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

One Dark Night

 One Dark Night

Hannah Richell

Reviewed by Helen

WOW I never saw the twist coming at the end of this one, this is a fabulous mystery, suspense story that kept my brain working and me turning the pages, so many fabulous characters, what happens when it is Halloween and a group of high school students go to the haunted woods for a party and at the end of the night one girl is lying at the bottom of the folly, you will need to read this one to find out.

The small village of Thorcombe is in the woods and there is a private school there, there is also a very tall folly in the woods where apparently a young woman was murdered and left for the crows, her name was Sally is it a wives tale or truth if you listen to the drivers on the road it is true, when some of the students organize a Halloween party they dress up and the party is rife with games and dares but come morning there is a girl missing, one of the students and when her body is found arranged at the bottom of the folly the investigation starts.

Police Detective Ben Chase’s daughter Ellie is a student at the school and his ex-wife and Ellie’s mother, Rachel is the councilor at the school and they are immediately worried was the death a prank gone wrong or was it murder and if so what made someone do this to a young girl?

As more evidence is uncovered and questions answered by the students, Ben is taken off the case because of his closeness to the situation but he does not give up easily and is soon finding more evidence and Rachel, is also doing her best to find clues, because until this person is found no one is safe.

This is a twisty mystery, and one that I highly recommend, I loved it and I loved the characters, you need to read this one and find out what happened and why it, will shock you I am sure as it did me. A fabulous story, Thank you MS Richell for another keeper.

My thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia and Netgalley for my copy to read and review

5 stars

January 1, 2025 by Simon & Schuster Australia

False Start

 False Start

Blake Willis Thriller Series #2

Steve Shipley

Reviewed by Helen

Book two in this series and it is a busy and action packed one as Blake and wife Becca are pushed to the brink as firstly their best friend and ex-CEO of the company they started CloudPhantom Dr. Daniel Zhu appears to have been kidnapped and what they uncover in trying to find him shocks them to the core.

Blake quickly calls in all the help he can, the people who have helped him before, people he trusts to get Daniel back and stop the takeover of CloudPhantom and in turn this political power intends to take control of Australia, Blake and the team need to work fast to stop them from infiltrating the company the enemy are already starting breakdown the firewalls that are up, decisions need to be made, protect the ones they love or lose the company, is war imminent, will Blake and his team be able to stop the threat in time?

This is a fast paced story where cyberwarfare seems to be the way a political takeover is threatening, so many things can happen in such a short space of time, danger is around every corner and many lives are at risk, will Daniel be returned safe and will they stop the takeover of firstly CloudPhantom and Australia?

If you love a good political thriller, filled with action, wonderful characters and a great plot then this is the one to pick up a great addition to this series and there is another one to come, I did thoroughly enjoy this one as I am sure you will as well.

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

4 stars

December 10, 2024

Her Buried Bones

 Her Buried Bones

Opal Fields #

Fiona Tarr

Reviewed by Helen

This was my first Fiona Tarr book but it won’t be the last I am looking forward to many more and luckily I have some to catch up one, Constable Jenny Williams has requested a transfer to Cooper Pedy she wants answers to a family mystery, her missing aunt and cousin and the last place they were known to be is Cooper Pedy, will she get her answers?

The heat is the first thing that rocks Jenny when she arrives and the red dust, her first impressions when arriving at the police station is that she is going to find it tough to break through the ways of the station run by men, she decides to keep her reasons for being here to herself for a while and when the remains of a body are found in the bottom of a mine shaft soon Jenny throws herself into the investigation, it appears to be a murder and Jenny is arguing already with her new boss.

They all soon learn that Jenny will not give up on what she believes and with the help of the forensic scientist Penny they are building a case and when the cop she replaced arrives in town Jenny will do whatever it takes to revel the killer.

I thoroughly enjoyed this crime mystery, I loved Jenny and her determination to get the answers and the way she stood up to her boss, will she get more answers about her aunt and cousin I look forward to more in this series to get the answer. There are some fabulous characters in this one and MS Tarr has describes Cooper Pedy so well I almost felt the heat. I do highly recommend this one to any reader who loves a good mystery.

4 stars

March 3, 2023