Book Beginnings on Fridays - Mockingbird Songs by R.J. Ellory

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

This week my book beginning is Mockingbird Songs by R.J. Ellory. He's one of my favourite authors and this is his latest novel. I started it last night so have only read the first chapter but can already tell I'm going to enjoy it.

 

 

"A clear conscience is nothing more than a bad memory."

For what it was worth, this was the last flawed pearl of wisdom offered by Evan Riggs on the day that Henry Quinn was released from Reeves County Farm Prison.  

 

 

 

Book Description:

 

 Prison changes a man. Sometimes in ways you can see. Usually in ways you can't. The only reason Henry Quinn survived three years inside was because of Evan Riggs, a one-time country singer, one-time killer, now serving a life sentence. No parole. On the day he gets out, Henry promises Evan he will find his daughter, the daughter he never met, and deliver a letter. A free man, Henry heads to the small Texan town where Evan grew up and where his brother Carson now resides as sheriff. There's no sign of the girl and her uncle claims to know nothing of her whereabouts. But Henry isn't about to give up. He made a promise and, no matter what, he's going to find Evan's daughter. As Carson's behaviour towards him becomes ever more threatening, Henry realises that there are dark secrets buried at the heart of this quiet town. What terrible thing drove the brothers apart and what happened to the missing girl?  

First One Missing by Tammy Cohen

First One Missing is a dark psychological thriller that starts with the murder of young girl Poppy Glover. She's the fourth victim of the Kenwood Killer, named  by the press due to the fact all four of the girls bodies were found on Hampstead Heath near Kenwood House.

Leanne Miller is the liaison officer sent to let Emma Reid, the mother of another victim Tilly, know the latest developments. The parents of the girls have started a group and regularly meet up to help support each other through their grief.

The novel not only looks into the police hunt for the killer but also the emotional impact that such a horrific event has on a family and how they struggle to cope with everyday life afterwards.

At no point did I guess correctly what was going to happen. This is a gripping psychological thriller with an ending that will make you gasp out loud.

Thank you to Transworld & Netgalley for a copy.

Publication date: 2nd July

 

My review of the author's previous novel Dying For Christmas is here

Waiting on Wednesday - Way Down Dark

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we can't wait to be published.

 

I'm looking forward to Way Down Dark by James Smythe. I've loved all his novels so far and this is the first in a YA trilogy. It's published by Hodder & Stoughton on 2nd July.

 

There's one truth on Australia: You fight or you die. Usually both.
Seventeen-year-old Chan's ancestors left a dying Earth hundreds of years ago, in search of a new home. They never found one.
The only life that Chan's ever known is one of violence, of fighting. Of trying to survive.
But there might be a way to escape. In order to find it, Chan must head way down into the darkness - a place of buried secrets, long-forgotten lies, and the abandoned bodies of the dead.
Seventeen-year-old Chan, fiercely independent and self-sufficient, keeps her head down and lives quietly, careful not to draw attention to herself amidst the violence and disorder. Until the day she makes an extraordinary discovery - a way to return the Australia to Earth. But doing so would bring her to the attention of the fanatics and the murderers who control life aboard the ship, putting her and everyone she loves in terrible danger.

And a safe return to Earth is by no means certain. 

Mailbox Monday

 

 

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It was created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books but now has a permanent home here

 

This week I got & read Finders Keepers by Stephen King. He's my favourite author and I started reading the book an hour after the postman had delivered it.

 

“Wake up, genius.” So begins King’s instantly riveting story about a vengeful reader. The genius is John Rothstein, a Salinger-like icon who created a famous character, Jimmy Gold, but who hasn’t published a book for decades. Morris Bellamy is livid, not just because Rothstein has stopped providing books, but because the nonconformist Jimmy Gold has sold out for a career in advertising. Morris kills Rothstein and empties his safe of cash, yes, but the real treasure is a trove of notebooks containing at least one more Gold novel.
Morris hides the money and the notebooks, and then he is locked away for another crime. Decades later, a boy named Pete Sauberg finds the treasure, and now it is Pete and his family that Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson must rescue from the ever-more deranged and vengeful Morris when he’s released from prison after thirty-five years. 

A Thorn Among the Lilies by Michael Hiebert

This is the author's third novel in the Leah Teal detective series set in the small town of Alvin. I loved the first two so was delighted to get a review copy through Netgalley.

 

In this story Leah has the murder of a young woman to solve. The victim was shot dead and rather disturbingly had her eyelids sewn shut while she was still alive. When Leah discovers that a very similar murder occurred a few months previously in another town she realises there is a serial killer on the loose.

 

These novels are so easy to read and I love the likeability of the Teal family. We once again find out what is happening in the lives of Leah's daughter Carry, son Abe and his amusing friend Dewey. The ending felt a little rushed but I am hoping that I'll get to meet these characters again soon.

Rating: 3.5 out of 4

Published by Kensington Books on 30th June

 

Here are my reviews of the other two novels in the series:

Dream With Little Angels

Close to the Broken Hearted

May Roundup

Here are the books I read in May:

 

Before the Fall by Juliet West - review

 

The Shore by Sara Taylor

 

The Woods by Harlan Coben

 

Take Me With You by Catherine Ryan Hyde - review

 

A Robot in the Garden by Deborah Install

 

The Followers by Rebecca Wait

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It was created by Marcia @ A Girl and Her Books but now has a permanent home here

Only one for me this week, A Thorn Among the Lilies by Michael Hiebert. I'm reading it now, I've enjoyed the author's previous two novels in the Detective Leah Teal series so was pleased to get the latest from Netgalley. It's published by Kensington on 30th June.

Detective Leah Teal is privy to most of the secrets in her hometown of Alvin, but there are always surprises to be had. Like the day she agrees to take her daughter, Caroline, to see a psychic for a reading. The psychic hones in on Leah instead, hinting at a string of gruesome killings and insisting that she intervene to prevent more deaths.

When you go looking for trouble, you never know how much you'll find. Sure enough, the psychic's scant clues lead Leah to a cold case from six years ago, when a young woman was found shot to death, her eyelids sewn shut. As Leah digs deeper into old files, a second unsolved case surfaces with the same grisly pattern. While her shrewd young son, Abe, observes from the sidelines, Leah races to prevent another horrific murder, unaware of just how deep the roots of evil can go.

Taut, suspenseful, and rich in Southern atmosphere, A Thorn Among the Lilies is a mesmerizing novel of loss and vengeance, and the lengths some will go to out of loyalty and love.