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I post book reviews as often as possible but at least once a week every Wednesday! I hope they help you to find some new books that you'll love as much as I did!
 The Synopsis Mike and Verity have a special game. The Crave. They play it to prove what they already know: that Verity loves Mike. That she needs Mike. Even though she’s marrying another man. Now Mike knows that the stakes of their private game are rising. This time, someone has to die… My Review This is a really difficult book to discuss without giving too much away, so I'm going to keep this review on the shorter side. The story is told from the perspective of Mike, who is one of the most delusional, disturbed and unreliable narrators I've read. The novel is definitely character driven, which I enjoyed because I never get tired of getting into a character's mind and learning what makes them tick and this book really explores that. I found the plot extremely compelling and intriguing and this made it a fairly quick read for me and actually I wouldn't have minded it being a bit longer. I think that you really need to go into the book with no expectations or ideas of what you think it's going to be like and just let it carry you along on its dark, psychological ride. Overall, I'm giving Our Kind of Cruelty 4.5 out of 5. It's clever, dark and really compelling. The above are affiliate links. This book was provided for free in exchange for an honest review. About the AuthorAraminta Hall has worked as a writer, journalist and teacher. Her first novel, Everything & Nothing, was published in 2011 and became a Richard & Judy read that year. Her second, Dot, was published in 2013. She teaches creative writing at New Writing South in Brighton, where she lives with her husband and three children. Her latest book, Our Kind of Cruelty, is a deeply unsettling thriller of a love story, in which a secret game between lovers has deadly consequences…
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 Today is my stop on the blog tour for Carnivore by Jonathan Lyon. Thanks to Joe for organising the tour. Don't forget to check out the rest of the stops. The Synopsis Meet Leander: lover, fighter, liar. He learnt a long time ago that nothing is as intoxicating as blood. But whether it’s his or someone else’s doesn’t matter any more. There’s a mysterious pain in every muscle of his body – and it’s got so bad that he’ll do anything to escape it. Up to now, it’s been his secret. But it’s hard to remain invisible when you leave a trail of destruction everywhere you go. So, when he comes to the attention of one of London’s most infamous criminals, Leander decides to put his appetite for violence to the ultimate test. Let the villain win. My Review For me, Carnivore is more of a literary novel than a crime novel and it wasn't what I was expecting at all. Nevertheless, its eye opening representation of chronic illness was definitely worth the read. The way Leander deals with his pain is shocking and very dark, and throughout, the book is violent and graphic. It's certainly not for the faint hearted and I think it's often written to shock. However I felt that beneath all of the violence and in depth descriptions, the book explored the mind of Leander well. He's not likeable, the narration is unreliable and he's definitely an anti-hero, but the extremes he goes to to cope, really illustrate how much pain he must be feeling. Overall, I'm giving Carnivore 4 out of 5. It's such an interesting read from a psychological perspective and it's very impactful and memorable. If you can cope with the extremely graphic descriptions, it's worth a read for the eye-opening exploration of this invisible chronic illness which affects many people but isn't widely discussed or well-known. This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review. About the AuthorJonathan Lyon was born in 1991 in London. He studied at Oxford University, graduating in 2013 with the Gibbs Prize. He moved to Berlin in the same year. He has had a chronic illness for over a decade. He is a self-made demon. Carnivore is his debut novel.
 Today is my stop on the blog tour for Turn a Blind Eye by Vicky Newham! Thanks to Lucy for organising the tour. Don't forget to check out the rest of the stops! The Synopsis A dead girl. A wall of silence. DI Maya Rahman is running out of time. A headmistress is found strangled in her East London school, her death the result of a brutal and ritualistic act of violence. Found at the scene is a single piece of card, written upon which is an ancient Buddhist precept: I shall abstain from taking the ungiven. At first, DI Maya Rahman can’t help but hope this is a tragic but isolated murder. Then, the second body is found. Faced with a community steeped in secrets and prejudice, Maya must untangle the cryptic messages left at the crime scenes to solve the deadly riddle behind the murders – before the killer takes another victim. My Review I'm so excited to finally share my review of this book because I've been looking forward to it since I received a copy in January! I loved the synopsis and hoped for great things, needless to say it lived up to all of my expectations. This expertly crafted and brilliantly written book is Vicky Newham's debut and the first in a series featuring DI Maya Rahman, an authentic and realistic character who really brings the topical plot to life. There were plenty of twists and turns throughout, along with lots clues which kept me engaged and guessing until the end. There's even the cryptic message 'I shall abstain from taking the ungiven.' left at the crime scene. I love a good cryptic message and this one really added to the intrigue and built up the tension. I really enjoy the way Newham writes and the themes explored gave me lots to think about afterwards. The setting is vivid and the East End is really brought to life. Overall, I'm giving Turn a Blind Eye 4.5 out of 5. It's current, suspenseful and absolutely riveting. A fantastic start to the series. The above are affiliate links. This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review. About the AuthorPsychologist Vicky Newham grew up in West Sussex and taught in East London for many years, before moving to Whitstable in Kent. She studied for an MA in Creative Writing at Kingston University. Turn a Blind Eye is her debut novel. She is currently working on the next book in the series.
 Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Ice Swimmer by Kjell Ola Dahl. Thanks so much to Anne for organising the tour. Don't forget to check out the other stops! The Synopsis When a dead man is lifted from the freezing waters of Oslo Harbour just before Christmas, Detective Lena Stigersand’s stressful life suddenly becomes even more complicated. Not only is she dealing with a cancer scare, a stalker and an untrustworthy boyfriend, but it seems both a politician and Norway’s security services might be involved in the murder. With her trusted colleagues, Gunnarstranda and Frølich, at her side, Lena digs deep into the case and finds that it not only goes to the heart of the Norwegian establishment, but it might be rather to close to her personal life for comfort. My Review The Ice Swimmer is written by Kjell Ola Dahl, one of the godfathers of Nordic Noir and I'm shocked that I've never read any of his books before, since I'm a big fan of the genre! This book is part of the Oslo detective series but I read it as a standalone. While the detectives feature in the previous novels and I assume there might've been references to this which I missed, I didn't feel at all left out and for me, it worked perfectly well as a standalone. I found the opening chapter extremely gripping and the rest of the book followed suit. This is one of those novels where you can read the first few pages and just know it's going to be brilliant. It's fast paced and exceptionally tense yet it also features a detective with her own personal problems and battles to overcome which for me added an extra dimension to the plot. It's an excellent police procedural with a bit of a psychological thriller twist which I really enjoyed. Overall, I'm giving The Ice Swimmer 4 out of 5. It's dark, tense and gripping and I'll look forward to reading the rest of the series. The above are affiliate links This e-book was provided free in exchange for an honest review. About the Author One of the godfathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Kjell Ola Dahl was born in 1958 in Gjøvik. He made his debut in 1993, and has since published eleven novels, the most prominent of which is a series of police procedurals cum psychological thrillers featuring investigators Gunnarstranda and Frølich. In 2000 he won the Riverton Prize for The Last Fix and he won both the prestigious Brage and Riverton Prizes for The Courier in 2015. His work has been published in 14 countries and sold over two million copies. He lives in Oslo.
 Today is my stop on the blog tour for My Little Eye by Stephanie Marland and I'm so excited to be part of it! Thanks to Alex for the invite to the tour. Don't forget to check out the rest of the stops! The Synopsis Can a group of true crime addicts take on the police to catch a serial killer? A young woman is found dead in her bedroom surrounded by rose petals - the latest victim of 'The Lover'. Struggling under the weight of an internal investigation, DI Dominic Bell is no closer to discovering the identity of the killer and time is running out. As the murders escalate, Clementine Starke joins an online true crime group determined to take justice in to their own hands - to catch the killer before the police. Hiding a dark secret, she takes greater risks to find new evidence and infiltrate the group. As Starke and Bell get closer to cracking the case neither of them realise they're being watched. The killer is closer to them than they think, and he has his next victim - Clementine - firmly in his sights. My Review As someone who has a great interest in true crime and the way people can change their identity online, this book really intrigued me. It has aspects of a police procedural but with a highly original concept behind it involving the exploration of 'crowd-sourced crime solving'. So if you enjoy true crime shows on TV, you'll love this even more. The insight into the world of true crime investigators and 'armchair detectives' was so clever and compelling and I really enjoyed the online conversations between the members of the true crime group. They were so mysterious yet I still felt as though I gradually got a sense of each person. I found Clementine fascinating and her point of view was my favourite to read as she's a really interesting character. Her perspective is addictive and intriguing and this intrigue is constantly maintained as her past is slowly revealed. The plot is extremely gripping and did a really good job of keeping me guessing. To me, something about the writing style just felt fresh and different which was really nice. The pace is perfect and I found the exploration of identity on the internet and 'armchair detectives' really thought provoking. It's such a current theme and the fact that it could so easily be a reality made the book all the more dark and tense. Overall, I'm giving My Little Eye 5 out of 5 and adding it to my five star favourites shelf! It's unique, intriguing and impossible to put down. I love everything about this book and I'm so excited that this is part of a new series. I can't wait to read the rest in the future! The above are affiliate links. This book was provided for free in exchange for an honest review. About the AuthorStephanie Marland has worked in the University sector for over ten years and published research on how people interact and learn together in virtual environments online. She's an alumni of the MA in Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) at City University London, and an avid reader of all things crime fiction, blogging about books at www.crimethrillergirl.com. Steph also writes the Lori Anderson action thriller series (as Steph Broadribb) for Orenda Books, the first book Deep Down Dead is out now.
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