Frank and Red by Matt Coyne. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the story of a friendship. Frank who is an old man who has been widowed but still speaks to his wife. He has not been able to leave his house since she died. Red is 6 years old and has just moved in next door to Frank as his parents have recently split up. Red is having a hard time readjusting to his new living conditions. Red befriends Frank although Frank being a grumpy old man is not very receptive to Red at first their friendship grows.

This was a very sweet story about of a man and a boy dealing with their own struggles and forming a friendship. Although I enjoyed it it was very predictable and not very realistic but a lovely sweet story. I would highly recommend it.

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Femi and Charlotte have been tasked with studying another case which involves the Fairway Players. This time the Fairway Players are putting on the pantomime Jack In The Beanstalk at the local church hall to raise money for the church roof. A body is discovered and it is Charlotte and Femi’s job to work out who the body is and why they died. 

The story once again is told via emails and WhatsApp messages. I have always really enjoyed a multimedia format. The story is entertaining and is told with humour. This is just the type of story I love to read at Christmastime. Janice Hallett has become one of my favourite authors.

The List Of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the story of Miv. Set in the late 70’s Miv’s family is struggling. Miv’s mum spends all her time in her room and doesn’t interact with her family. Miv’s aunt has moved in to help out the family. Miv’s dad Austin is trying to hold everything together. When the Yorkshire Ripper starts murdering girls in the area Miv’s dad and aunt decide it might be time to move out the area altogether. Miv doesn’t want to leave her best friend Sharon so she decides that herself and Sharon are going to do the one thing that the police can’t which is to catch the Yorkshire Ripper.

I found this book really interesting as I was a bit younger at the time and had the same thought about trying to catch him. This book covers the issues of racism, sexism and mental illness.

The Fall by Gilly MacMillan ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Nicole & Tom are living in their dream home after winning the lottery. Nicole arrives home one day to find Tom dead in their swimming pool. The book then quickly turns into a whodunnit. The story is told from several points of view and there is also some journal entries from the housekeeper who lives next door.

I thought that the book took a little while to get going with nothing much happening. I found it confusing in parts and it did not bring anything new to this genre. I have enjoyed previous titles from this author which I have enjoyed much more than this one.

Murder In The Family by Cara Hunter ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a copy of this book ivia Netgalley n exchange for an honest review. 

This is about a true crime television series investigating a 20 year old unsolved murder. Luke Ryder was murdered in his garden and although there were suspects nobody was ever charged with his murder.

I would describe this book as multimedia as the evidence is presented in the form of emails, newspaper articles, police reports etc. I did really enjoy this aspect of the book although the evidence was quite hard to read on the kindle. I would highly recommend that if you read this in ebook form you read it on a tablet or phone to make it easier to enlarge the articles as this is not as easy to do on the kindle. I really appreciated that this was based around a television series rather than a podcast which has been done to death. I really enjoyed how the story unraveled to get to the conclusion. I will continue to read this author’s work as she just keeps getting better in my opinion

None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.

This is the story of Alix. She is a successful podcaster married with two children. Whilst celebrating her 45th birthday at the local pub with family and friends, Alix is approached by a woman who introduces herself as Josie Fair and tells her that it is her 45th birthday too which makes them birthday twins.

A few days later Josie bumps into Alix whilst Alix is picking her children up from school. Josie has discovered Alix’s podcast and asks her to do a podcast on her. Josie has a very complicated life and although Alix takes time to think about it but she ultimately decides Josie would make an interesting subject. Alix soon realises that she has made a huge mistake. Josie inserts herself in Alix’s personal life and Alix soon discovers that Josie is not what she seems.

This was an enjoyable read which kept you guessing with lots of twists and turns along the way.

All The Dangerous Things by Stacey Willingham

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Isabelle. Her 18 month old son was abducted from his bed in the middle of the night. Since then she has been unable to sleep and spends all her free time trying to find answers. The strain of the disappearance has caused Issy and her husband Ben to separate. Whilst travelling to true crime events to tell her story she meets up with a podcaster who wants to feature her story on his podcast in the hope it will help.

This story flashes from Issy’s childhood back to the present day. It was the flashbacks that kept me interested . i found that this book was quite slow and I didn’t feel that much happened in this book until the last 15%. I enjoyed it for what it was but would recommend it for those new to the thriller genre.

Call Time by Stephen Jones. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Bob. He is not a very good friend. He is career driven and has no interest in forming any relationships especially romantic ones. Bob is weighed down from guilt after his brother died when he was a teenager. Bob feels responsible. Whilst at a fancy dress shop he buys a phone which he finds enables him to contact his younger self. Bob makes it his mission to save his brother but finds that it is not as simple as he thinks. 

This was an interesting story but it took a little while to get going. There was certain parts that left me a little confused. On the whole I really enjoyed it and will definitely look out for more releases from this author.

I’m Following You by Emily Shiner ⭐️⭐️⭐️

received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Collette. She is devastated when her sister is killed in a car accident. Collette feels guilty because Her sister wanted to stay the night but she sent her home because she had arranged to meet up with a man. Colette reads that the woman who killed her sister is dead as she could not live with herself. Colette doesn’t believe it and thinks she spots her. Colette is determined to get her revenge.

This was a fast paced thriller but you have to leave any realism behind to get any enjoyment out of this book. There are too many coincidences and too much that would never happen in real life. I enjoyed it for what it was, a fast paced unrealistic thriller.

The Missing Wife by Kerry Barrett. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a dual storyline following Scarlett in the present day. Scarlett who has a true crime podcast becomes intrigued by the mystery of Hannah Snow who married an MP and disappeared in 1933 not long before her husband also disappeared.
We also follow Hannah Snow back in 1933 in London and then in Loch Ness. Throughout the story we slowly see the mystery uncovered.

I enjoyed the story and thought that the true crime podcast gave a real modern edge to the story in contrast to the newspaper reports reporting on the disappearance of Hannah and the first sighting of the Loch Ness monster back in 1933. There are a good variety of characters in both the 1933 and modern story. I did wish that the why of the mystery could have been revealed more slowly . I thought that I would have got more enjoyment if the why had been revealed at the end. I also think that the acceptance at the time of the why was quite unbelievable. I was very satisfied by the ending.