The Private Island

 The Private Island

Ali Lowe

Reviewed by Helen

Twists all through this one as Ali Lowe takes us on a trip for New Year celebrations on the beautiful Loloma Island in Fiji, two couples, two single woman and the staff who work on the island are all caught up in this mystery, guests who seem to be connected in some way but how and why are they all here, come along and try to work out what is really going on.

What happens when one goes missing and a body washes up?

Husband and wife Benedict and Luella are extremely wealthy and Luella flaunts it really well she is the daughter of a billionaire and is not that nice, Benedict bows to her but is friendly to everyone.

Kitty and Fergus have used everything they have to get to this island for one reason but will they get what they want?

Thomasina was invited to come but is the reason she was invited the real reason?

Sofi, a French doctor why is she really here?

Sailasa the water sports worker and dive instructor who is way out of his depth at the moment, will he dig himself deeper?

Una the person who cleans the rooms and sees everything and is also Sailasa’s aunty will she work out what is going one before there are any more bodies?

The tension runs through the pages in this one, and the characters good and bad are wonderful, there is revenge, greed and so much more, MS Lowe had me thinking throughout and what a twist at the end and of course the setting is awesome who doesn’t love Fiji.

This is one that I would highly recommend to any lover of a good mystery/thriller.

4 stars

February 25, 2025 by Hachette AU

The Bluff

 The Bluff

Joanna Jenkins

Reviewed by Helen

I loved MS Jenkins debut and I loved her second book just as much, this one had me captured from page one, I really liked Ruth in the first book and again in this one, such a different setting for her but she throws herself into what she does feet first and with much enthusiasm, this one kept me up very late last night, there was no way I was putting it down till I got the answers to who and why.

Ruth Dawson visits her old mentor and boss Roscoe at his new home in the country town of Myddle, the local lawyer happens to be an old friend of Ruth’s and when he asks her to look after his practice for six months Ruth decides to give it a go, maybe a short stay in the country will be good for her but then maybe not.

It all starts when Victoria Baulderstone arrives on her doorstep her first day to say that her seventeen year old daughter Bea is missing and the policeman Gazza Parker refuses to do anything about it, Ruth decides to do what she can but she is shocked about all that she uncovers as she does her best to find Bea.

Then one of the very popular locals, Dash is found dead out the front of his property with a gunshot wound, now it seems Gazza is concerned about Bea’s disappearance and is doing his best to pin the murder on a young indigenous boy Troy, who Ruth has taken under her wing, Dash’s wife Evie cannot be found and Ruth is determined to keep Troy safe and find Bea and get the answers she wants and of course uncover who and why Dash was murdered.

Ruth uncovers so much with her investigation, and it seems that it concerns a piece of land known as the Bluff which is on Evie and Dash’s property but is that all? She also uncovers racism, sexual assault and so much more and Ruth will get the answers.

This is one that I highly recommend, it was not putdownable, Ruth is the best at what she does I love her wit and understanding and her conversations with her son Jack, there are so many great characters in this small town and the twist at the end, very interesting. Huge congrats to MS Jenkins for another keeper.

My thanks to Netgalley and Allen& Unwin Au for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

March 4, 2025 by Allen & Unwin

The Reunion

 The Reunion

Bronwyn Rivers

Reviewed by Helen

This is a fabulous debut by new author Bronwyn Rivers set in the rugged Blue Mountains it tells the story of six school friends who venture on a three day hike in the national park to celebrate the end of their school days, Ed, Jack, Hugh, Alex Laura and Charlotte, on this weekend six start out only five return, Ed does not return alive, now ten years on they are invited back to Ed’s home the place the hike started by his mother Mary for a memorial weekend but there is a reason Mary has invited them, she wants answers to what really happened that day all those years ago when she lost her only son and she will stop at nothing till she gets them.

When the friends arrive they notice the disrepair that the old homestead is in and how much Mary has changed she has now lost her husband as well and lives on this huge isolated property alone, at dinner that night Mary asks the question that they had not expected, her anger is strong and she wants the truth about that weekend when they tell her nothing things turn for the worst, the next morning they realise they have no means of communication the phone lines cut, the modem gone, their petrol tanks drained and no water, will they survive?

This weekend sees these five friends open up about their past lives and what really happened that dreadful weekend the fear is growing about what Mary will do with them the suspense is growing and the danger is growing is there any way they will get out of here?

This is a very well written story, atmospheric, suspenseful, the setting is just perfect for this story and the characters were easy to get to know and the ending was so very good I did not see that twist happening, this is one that I would highly recommend and look forward to more books from MS. Rivers.

My thanks to Hachette AU & NZ and Netgalley for my digital copy to read and review.

4 stars

February 13, 2025 Hachette AU

Risky Romance

 Risky Romance

Wolf Security #4

Kendall Talbot

Reviewed by Helen

Another action packed, fast paced story that was hard to put down in this fabulous series, this time Border Force operative Jewel “Whisper” Wagner has her chance at a HEA, we know Whisper can be feisty and when she sets her mind to something nothing is going to stop her and when her younger brother is in trouble Whisper is on the case but OMG what has she walked into here?

Whisper is already in trouble from her boss Ryder but when her brother calls she goes after him and finds herself on a corn plantation and being held captive, how is she going to get out of this, her mind is ticking over, what are they really doing here?

Cody Marshall is a corn farmer he has been here since he was a very young boy sent to be cared for by his uncle but life has not been easy at all but he loves farming, when he finds a woman bound and gagged he must do what is right and save her.

Cody and Whisper are chased into the Daintree Forrest a beautiful but dangerous place to be they are chased by helicopters and shot at but manage to get away, Cody has no idea what is going on as Whisper tells him her thoughts on the drugs and the underworld figures who are behind it but innocent as he is Cody refuses to believe her.

Four days and many times they come close to death as each of them save each other from all hell but there are also times where passion takes over will they be able to walk away from each other if they get out of here alive? Finally they are out but to what, more danger as they meet up with the Wolf Security team, will they finally bring Scorpion underworld down?

I was turning the pages on this one, Whisper and Cody are the best and what they went through is really hard, MS Talbot puts her characters through some really hard times, the suspense and pressure is on, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one, I do highly recommend this one and the series.

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

4 stars

January 31, 2025

The Cul-de-sac

 The Cul-de-sac

Christoper Null

Reviewed by Helen

This was a book that I was really looking forward to, I do love a good thriller that has me thinking, but this one has many points of view and I found it hard to get into but in saying that it did intrigue me with how on earth this story would work out and I continued to read to get the answers, meeting the residents of the Cul-de-sac, mmm.

Klaus, has lived there for many years and is a serial killer but he is thinking this last murder will be his last but will it.

Peg is a widower and lived here for fifteen years and is thrilled when a new family move in with a teenage daughter.

Alex, do we really get to know him, we know he has medical problems.

Eliza is fourteen and has just moved in and is soon getting help from Alex for her maths.

After years of staying away from each other they seem to now be getting to know each other, a few are anyway, but do you ever really know anyone and when something happens to turn the Cul-de-sac upside down, how on earth will all of this turn out?

Sadly, the ending left me hanging it is not what I expected, I would have loved to have gotten some more answers.

This one wasn’t for me but I am sure that there are many who will love it.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital ARC for review.

2 stars

February 10, 2025 by Tule Publishing

Blood Pact

 Blood Pact

DCI Jack Hawksworth #6

Fiona McIntosh

Reviewed by Helen

Jack is back in another page turner, this time the team is called back together to investigate a series of domestic terrors that have been happening around the counties, starting with needles in strawberries, then tampering with baby formula and lipsticks but then moves onto toxic mushrooms and when this causes a death the team are pushed to get answers and fast.

When there are more murders it is looking like a serial murderer is on the go, when the clues all turn to the death of a small boy in a hospital who was given the wrong blood years before, all but one of the victims appear to be linked to a blood donation from the original donation through to the giving of it, the team need to work fast and uncover the culprit before any more victims are killed, but with no CCTV footage, no DNA it is not easy, will they find their culprit or is there more than one?

The pressure is on when one of their own goes missing and there is the threat of a bomb, will they get there and avoid a tragedy and how will everything work out?

I did love this one, there is tension and suspense all the way through, I found it very hard to put down and there is Jack’s personal life is it time for him to make some changes, has Jack finally found the one and will there be more DCI Jack Hawksworth stories?

I do highly recommend this one and the series, they are fabulous well written stories.

5 stars

January 7, 2025 by Penguin Random House AU

The Kill List

 The Kill List

Anjelica Henley #3

Nadine Matheson

Reviewed by Helen

Book three in this fabulous thriller series and it had me riveted from page one, Henley and her team Ramouter, Stanford and Eastwood and their boss Pallecia are back at their best, Andrew Streeter has been locked up for twenty five years serving five life sentences for five murders, now he has just been exonerated and Henley and her team must investigate how he was charged and found guilty in the first place, was there police corruption and was it their old boss and friend Rhimes?

Twenty five years ago the cold blooded killer abducted, raped and tortured four women and then abducted and tortured a male before burying them alive then returning their bodies close to their homes with their eyes and mouth sewn up with a coin in their mouths, now just as Andrew Streeter is about to be set free he is found dead in his hospital bed and what’s more there are more murders and another kill list, will Henley get the real killer before there are more murders and uncover the truth of what happened all those years ago?

This case is very hard on Henley for a lot of reasons, and time is running out, the pressure is on, as the team dig deep into the past and keep up with what is happening now, again I loved this one it is dark and menacing as the team gets closer to the murderer and uncover things from the past which I am hoping will lead to book four in this series, I thoroughly enjoy that this writer brings the teams personal lives into the story this lets the reader get to know them all really well.

I do highly recommend this one to anyone who loves a good thriller one that will keep you turning the pages to get to the truth, well written, edge of your seat stuff, one not to be missed.

5 stars

August 6, 2024 by HQ Fiction GB