A Disappearing Act

 A Disappearing Act

Jo Dixon

Reviewed by Helen

Four friends, Sarah, Poppy, Xanthea and Marnie, lived in an old converted warehouse in Melbourne known as Ellzon in the 1990’s meet up again in 2024 for a trip to Tasmania and nobody saw what was going to happen but secrets from the past start to unravel, how will it all turn out?

Marnie Elliot is now a bestselling author who lives in London she has not seen her friends for many years and decides to invite them all for a week long holiday, is it to drink and have fun or does Marnie have another reason to be here with them, could it be something about the exposé that is just about to be released, she knows she has not always told the truth but this could blow her career sky high along with her life.

Sarah, loved her life back in those years being young and living the good life but things changed and a vow of secrecy taken soon everyone moved on from Ellzon and made new lives, Sarah marries and has a daughter, Poppy marries but not happily and Xanthea married her girlfriend and has two sons.

Now one night together in Tasmania and three of them are keen for monetary help from Marnie but what happens is those secrets start to unwind and soon one of them is missing, who and why?

This is a twisty story of friendships secrets and the past erupting, will they get the truth? I did very much enjoy this one a bit slow to start and the characters are all good although I don’t think I was fond of any of them but for me the story line was really good and I did not see what was coming in the end, I do highly recommend this one to any lover of a good twisty mystery.

My thanks to Harlequin AU and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

4 stars

November 1, 2025 by HQ Fiction

On The Edge

 On The Edge

Kate Horan

Reviewed by Helen

WOW I didn’t see the twist coming in this one, what a fabulous story, it was very hard to put this one down.

Sixteen years ago sixteen year old Maddie Marshall’s body was found washed up on a beach after being missing for three days, what really happened to Maddie the daughter of a high profile politician was never solved but fingers were pointed, accusations thrown about.

Nel Foley was Maddie’s best friend and she was the last known person to see Maddie alive she was interrogated not once but twice Nel was followed by rumours for two years before she fled the small town on Carrinya leaving her family behind to become a doctor like her father.

Nel is thirty two now and her father has just passed away suddenly and for the first time in sixteen years Nel returns to Carrinya but opinions have not seemed to have changed in all of these years but Nel is older now and stronger and when she discovers something from old medical records, she catches up with Jimmy an old friend from school who is now one of the local police officers and together they re-investigate the case but can they get the answers?

Nel is still sure that Maddie’s old boyfriend Ryan had something to do with it all, he is now married to Sophie and they have three children when Nel meets Sophie she knows something is wrong but can she help Sophie without anyone getting hurt?

This story had me turning the pages there are lots of twists as Nel pushes through many hurdles to get the answers she wants of what really happened to her best friend, it is so well written and Nel is such a fabulous characters, this story also looks into some issues that are very much in the headlines today. I do highly recommend this book it really is a fabulous book.

My thanks to the publisher Harlequin AU for my ARC to read.

5 stars

December 30, 2025 by Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Pty Ltd

The Missing

 The Missing

Fleur McDonald

Reviewed by Helen

Fleur McDonald has taken me back to Kalgoorlie for another action packed mystery, it is missing person’s week and a new radio announcer, Lily Carter has arrived in town and given the Kalgoorlie Police station a blast for their lack of looking into a young teenager, Brendan Cook who went missing last year, also new to town is Detective Angie Sullivan when she hears this she is determined to find answers and then another young teenager Max Galbraith goes missing is there a link? Angie is going to leave no stone unturned in her search for answers.

Angie gets a search underway but with old mine shafts anything could have happened questioning Max’s friends uncovers a few leads but they don’t get any further, then another teenage goes missing a friend of Max’s Bree and Angie pushes more there are a lot of people to question, and then a phone call gives them their biggest lead and from here on in danger abounds on a property further out with help from an old war veteran will they rescue Max and Bree and get the answers they need and will they get the perpetrator?

This had me turning the pages to find out everything, fabulous characters I really like Angie and Lily and Smurf was wonderful of course catching up with Jack and finding out how things are with Zara after the last book was good and I enjoyed getting to know Angie and a bit of her personal life, I am hoping that Angie will be in the next book and Jack too,

This is a fast paced, action packed crime, mystery that I would highly recommend to any reader who loves a good story that keeps you thinking.

5 stars

October 28, 2025 by HarperCollins Au

Long Lost Winter

 Long Lost Winter

A Western Edge Mystery #3

Nicole Helm

Reviewed by Helen

Book three in this wonderful series and I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough, winter is here and Private Eye Sam Price thought she would find things slower but with the trial coming up of Benjamin Bennett, Honors Edge her business seems to be getting busier and then a stranger comes to town one who looks very much like the Bennett brothers, seeking help to find his past.

Young Bo Lake has no knowledge of his past he was picked up as a young child adopted and given a name, a DNA test back then said he had links to Montana so here is twenty years later to see if he can get some answers and is recommend to Honors Edge Investigations to get help.

Sam and Nate are stunned when this man walks into the office the resemblance is remarkable and Nate is worried with the trial and the devious nature of their father nothing would surprise him and the investigation starts and they uncover more secrets that shock Cal, Landon and Nate, will this cause problems with the trial is there a chance their manipulating father will get off?
This one was fabulous the mystery the secrets and the opening up of close friend and neighbour Glenda Harrington had my mind racing in lots of directions I didn’t see that twist coming, I do highly recommend this a fabulous mystery, wonderful characters the opening for book four, I can’t wait to read it, the ending is fabulous, I loved this one.
I recommend that you read the series in order though.
My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

December 3, 2025 by Tule Publishing

Christmas Harbor Secrets by Ciara Knight

 Reviewed by Nas Dean

Christmas Harbor Secrets delivers the perfect blend of mystery, suspense, and heartfelt emotion. Ciara Knight pulls you straight into a coastal town filled with danger, hidden truths, and the kind of characters you can’t help rooting for.

Isobel’s journey from heartbreak to courage is gripping, and Rone’s protective, guilt-ridden strength adds depth and tension to every scene they share. The unfolding mystery kept me turning pages late into the night, and the emotional warmth balanced beautifully with the chilling suspense.

If you love Christmas stories with real stakes, relatable characters, and a twist of danger, this book is an absolute must-read. Highly recommended

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Helen's review

Isobel Lane has not seen her father since she was a young child he walked out on her and her mother but she always loved him, now she is an adult, her mother has passed away and her ex-boyfriend left her and took everything, then out of the blue she receives a letter from a lawyer stating the her father has died and left her a trawler in Florida, Isobel makes her way there planning on selling the trawler and maybe finding some answers. What she discovers will set her on a path of danger finding evidence of his murder not a drowning as stated.

Rone Archer feels guilty about his partner’s death in a botched plan while he was a detective, these days he lives on a boat in Florida, his friend Shade is dead and there seems to be suspicion about it and what he was involved in and when a young woman arrives to take over Shade’s trawler, Rone does all he can to make her leave, but she is strong and stubborn.

Before long they find themselves deep in trouble doing their best to help bring a criminal organisation down and stay alive, this story is fast paced and edge of your seat suspense as they fight to do what they set out to do, with the help of Shade’s doge Echo, but will they make it out alive?

I did very much enjoy this one set at Christmas time with wonderful characters and a fabulous setting it is filled with not only danger but emotion as Isobel and Rone journey to a HEA and I would recommend this one to anyone who loves a fast paced thriller.

My thanks to the author for my digital copy to read and review.

4 stars

November 17, 2025 by Defy the Dark Publishing

The Nowhere Child

 The Nowhere Child

Christian White

Reviewed by Helen

The Went family Jack, Molly and their three children, Emma, Stuart and Sammy live in the small town of Manson in Kentucky, in April 1990 two year old Sammy goes missing she was never found no clues, nothing, over the course of searching we discover that this family is rather a fractured one in many ways the mother Molly is very involved with the local Pentecostal Church The Light Within who are fundamentalist and father Jack has secrets that he keeps close but a lot comes out during the search for their daughter.

Melbourne twenty eight years later Kimberly Leamy is a photography teacher, while having a break an American man sits at her table and produces photos of the lost Sammy and soon Kim realises that she is the lost Sammy, the man turns out to be her brother Stuart but Kim will not believe that the mother she knew and love who passed away four years ago kidnapped her.

Kim travels to America with Stuart to try and get the answers she needs leaving her step dad and sister behind she is angry and torn but what she discovers in America is a dark place and many secrets and takes her deep into the Church of The Light Within and their fanaticism which can be very dangerous.

This story had me turning the pages, my mind turning in so many different directions and the twist at the end wow, this was my first Christian White book, it won’t be my last and it was his debut, it was fabulous and I highly recommend this one to any lover of a good mystery, thriller.

5 stars

June 26, 2018 by Affirm Press

Target in Sight

 Target in Sight

Diane Hester

Reviewed by Helen

What happens when you witness a murder, when young single Mum Aliese Coleson knows that her priority is to do everything she can to protect her five year old son Jonathon, after all her and Jonathon have been through she is determined to not let anything more happen.

Aliese and Jonathon run from their home in Adelaide and make their way to a remote cabin in the wilds of Tasmania she has bought enough provisions to last six months, it is cold and wet, when a small plane goes down in a storm Aliese must decide what to do with the pilot who is injured, can she trust him. He remains unconscious for a few days she has done the best she can with his injuries and when he finally wakes he has no memory of who he is, so for a few days the three get on very well, Jonathon is drawn to him and is making friends and Aliese is feeling a pull towards this stranger but when his memory returns Aliese must again change her plans not only are there killers after her but it appears that this man Kellen Reid also wants her and led the killers to her door.

Aliese is forced to make another run this time with Kellen as well and now there is a dangerous race through the wilds of Tasmania as the trio do their best to avoid bullets and stay alive, will they make it, will Kellen prove to police what happened and will the man behind it all get what is coming to him in the end?

This is a fast paced and action packed story, with wonderful characters, Jonathon was so good and the settings is fabulous, it kept me turning the pages to find out what happened and it is one that I would highly recommend.

4 stars

July 8, 2024 by Slender Thread Publishing