Simmering Stu - Pamela Burford

Simmering Stu

A hot tub can be a great place to decompress—provided your tub toy isn't a Glock 9-millimetre. When Death Diva Jane discovers that Stu Ruskin has taken decompression a little too far, everyone assumes his sudden demise was self-inflicted. The result of a guilty conscience perhaps? After all, no one who knew Stu would describe him as a Boy Scout.
Jane begins to suspect murder when disturbing secrets come to light. As it turns out, some of those secrets involve Martin McAuliffe. All Jane really knows about yummy bad boy Martin is that he has a mysterious past and is a darn good kisser. But hey, Sexy Beast approves of him, and when has Jane’s neurotic canine sidekick ever steered her wrong?

My Review

Simmering Stu by Pamela Burford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've loved the Jane Delaney mysteries since I first read Undertaking Irene over five years ago. With each new instalment, I've quickly devoured each one and Simmering Stu was no exception. The previous book, Preserving PeachesPreserving Peaches, ended with something that I'd been hoping for for a while. Simmering Stu picks up from where that book left off, which is exactly what I had been hoping for.
Jane yet again stumbles across a dead body, I have to say, I think that I'd start to avoid Jane if I happened to live nearby, for fear that she'd find another body or that I might become one myself. Jane, of course, starts to investigate the murder. I didn't manage to get there before her this time, but it was an enjoyable read all the same and I did my best to guess where things were going. Ultimately, I was happy with the conclusion, which is all that really matters in these things.
There are a few things I love about this series, one is the murder mystery element, another the humour and almost my favourite bit, the relationship between Jane and Martin. This book had more on that and I'm happy to say that Jane does seem to be following the route that I was hoping for. I can't wait to read the next book and see how things develop.
I love this series. Jane is a great character and her supporting cast (not forgetting dog Sexy Beast) are brilliant too. I hope that we don't have to wait for too long to get our hands on book 7.

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Heartlands - Kerry Watts

Heartlands by Kerry Watts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have to admit that I thought that I wasn't going to get on well with this book. To begin with, I found the huge amount of characters that were introduced in such a short space of time quite confusing and with quite a few of them, there wasn't anything obvious to make them stand out. I found myself flicking back and forth trying to decide who was who. It's a bit unfortunate really, as I suspect that this might put some people off, which would be a real shame as once you get past that initial phase, the story moves quickly and develops well.
Heartlands tells the story of a missing teenage girl. As the detectives start to investigate it becomes clear that there are plenty of secrets being hidden in the small community and the disappearance is causing them all to be revealed. Alongside this, is the story of a girl who disappeared twenty years earlier. There are parallels between her and this current missing girl story. I did assume that it had happened in the same place and couldn't understand why more people hadn't seen the similarity, but I realised later that it was in the North of England, while the rest of the story takes place in Scotland.
This book works well on many levels. Not only do you have the main mystery itself, but we also see how the missing girl twenty years ago affected both her family and the people involved in her murder. There are a few twists and turns in this one, most of which I saw coming, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. I did think that some of the people acted a little oddly. I'm not sure if I was dealing with any life-changing experiences that they were, I would have had the emotional energy to help out friends who were going through similar, but different experiences.
This was a very good start to a series and I'll be looking forward to finding out what will happen next for Jessie, the lead detective in this book. She clearly has a back story and past that I suspect will be catching up with her in the near future in perhaps the next book.
This isn't an easy light read, there are a lot of characters to get your head around and plenty happening in this fast-moving storyline. Don't let that put you off, because you will miss out on a good read if you do.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.


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Power Struggle - Carolyn Arnold

Power Struggle

One hitman who’s back for revenge.
One detective who’s not going down without a fight.


It’s been ten months since Detective Madison Knight almost died at the hands of Russian Mafia hitman Constantine Romanov. She hasn’t seen hide nor hair of him since he escaped police custody and fled to Russia soon after his arrest, except now her latest murder investigation gives her reason to believe he’s back in town. Seeing as the victim is the man who killed her grandfather, her perspective may be a little skewed, but with the MO smacking of Constantine and the victim’s connections to the mob, she finds it hard to be objective. Still, she’s doing her best to consider all the evidence.


When she receives a threatening letter from Constantine, however, her suspicions are confirmed. And he’s made it abundantly clear that not only does he plan to finish what he started but he has her family and loved ones in the crosshairs, too. Madison vows to do whatever it takes to save them, but as the hours race by, the body count rises. And the stakes only get higher when Madison’s sister, Chelsea, goes missing.


Now, Madison’s only play is to take Chelsea’s disappearance for what it really means: Constantine is calling Madison out for one final showdown. And they won’t both survive…

My Review

I have read and reviewed a Madison Knight book before. Last time it was In The Line Of Duty. I had intended to read more in the series before now, but haven't had the chance. This is the latest book, so in terms of a timeline, comes after the last one I read. I would suggest that despite being part of a series, this can very much be read as a standalone novel. Having said that, I should perhaps mention that most of the action in this book is a result of something that happened in a previous book. I haven't read the book in question, so I don't think that it really mattered and it certainly didn't reduce my enjoyment of the story overall.

What I particularly enjoyed about this story was the way that Madison had to deal not only with the threat that she and her loved ones faced but also with the relationships that she has. Madison is living with Troy, but still hasn't fully committed to their relationship. She has to fight the drive to deal with everything alone. This isn't just with Troy, there is also her partner Terry who is there for her, the police chief, who also happens to be Troy's sister and her family. Madison clearly has a difficult relationship with her mother and this becomes clear in this book.

This was a really good read that I really enjoyed. I did find that the end was a little rushed, but I'm not sure if that was the book itself or my reading. If you enjoy a good detective story, particularly a police book, then you can't go far wrong with Power Struggle.

In the line of duty - Carolyn Arnold

I haven't read any of the books in the Madison Knight series before, so I wasn't sure about starting with book seven. I thoroughly enjoyed this book though and it really did't matter that I hadn't read any of them before.

In the line of duty

He devoted his life to seeking justice. But would she get any for him?

 It was an ordinary day for police officer Barry Weir. It was the end of shift, he was tired, and he just wanted to get home to his wife and kids. But someone had other plans for him—shooting him down and forcing him to make the ultimate sacrifice.

 When news of Weir’s murder reaches the precinct, it leaves Detective Madison Knight and every cop in the Stiles PD itching for revenge. It cuts Madison’s boyfriend, colleague, and Weir’s childhood friend, Troy Matthews, deepest of all, driving him away from everyone he loves, just when they need one another the most.

With evidence pointing to a gang-related drive-by, Madison and her team investigate the town’s seedy underbelly in search of justice for their fallen brother. But the deeper they dig, the more convoluted the case becomes. Now they need to figure out if this was a random shooting as part of a gang initiation, a straight-up hate crime, or a targeted kill. But with the Stiles PD under attack, they have to do it fast…before more people pay with their lives.

My Review

I haven't read a police procedural novel for a while, although I do enjoy them. I was looking forward to getting stuck into this one. I was a little worried before I started that being book seven in the series, I might struggle a bit. Fortunately, even though there were small references to what I assume are previous books, it didn't detract from this one at all. It could be read as a stand alone novel, as I did, although now that I've read one, I'd quite like to go back and read the rest in the series.

If I had a fault to find with this book, it would be that I got a little confused towards the end. I wasn't sure who was who when Madison was solving the crime. There were lots of interconnected characters who were mostly refered to by their surnames. I was a little bit lost as to who was who, although it didn't really detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.

I thought that the loss of a collegue was very sensatively and thoughtfully handled. There was also the interesting subplot of the relationship between Madison and her boyfriend Troy. I really enjoyed this well written, police procedural novel and I'll be back for more in the series.

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