Readers First

A Three Dog Problem

11/11/2021 – 14:36

An easy, entertaining read with ample amounts of quirky humour along the way.

Rating: 3.3/5 This is the second book in the series featuring Elizabeth II as the new Queen on...

The Whistleblower

21/10/2021 – 17:24

A solid fictional debut.

Rating: 3.3/5 I can be a bit wary of reading novels by celebrities who have made their name...

Looking for the Durrells

23/07/2021 – 17:54

A pleasant read that doesn't manage to fulfil its potential.

Rating: 2.1/5 As someone who has enjoyed numerous holidays on the Greek islands, I was one of...

False Witness

11/06/2021 – 21:51

Didn't live up to my hopes.

Rating: 2.2/5 I was looking forward to reading this - a new, standalone thriller from Karin...

Snowflake

29/04/2021 – 00:07

A sound debut ... but does it live up to the hype?

Rating: 3.2/5 There has been quite a lot of talk about this debut novel from Louise Nealon. ...

Trust Me

19/03/2021 – 15:43

A far-fetched, but ultimately enjoyable, thriller.

Rating: 3.2/5 I have to confess that after reading the opening chapters of "Trust Me" I was...

The Legacy

17/03/2021 – 15:19

An intelligent, well-crafted and thought-provoking novel.

Rating: 4.0/5 "The Legacy" turned out to be quite a different read from the one I had...

Stella

20/02/2021 – 20:26

Fact and fiction combine in an unusual WWII love story.

Rating: 2.3/5 As someone who speaks the language, I prefer to read books in the original...

The Art of Death

04/02/2021 – 07:27

Has the basis for a good book - but lacks polish.

Rating: 2.0/5 When it's your first day in a new job ... having just been promoted to DI ......

A Prince and a Spy

07/01/2021 – 22:09

A mixture of fact and fiction in an engaging wartime adventure

Rating: 3.3/5 This is the fifth book by Rory Clements to feature the character of Professor...

The Dark Room

22/12/2020 – 21:31

An entertaining read ... but it does need to be taken with several pinches of salt.

Rating: 2.5 /5 I hadn't read anything by Sam Blake prior to this. From reading the blurb and...

How To Play Dead

10/11/2020 – 17:45

Less of a thriller, more of a social crusade.

This is not a bad book by any means - but it has been marketed in a misleading fashion. The blurb...

The Forgers

05/11/2020 – 00:14

Tedious and overwritten.

Rating: 1.2/5 It is a rare thing for me to award one star in a book review and it gives me no...

The Windsor Knot

22/10/2020 – 00:07

There is a new Queen on the Cosy Crime Scene!

This will appeal to those who enjoyed "The Thursday Murder Club" and cosy crime in...

Killing It

24/09/2020 – 21:47

Intelligently written and shows great imagination.

Rating 4.3/5 Lex Tyler is the mother of a young daughter who juggles her work as a secret...

Perfect Ten

18/09/2020 – 13:57

Heartily recommended.

Rating: 3.8/5 This is the first book by Jacqueline Ward that I have read and she has a very...

A House of Ghosts

18/09/2020 – 13:52

Oh, dear!

Rating: 1.2/5 I had not read anything by this writer previously, but I was attracted by the...

City of Spies

21/08/2020 – 16:09

A promising synopsis, but it didn't quite live up to it.

Rating 2.0/5 'When her cover is blown, SOE agent Elisabeth de Mornay flees Paris. Pursued by...

The Holiday

11/08/2020 – 17:19

Long-winded, littered with largely irrelevant incidents and culminating in an anticlimax.

Rating: 2.2/5 Sadly, I have to describe this as being a "shaggy dog story" - long-winded,...

The Nursery

11/08/2020 – 17:17

Lex Tyler is back and still killing it!

Rating: 4.3/5 Lex Tyler is back and still killing it! For the uninitiated "Killing It" was...

Sleep

11/08/2020 – 17:14

Well plotted, well written and with engaging characters of dubious backgrounds.

Rating: 4.2/5 I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Although it is set in the present day (or at...

Reviews by the cookster