From the Book Elf

The Christmas Jigsaw Murders  by Alexandra Benedict  The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict   was published on 24th October 2024 by Simon & Schuster.  My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me copy to review and to  Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. On 1st of December, renowned puzzle setter, loner and Christmas sceptic Edie O’Sullivan finds a hand-delivered present on her doorstep. Unwrapping it, she finds a jigsaw box and, inside, six jigsaw pieces. When fitted together, the pieces show part of a crime scene – blood-spattered black and white tiles and part of an outlined body. Included in the parcel is a message: ‘Four, maybe more, people will be dead by midnight on Christmas Eve, unless you can put all the pieces together and stop me.’ It’s signed, Rest In Pieces. Edie contacts her nephew, DI Sean Brand-O’Sullivan, and together they work to solve the clues. But when a man is found near death with...

  Too Many Times  by M.K.Turner Too Many Times by M.K. Turner was published on 15th October 2024.  My thanks to Marcia for sending me a copy to review and to  Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the tour. Synopsis Respected and successful barrister Bernadette Wiseman is dead, hanged in the hall of her home. With no sign of foul play and no note, the question raised is why? The police believe it was suicide, but Bernie’s partner, Annie, won’t accept that and instructs JJ Jenson to investigate. As JJ and his sidekick, Davie, dig around in Bernie’s apparently perfect life, they discover professional jealousies, sinister threats and dangerous enemies, but can they establish what actually happened? And more importantly, to honour Bernie’s own dedication to justice, can they prove it? When JJ begins to question whether Bernie’s life was as perfect as she liked people to believe, he sets off a dangerous chain of events, putting his own life in danger. But who is he up ...

 Christmas at Polkerran Point  by Cass Grafton Christmas at Polkerran Point by Cass Grafton was published in August 2024 by Canelo. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis F ate may have brought them together, but secrets seem destined to keep them apart... An accident and a lost passport mean  Gemma's  six-month sabbatical to go travelling is not off to a strong start. She heads to Polkerran Point to stay at her aunt’s while her new passport is processed and to find temporary work in the meantime. Enter musician  Matt . Newly moved into a secluded, renovated mill – complete with a recording studio – Matt is preparing for his band’s big reunion tour. Focused on writing new music for the album, he needs a live-in housekeeper. Even as sparks fly, Gemma can sense Matt's keeping secrets and with her role ending once Christmas is ove...

Blood Matters by Ian McFadyen My thanks to Ian for sending me copy to review and to  Rachel for inviting me onto the tour. Synopsis When the body of Doug Pritchard, an aging music journalist with a history of sensational scoops, is found face down in a dark roadside ditch, DCI Carmichael and his team embark on an investigation that takes them in several directions. What did Pritchard uncover? Did that secret bring about his violent demise? And do the tragic deaths of two local pop idols, twenty years before, have any relevance to his murder?   As DCI Carmichael delves deeper into the case it becomes clear that, despite the outwardly close connections of the residents of the small hamlet of High Maudsey, neither long term friendships nor family ties should be taken at face value. This the tenth in his series of well-honed detective novels by Ian McFadyen featuring DCI Carmichael, leads the detective and his team through as many twists and turns as the quiet country lane where D...

  The 12 Murders of Christmas by Sarah Dunnakey The 12 Murders of Christmas by Sarah Dunnakey  was published on 7th November 2024 by Avon. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to  Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour. Mastermind Puzzlemaster Sarah Dunnakey cordially invites you to crack the code of who killed Edward Luddenham. It’s the first anniversary of the mysterious death of Edward Luddenham, found dead at his home on the Yorkshire moors one frosty Christmas Eve. Now twelve people gather at his manor house for the reading of the Will. Each has their own motivations for coming: curiosity, duty, unrequited love, desperation, greed. They have been instructed to bring a “festive mystery story” to share. But all you need is a pencil. Safe from the biting cold and the relentless snowfall outside, settle in with your favourite tipple in hand, as the storytelling begins. Though you’ll need to keep your wits abo...

The Echoing Shore  by J.H.Mann The Echoing Shore by J.H. Mann was published on 30th August . My thanks to Jason and to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for sending me a coy to review. Synopsis A lifeboat is lost off Cornwall's wild Atlantic coast. All eight crewmen die. The cause is never fully explained. Ten years later, Kate Tregillis, the editor of a small, struggling newspaper, becomes obsessed with solving the longstanding mystery. Her investigations provoke a backlash of threats and violence in the insular fishing community of St Branok. In exposing the truth, she risks the future of her newspaper and even her life - and discovers that the man she loves has his own secrets. My Review I could not put this down from the minute I picked it up to the very last page. This is one of those stories that pulls you into the plot and the characters straight away whilst making you feel as though you are there on the cliffs in Cornwall with the waves smashing against the rocks and...

The Quantum Grail  by J.D. Redvale The Quantum Grail by J.D. Redvale was published by Gotham Bookworks. My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Literally PR for inviting me to take part on the tour. Synopsis Fate forces a Navy SEAL and a convicted hacker into a tenuous alliance, but shared  desperation fuels hope in J.D. Redvale ’ s pulse - pounding novel about found family  versus overwhelming odds. Perfect for readers of  Harlan Coben, Blake Crouch, and  David Baldacci. As a former Navy SEAL, John Mitcham knows you can ’ t always storm your way to  victory. Some ops require you to hold fast and  remain . So he lives with his losses , steadfastly pulling the weeds from his daughte r ’ s grave.  When his wife disappears, leaving a farewell note that doesn ’ t ring true, John uncovers a  government project that surpasses his comprehension: the Quantum Grail, a  mysterious AI weapon, now missing. To...