Dark Sanctuary

 Dark Sanctuary

Sarah Barrie

Reviewed by Helen

Sarah Barrie has bought her readers another twisty ride with her newest thriller this one is a page turner with fabulous characters, good and bad and there are some bad ones, it centers around Coastal Sanctuary a place for the criminally insane and what goes one there, this one is told from a few different angles and it appears two stories, will they come together?

Detective Hex Rexford is retiring and his body is telling him it should be soon, the date is set for his retirement and a new boss has been chosen although not all are happy with the new choice but when some gruesome murders start happening Hex steps back to take over after all he put the infamous serial killer known as the Witchdoctor Dr. Witcherton behind bars many years ago and these killings are similar and Witcherton claims to know the killer, Hex will push to get answers and the killer.

Beth Thompson is a single mum with two small children and she is being stalked by her violent husband she is doing all she can to keep her kids safe, she works at a retirement village and loves her job and is close to a couple of residents one of them Rose, her young some Charlie is showing some strange behaviour at the moment and he has somehow acquired a new teddy bear named Theo, Rose offers Beth and the children a new place to move to a cottage that is isolated and Beth takes it but will it be safe?

Eve and Zane are podcasters who are starting a new podcast on the state of mental health and they are using Coastal Sanctuary to start with and what they find will shock them all, when a doctor from Coastal Sanctuary offers to step up and help them with their research Eve is happy but Zane not so happy and soon danger is creeping closer and closer.

What a story this is I loved it Beth and Hex are such fabulous characters as is Eve and Zane and Rose and what is uncovered is a shock to everyone the past tying in with the now and MS. Barrie did it so well, she had me on the edge of my seat often, this is one that I would highly recommend to any reader who loves a good crime, mystery, thriller, don’t miss this one, a fabulous story.

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

5 stars

April 28, 2026 by Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Pty Ltd

Stillwater

 Stillwater

A Luke Harris Thriller #1

Tanya Scott

Reviewed by Helen

Jack Quinlan is seven years old when his mother passed away from a drug overdose, child services locates his father Michael Quinlan, and here he lives a life of trauma and violence not necessarily from his father known as Quin but from associates they are living in a friend’s house Kevin and his Mother, Gail has always been caring and made sure he was OK, but as a young boy he is discovered by Gus who sees that Jack is a very smart young boy and he decides that he will do very well in his line of work which is not what anyone parent would wish for their child, a life of crime.

But as the years go by and Jack finishes his schooling he sees that his life will end in in jail like his father and when he thinks the time is right he leaves moves well away from Melbourne and the life of crime, changes his name to Luke Harris and starts over again, seven years later Luke returns to Melbourne to go to university and take up the commerce degree he put off years ago, hoping the past will leave him alone, that works for a while until Gus finds him again and Luke is back in his employment against everything he ever wanted.

While Luke is working as a career to a disabled young man, Phil Wylie, his father Jonathon starts getting Luke to work extra for them this brings into contact with Emma Wylie and soon they seem to becoming friends but it also appears that Jonathon has links to Gus and soon Luke finds himself caught in the middle, with danger on both sides and Emma being danger as well and there is the problem of secrets being uncovered that could change Luke’s life again.

This is a brilliant debut that had me turning the pages, fast paced with wonderful characters there are twist and turns as the past is uncovered and we learn what young Jack’s life was like, can he pull himself out of the life he led to become the person he wants be and what of Emma?

I do highly recommend this one to any reader who loves a good crime, mystery.

5 stars

August 12, 2025 by Allen & Unwin AU

Murder Never Forgets

 Murder Never Forgets

A Western Edge Mystery #4

Nicole Helm

Reviewed by Helen

Another fabulous, twisty story in this series, it was a great trip to Marietta and catching up with Sam, The Bennet’s and The Harrington’s. Things seem to be settling down now for Sam who is now living and working with Nate Bennett, Aly and Landon are getting married and eldest Bennett brother Cal is moving back home but when the past leaps back in front of them again, danger abounds.

At the end of the last book Jill Harrington asks Sam Price PI to investigate why her grandmother Glenda does not speak even though she did speak at the trial for Benjamin Bennett but not many words, Jill has lived in the cabin with Glenda since she had her stoke, Jill is happy with her and writing her mystery books, Sam is not uncovering much but little strings that soon lead to the deaths of a couple of men twenty five years ago, one of them being Glenda’s husband, could this be the trauma that caused her silence and what part does Cal play in this, has he more childhood memories that have been suppressed?

Will Sam uncover what happened before there are more deaths, and will they finally get Glenda opening up? This series just gets better with every book. I was turning the pages in this one, it is a fabulous story and one that I highly recommend, and the ending sets up book five and I can’t wait to read that one.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

April 1, 2026 by Tule Publishing

The Drowning Hour

 The Drowning Hour

A Catherine Snowden Supernatural Thriller #2

Annie Seaton

Reviewed by Helen

Detective Catherine Snowden is back and now that her and Brett. her forensic scientist partner have moved from Somerset to London and have settled into new jobs, Catherine is hoping for a quiet new life but that is soon to change on her walks to works past The Thames River where she feels things from the river and then when she find herself in hospital and a man is bought in after his car went into the Thames in a serious condition he spirit calls out to Catherine to help prove that he was murdered.

Oliver Ashford-Kent’s accident is being called an accident that he had been drinking but Catherine knows better now after Oliver has reached out to her, his brakes had been sabotaged after he uncovered a huge embezzlement that had been going on by his uncle Marcus it is in the millions, from the family pharmaceutical company, Oliver is now in a coma but his spirit is pleading with Catherine to prove what really happened and of course Catherine will do everything she can to help.
As Catherine digs deeper with the help of Brett and another detective, DI Vance she uncovers many other deaths that appear to be connected to Ashford-Kent Pharmaceutical Company and Marcus many of whom have been drowned in The Thames and Catherine is feeling them and their pleas to help prove their deaths were not accidents or suicide, the river remembers everything, will she safely find the evidence that is needed?

Another fabulous story in this series Catherine is put to the test in this one with some very personal issues going on at the same time, Brett is again a fabulous partner workwise and personal and I really liked DI Vance, Catherine’s life and job are in danger throughout this story and I loved it Annie Seaton has again drawn me into a story that is a must read. I do highly recommend this one and the first in the series and am looking forward to more.

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

5 stars

March 31, 2026 by ASA

The Forest Keeps

 The Forest Keeps

A Catherine Snowden Supernatural Thriller #1

Annie Seaton

Reviewed by Helen

I love Annie Seaton’s stories and this one is a little different but so very good, we get to meet Catherine Snowden a detective she uses her instincts while investigating her cases and when in her opinion there is a definite link to two cases of missing woman and now another woman has gone missing but her boss disagrees, Catherine will not give up and keeps searching for clues and answers, when Catherine feels a presence, a request maybe something she cannot explain, something that leads her to the forest and this presence lets Catherine know that there is more than one body here.

Catherine is determined to find the killer against her boss’s wishes she keeps going and then Forensic Detective Brett steps in to help and with the help of the spirit that keeps appearing and with accusations going around her workplace that she not thinking right Catherine will not give up till she has the killer under lock and key.

What a fabulous story it kept me turning the pages and the twist at the end was something that I never saw coming I had my thoughts on who the killer, I loved the supernatural twist in this one and I think Brett is a fabulous partner in work and personal ways for Catherine, fabulous characters and a fabulous setting and am now really looking forward to book two.

I do highly recommend this one to any lover of a goo thriller with a twist.

5 stars

February 28, 2026 by ASA

The Gambler

 The Gambler

PI Vince Reid #2

J P Pomare

Reviewed by Helen

I got to know Vince Reid PI in the first book and now he is back this time an old friend, Nick gets in touch with him to suggest a case that had been offered to him, Reid has promised his partner Peyton that he will not put himself in danger after his first case but Nick assures him this one will be easy and a good payday, so he travels to Nick’s place a smallish town and starts investigating why a woman in her sixties, a well- respected woman would open fire at a political rally, killing a young woman and injuring many more.

Reid goes firstly to the home of the parents of young Katie the victim to ask questions, the answers send him on a path looking for the man who shot the killer and saved many more people, Jason King, he is hard to find, but the more he uncovers the more twist that are there, and a visit to Amish country as well is there a link to an old unsolved murder and this one, was there someone who was an intended victim, did money play a big part in this shooting so many questions and not enough answers. Soon it seems that Reid is under threat and in danger of not making it home, will he get the answers before he is killed?

This is another fabulous story from JP Pomare one that kept me turning the pages there are twists, turns and a red herring along the way my mind was twisting with who and why, the characters are strong and very good, I do highly recommend this one to anyone who loves a good crime, mystery thriller. I am looking forward to the next one.

4 stars

February 24, 2026 by Hachette Australia

In the Clearing

 In the Clearing

J P Pomare

Reviewed by Helen

Amy has grown up in The Clearing raised by her mother with a brother and a total of eleven young children they are schooled and trained by their minders and keepers, it is the only life she has known and then another young girl is bought in and things start to change this young girl does not fit in and then Amy’s life changes.

Freya lives near the river with her young son Billy, she likes to feel that everything in her life is normal and that her and Billy are no different from any other mum and son but when a young girl goes missing this has Freya sitting on edge, everything that she thinks is normal for her feels different now and then there is a visitor and the unthinkable happens and all of a sudden Freya’s life is turned upside down will she and Billy survive?

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the books that I have read from this author and I read this older one for a challenge and so glad I did, it is filled with twists and turns, fabulous characters some good some not so good and had me turning the pages, I do highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery, crime. Thriller.

5 stars

December 31, 2019 by Hachette Australia