving it. I've even managed to watch tv as well. I've been watching Euphoria and I'm halfway through and still not sure how I feel about it. It's intense. Have you seen it? What are your thoughts? Anyway, as usual, I've split this months reads into 2 posts so as not to be too long and here's part 1. It's a bit of a mixed bag.
#4 DI Gina Harte
5/5
This is book 4 in the Gina Harte series. I’ve read book 3 but definitely, need to pick up 1 & 2. I’m really enjoying this series and want to get to know Gina more. This can be read as a standalone though. I love Gina and I love that she’s not a perfect person and we get to see how her anxiety affects her day today. We also learn more about her past and what caused the anxiety which helped me connect to her more.
This book is quite the rollercoaster. The nail that is sent to Samantha’s best friend provides a link between her disappearance and Jade's murder but there doesn’t seem to be any other link between them. Every time I thought I had worked out who it was more information came up and I started to question everything. It really did keep me guessing. I was hooked and could not put it down.
2/5
There has been so much hype about this book but it just fell flat for me and oh man did it drag. I know the whole premise of the book is missed connections but after the second one, they got a bit unrealistic and boring. It doesn’t help that everything is over-described and explained. I also found topics like gay relationships, consent and women in STEM was shoved in to get brownie points but they weren’t fleshed out. Like, Nadia works in A.I but we never see her actually doing work or learn anything about it.
I also found it a tad creepy that Daniel felt like he had fallen in love with Nadia after overhearing one conversation and then kind of obsesses over her. The missed connections are dragged out and then it’s all over in an extremely cheesy flash. It just didn’t do it for me. I struggled to finish it and ended up skim reading some parts because it just didn’t hold my attention. It was a cute idea but it just didn’t come together well.
#5 DC Charlie Stafford
4/5
There are two cases running alongside each other in this book. There is the burglary/murder and then there is a break-in/ rape. The police think these may be linked but as a reader, we are led to believe they are two separate cases. This makes it more tense and interesting as you get to see how and when the police will work out that there should be two suspects.
This is the 5th book in the Charlie Stafford series and I would recommend reading them all as they add some background on the characters and they are really good reads. However, this one can be read as a standalone and you don’t miss out. I love getting to know Charlie and seeing a glimpse into her personal life, even if this book broke my heart a little bit.
Daddy’s Girls is a bit of a slow starter but the explosive ending definitely made up for it. The story is told from multiple POVs including the bad guys which did get a bit confusing but it gave an added perspective on the crimes.
Overall it was a great read and I would definitely recommend checking out this series.
3.5/5
6 kids were held captive for 2 weeks. Only 5 escaped with their lives. 20 years later on of the survivors witnesses a kidnapping and is convinced the man from The Bad Place is back.
This book switches between the past and present so we get to gradually see what happened to the kids in captivity 20 years ago whilst keeping up with them in the present. None of the survivors were particularly likeable and they just seemed to get worse as time went on but I think that added to the story. I did, however, love DI Sasha Dawson and her team.
There is a lot going on in this book and it does get a bit much. Sasha’s personal life is a mess. She has two bratty kids, an absent husband, a meddling mum with her own drama and a devastating past. It was just a hell of a lot of drama and that level of chaos kind of took away from the main plotline. That being said it did mean we got to know Sasha and her family really well.
With regards to the main story, I did guess the main twists but it was still an intriguing read and there are lots of extra twists and turns along the way. If you love crime fiction/thrillers but hate gore then this is definitely one to check out. Despite previous comments, I did actually enjoy this read and I will definitely be picking up any future DI Sasha Dawson books.
2/5
Dr Amanda Brown has worked treating inmates in a young offenders institute and both men and Women's prisons. She’s seen pretty much everything there is for a Dr to see.
This is a quick read and only took me a couple of hours to get through. It is an interesting and eye opening look at prisons and the chapters from the Women’s prison were heartbreaking. However, I found the book focused a lot on how amazing Dr Brown is.
This book was definitely used to aid her ego. I also felt that a lot of it was your typical rich person thinks they're better than everyone once they spend time/help someone who doesn’t have any money. I wanted to read more about the prisoners/patients and the interesting cases. The medicine was talked about so quickly that it seemed to be more about Amanda as a person than the work she does. The last few chapters were definitely the best and I just wished the whole book was like that.
What have you been reading recently?
Beth...x
* This book was gifted via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review, however, it does not affect my views and the opinions expressed in this post are independent and my own
** This post contains affiliate links. These do not cost you anything but if you buy something from the link I will get a few pennies
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