The Secretary by Deborah Lawrenson

Mar16

Smoke & Mirrors

The Secretary by Deborah Lawrenson is an intriguing historical espionage thriller which I read in just two sittings.

Partly fact and partly fiction, the novel is based around the author’s mother’s life and her diaries. The action is set in 1958. Real life figures pop up within the narrative.

The reader journeys to Moscow. It is a post war world of espionage and spies. Trust is in short supply. One has to be very cautious about one’s actions and words for fear of being incarcerated by the Soviets. It was a time of mistrust and distrust.

Still, there was time to party, form alliances and fall in love. All the time keeping one eye open for traitors.

Deborah Lawrenson writes in a very personable style bringing both the characters and Cold War Moscow to life.

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The Crime Writer by Diane Jeffrey

Mar13

Wow! – Totally Gripping

The Crime Writer by Diane Jeffrey is a totally gripping contemporary psychological crime suspense that gripped me from the start.

The action is set in 2019 and present day. It alternates between the two time periods as the reader, and the community, try to piece together just exactly what happened to missing mum of two on that snowy night in 2019.

As we follow the events, clinging on for dear life, we wonder where the truth lies. Is a father protecting himself from the media? Or is there something else going on?

A grisly accidental discovery in present day, opens up a whole new can of worms. Once more, the case of the missing mum is at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

The novel touches on the topic of domestic abuse. Normally we have the female perspective – but not this time as we learn of a woman with a vicious streak.

How far would you go to protect your family? A father tries to shield his daughters from the publicity. He wants to give them stability which is especially important for his daughter with additional needs.

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The Black Rock Killings by Wes Markin

Mar10

Choices

The Black Rock Killings by Wes Markin is a fabulous contemporary crime novel that had me glued from the start. It is the sixth book in The Yorkshire Murders series but can be read as a stand-alone.

I enjoyed catching up with familiar faces – both heroes and villains. I would recommend reading the previous books first as there is a crime thread running throughout the series as well as new crimes to solve.

We drop in on a familiar face recovering from major surgery in hospital. We ‘hear’ his thoughts while unconscious as he walks amid the ghosts of his life. Will he succumb to all that he has lost? Or is life worth a second shot?

The lead detective, though incredibly dedicated and good at her job, finds her personal life is complicated. Her emotions are torn as we watch her battle internally.

Beneath the surface bubbles a love that the reader has followed throughout the series. We have been aware that the two characters love each other, even though they have never admitted it, not even to themselves. Will they ever speak up and say the words ‘I love you’?

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Unforgotten by Shelley Shepard Gray

Mar6

Superb Suspense

Unforgotten by Shelley Shepard Gray is a powerful Christian Amish contemporary suspense that I thoroughly enjoyed.

There are the hard hitting and difficult themes of stalking and abuse. We learn that a character has been a victim of an attack in the past, and it has affected her whole life. She feels guilty as if the attack was her fault. It wasn’t and “she needed to forgive herself.” We are never responsible for the actions of another. We need to be kind to ourselves, always offering grace and forgiveness to the face in the mirror.

Throughout the novel there is a very creepy character who watches from the shadows. There are some very dark scenes at night which heightens the suspense, raising the tension. The action mirrors the conditions.

We witness the bond between cousins. They are very close-knit, supporting each other. Life means that they are equally strong for the other but at different stages.

Sometimes in life, life makes no sense. We cannot see where we are going but God sees. She “didn’t have any idea what was going to happen next, but God did.” God knows our end from our beginning and we can trust Him.

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