Book Review: “Murder at Whiteadder House” by Jackie Baldwin

Book Review: Murder at Whiteadder House by Jackie Baldwin

This is the third Grace McKenna mystery but can be read as a standalone. Grace runs a small detective agency in Edinburgh, at the beginning of the story a client, Eliza Anderson walks through the door asking for help to track down her twin sister Beth. Beth had been an alcoholic and drug addict but apparently had been restored to health by a luxurious rehab clinic at Whiteadder. The clinic seems too good to be true, the last meeting Eliza had with her sister, she seemed to have relapsed to her old ways and sounded paranoid “She kept on about how they were sending the snake to get her.”  

Digging deeper into Whiteadder House, Grace and Hannah, her colleague, go undercover into the clinic in an attempt to find out what is going on behind the façade. What they find is unsettling, the clinic is run by an American pharmaceutical company, which has no qualms about their research methods, they also have local clout with the police; this will prove to be a very dangerous investigation.

The thriller has elements of a Robin Cook medical thriller mixed with a private detective investigation like a Sara Paretsky novel. The writing is engaging and the plot takes a number of dramatic twists and turns. We are invested in the characters as they delve deeper into the mystery. The story races along to a thrilling climax.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the eARC (Advanced Reader Copy), I voluntarily leave this review. The book is due to be published on May 29, 2024.

My rating 5 out of 5

Book Review: The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro

This is the first of what I hope will be many Tate and Bell mysteries, this is a terrific start to the series and works fine as a standalone novel. The book begins with the discovery of the gruesome murder a young woman on the morning of All Saints’ Day, who is displayed on a cross in Highgate Cemetery with a pig’s heart around her neck. A journalist who witnessed the display falls under the wheels of an omnibus and is killed. Gemma Tate a nurse, recently returned from the Crimea is the sister of the journalist and doesn’t believe his death was an accident. Sebastian Bell is the police officer assigned to investigate the murder of the young woman victim in the cemetery, Bell’s pregnant wife had been murdered viciously before the story begins and to ease his pain and guilt, he had sought relief in alcohol and opium. Soon the paths of Tate and Bell cross and they begin working together a little reluctantly at first to solve the two suspicious deaths.

This is London in the late 1850s, the nurses, who had returned from the Crimea are viewed with suspicion. as what honorable woman would go to such a place? There is a lot of prejudice against women shown in the story, a woman’s reputation was precious and could easily be besmirched through no fault of her own. The book also details early prejudice against Muslims working in London and the sharp class divides.

Sebastian Bell despite his baggage is a dogged detective with a quick intellect, he was assigned the case by his superior, Superintendent Lovell, who reminds Bell, “Remember your place when questioning your betters.”
Sebastian retorts half-jokingly “Should I tug at my forelock, sir?”

Tate and Bell make a good team, even though Gemma Tate has no hope in those times of working for the police in an official capacity, one wonders in future books if a romance may develop twixt the two.

The story is gripping and fast paced, the historical detail is good although there was one anachronistic reference to Botany Bay (the last convicts were shipped to New South Wales in 1850 almost a decade before the events in the book). I also wondered if poppies were available in November for taking to cemeteries. The ending felt a little rushed. Despite these minor gripes I look forward to the next book in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC, I leave this review voluntarily.

The book is due for publication on 29 February 2024

My rating 5 out of 5

Book Review: “I am Death, I am Salvation” by Frank E Holmes

A gruesome murder is discovered in the amphitheater at Seattle’s Woodland Park. Chief Detective Jen Brighton and her team are tasked to investigate. The corpse of a drug addicted prostitute had been dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood from Grimm’s Fairy Tales. But they’ve hardly begun their investigation before another victim is found. This time, a middle aged woman is dressed as the witch from Hansel and Gretel, a grim (Grimm) link between the two deaths but little else seems to connect the two victims. This is the second in a series but can be read as a standalone. The short chapters make for a fast-paced book as Jen Brighton’s team endure an exhausting hunt for the elusive “Fairytale Killer”. One of Jen’s team has a serious gambling addiction, which complicates the investigation and supplies an intriguing subplot. There are many twists and false trails as the plot rolls out. This is a solid entertaining police procedural.
I received a free review copy of this book through BookSirens, and I am voluntarily leaving this review.

My rating 4 out of 5

Expected publication January 29, 2024

Book Review: The Bone Jar by S W Kane

“it was so quiet. Reckon I’d have heard an ant shit”

Thoughts of Lew Kirby

The uncharacteristic snow covered South London and made it eerily quiet. After reading books from many different countries recently, it was comforting to be back on familiar territory. A police procedural set in South London. This reminded me of a lot of the TV police dramas my parents loved watching in the nineties and early 2000s. The Detective Inspector Lew Kirby isn’t a maverick or an alcoholic, but he does have some idiosyncrasies. He lives on a houseboat moored on the Thames and he drives a classic green Citroen SM, I remember Columbo also drove a classic French car.
The setting for the story is an abandoned asylum, where the body of an elderly lady has been found murdered. It is unclear how she got there and who did her in. As DI Kirby digs deeper he uncovers many possible suspects and meets up with an urban explorer, Connie who assists with the investigation. The pacing is good and had me turning the pages. Some profanity seemed unnecessary and took me out of the story briefly having cracked that third wall. There also seemed rather too many characters to keep track of and all the interconnections at times seemed a bit too coincidental.

I’d be interested to read future books in the series.

My rating 4 out of 5.