bethelizabethuk's reviews
642 reviews

When Nicole’s 4-year-old daughter is kidnapped she receives 4 phials instead of a ransom. One is poisoned, three are safe. If she drinks one her daughters location will be revealed. To add more mystery the kidnapper is supposed to be dead. DI Amy Winter is desperate to save the kidnapped child, especially as she failed to save the children her serial killer parents murdered when she was just a child herself.

I fell in love with Caroline Mitchell’s work last year and she is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. The first book in the Amy Winter series was incredible and I highly recommend picking that up first to really learn about Amy and her horrendous childhood.

As for this book, it did not disappoint. It’s well written and I could not put it down. It makes you switch between rage and true sadness for how a group of children were treated. Caroline makes you empathise with the bad guy and my heart honestly hurt for him. I did guess the supposed twist but it didn’t ruin the story.

I love that we get to learn about Amy's personal life as well as her work and the balance is perfect. The characters are all very human and Amy’s team are extremely likeable. I cannot wait to see what lies in store for Amy’s personal life.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

This is book 6 in the David Hunter series. I haven’t read any of the others but I don’t feel like I suffered. I may go back and check out the rest of the series though.

I found this one a bit of a slow starter and the chapters jumped around a bit. Once I got used to it though and the story got going I was soon sucked in. David Hunter is a forensic anthropologist and I found the characters extremely well written. Simon Beckett covers the science without making it over complicated or tedious. It also kept me guessing. Every time I thought I knew who it was it turned out I was wrong. If you love to see the sciencey side of crime books then definitely check this one out.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

I love Nora Roberts books but they all follow a similar plotline so they are kind of predictable. However, sometimes you need that from a book and I do love her writing. Her books are a mix of thriller and romance.

We get to see the story unfold and Caitlyn adapt and grow with 3 main periods of her life. It starts with the abduction, the middle is about her teenage years and then the last part is her as an adult returning home and facing her fears. The beginning and end had a great pace to them but the middle was very slow with not much happening. It does help you get to know Caitlyn more though.

Even though it is a predictable story with some slow patches I did still enjoy it. The characters more than made up for it and I felt like I wanted to know the Sullivan family. There are a lot of characters to keep track of but they all add to the story.

Overall a nice read with beautiful scene setting and well developed characters.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I was really intrigued by this book because I love reading about forensic science and pathology and I was interested to see how things differ in South Africa. There were some really interesting parts in this book but overall it wasn’t what I expected. I found Blumenthal glossed over the case studies so we didn’t get to actually learn about many particularly interesting cases and how they presented etc. There was a lot of repetition especially with the conditions he’s had to work in. It was also a pretty disjointed read and he went off on a lot of tangents without finishing his original line of thought. On top of that, he was very preachy. The book finishes with him preaching about how he thinks you should live your life and starts with the fact that he quit being a doctor because he didn’t want to treat smokers, drinkers, fat people, or anyone who drives badly because they bring all ailments on themselves and he only wants to help the innocent. He seems to think he’s some sort of superhero and mentioned a few times how little he’s paid and how important he is. All in all some interesting parts but not the author or book for me

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Alicia shoots her beloved husband several times and then never speaks again. Forensic Psychotherapist Theo is convinced he can treat her.

This book is so hyped and I was so excited to read it but it was a bit of a letdown. It is such a slow starter that I nearly gave up a few times. Honestly probably about 75% of the book was mediocre and struggled to hold my interest. I wasn’t really expecting the twist, however, it wasn’t a massive shock and it did give me more questions than answers.

The book is written from Theos POV with some chapters from Alicia's diary. I really struggled with the characters as none of them were particularly likeable and they were just a bit flat. Theos self-importance and obsession started to grate on me as well.

I definitely wouldn’t say it’s the best thriller out there.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely adore M.J Arlidge’s Helen Grace series. It is one of my favourite crime series. I think that’s why I felt a bit let down by this stand alone.

It started with a gruesome murder and ended with a lot of devastation, heartbreak and drama. The middle was just a bit flat and slow going. I thought all the characters were well written though and I loved Kassie. I just wanted to give her a big hug.

I’m not normally a fan of all things supernatural and psychic but once I got used to that element it wasn’t too bad. I found Adams actions all just seemed highly unprofessional and a bit far fetched and the way his character changes was a bit much.

That being said, Arlidge is a fantastic writer and if you enjoy supernatural elements and grizzly murders then maybe check this one out. Don’t expect it to be like the Helen Grace series though because you will be left disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.

I really liked this book. I think it would be perfect for teen readers and is a great place for fat-friendly resources and for finding new people to follow. The book is beautifully diverse and I loved the fact that even disabled voices were included. There were a couple of essays that were a bit long-winded or repetitive and just fell flat for me but on the whole, I was inspired and moved. I highly recommend checking this book out, especially if you are just starting out your body positivity/fat acceptance/self-love journey. It makes you realise that you are not alone and there are so many more important things about you than your size.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

When forensics specialist Liam is called out to a crime scene he discovers the victim is his ex-lover. Unfortunately, he has no memory of where he was at the time of her brutal murder. Liam's brother, Sean, is a homicide detective and tries to help but all evidence points to Liam. As Liam digs deeper for the truth he starts to suspect that it might actually be Sean. Will they get to the truth and will it tear the family apart?

I really enjoyed this book, it's well written and has a good pace to it which really builds towards the end. It kept me hooked and I was desperate to get to the truth. I did guess who had done it and was suspicious of another character but this didn’t detract from the tension at all and I was hooked until the end.

We occasionally get to go back to the boys past which adds the question of whether you can inherit a gene to make you do bad things. It also explains why the boys are so close and added to the story without over complicating it.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Matthew Farrell's work.

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for a copy of the book

I wasn’t sure about this book at the start but oh my god did the ending make up for it. I found some of it overly descriptive which made it hard to stay engaged and I also found the switching between first and last names a bit confusing. I haven’t read the first 2 books though which definitely didn’t help. I loved the main characters and I will definitely be going back to read the other books asap.

The first half of the book was a bit slow but once it got going I could not put it down. It was such a tense read. It’s not very often that a book surprises me like that but the ending was just incredible. It’s one of those books that I kept thinking about once I had finished it. It was so clever. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is book 2 and although it can be read on its own I would recommend reading White Out first so you understand Kylie, Lily and Iver better. I love Kylie and Lily but I would like to know more about Kylie. She’s still a bit of a mystery. This book is told from the POVs of Kylie, Lily and Hannah which I really enjoyed. I just wanted to give Hannah a massive hug and you could feel her fear through the pages. I guessed part of it but I definitely didn’t see a lot of it coming. The reveal was incredible and such a tense moment.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review