Today is my stop on the blog tour for Without a Trace by Carissa Ann Lynch! Thanks so much to Anne for organising the tour and don't forget to check out the rest of the stops!

Lily’s gone.
Someone took her.
Unless she was she never there…

A little girl has gone missing.
Lily was last seen being tucked into bed by her adoring mother, Nova. But the next morning, the bed is empty except for a creepy toy rabbit.
Has Nova’s abusive ex stolen his “little bunny” back for good?
At first, Officer Ellie James assumes this is a clear custody battle. Until she discovers that there are no pictures of the girl and her drawers are full of unused toys and brand new clothes that have never been worn…
Is Ellie searching for a missing child who doesn’t actually exist?

All it took was a few pages and I knew I was going to love Without a Trace. While a plot around a missing child isn’t new, the way it was approached felt fresh and not like things I’ve read before.
The characters were all well written and the layout of varying perspectives for each chapter really helped to get insights into them. At the start of each chapter it was really clear who was speaking and I didn’t find myself confused or lost at all. I enjoyed reading every single perspective, but I felt that Officer Ellie James’ was the one that I enjoyed most because I felt as though I was learning everything alongside Ellie, and the author made me doubt and question everything in these chapters.
The book was entertaining and had me riveted from the beginning right until the shocking end. I did guess one twist, but if anything, I was more pleased to find out that I had it right! I didn’t come anywhere close to guessing any of the intricate details that made up pieces of the main puzzle though and I really enjoyed the journey to seeing everything come together.
Being vague so that I don’t give too much of the plot away, the themes explored were so important and were handled extremely well by Lynch, with the final few chapters providing plenty to think about.
I’m giving Without a Trace 5 out of 5 and adding it to my five-star favourites shelf! It’s fast-paced, suspenseful and twisty. I really couldn’t fault it!

Carissa Ann Lynch is the USA Today bestselling author of My Sister is Missing, Flocksdales Files trilogy, Horror High series, Searching for Sullivan, Shades and Shadows, Midnight Moss, This Is Not About Love, 13 anthology, Twisted anthology and Without A Trace.
She resides in Floyds Knobs, Indiana with her family and collection of books. With a background in psychology and corrections, she’s always been a little obsessed with the darker areas of the human mind.
 
Website : http://www.carissaannlynchnovels.com/
Twitter : @carissaannlynch

Today is my stop on the blog tour for We All Fall Down by Daniel Kalla! Thanks so much to Anne for organising the tour and don’t forget to check out the rest of the stops!

...**THIS IS A GOVERNMENT ALERT**IF YOU EXHIBIT SYMPTOMS, STAY IN YOUR HOMES**PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND DO NOT ATTEMPT THE RESCUE OF OTHERS**THIS IS A GOVERNMENT ALERT**IF YOU EXHIBIT SYMPTOMS, STAY IN YOUR HOMES**PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND DO NOT ATTEMPT THE RESCUE OF OTHERS**THIS IS A GOVERNMENT ALERT**...


IT STARTS WITH ONE PATIENT
A woman is dying in an Italian hospital, coughing up blood, convulsing and barely conscious.
BEFORE IT SPREADS TO THE TOWN
Dr Alana Vaughn, an expert from NATO, confirms everyone’s worst fears: the woman has the highly infectious disease that swept through Europe eight hundred years ago. The Black Death.
AND TAKES THE CITY
The sickness is spreading so quickly that soon the outbreak becomes a global pandemic. Markets crash and governments fall as quickly as the citizens they govern.
THEN THE COUNTRY
As panic takes hold and the death toll climbs, the consequences become horrifically clear – Alana must discover a way to stop the disease or it will be the end of us all.
THEN THE WORLD - AND WE ALL FALL DOWN

While I’ve read my fair share of thrillers, I don’t think I’ve ever come across a medical thriller before, and gosh this was an incredible introduction to the genre!
Kalla’s medical background and knowledge of the subject really comes through, whilst still allowing the story to flow. He strikes a good balance between the medical aspect and the thriller aspect of the plot to create a scarily believable and extremely thought-provoking read which keeps you on the edge of your seat. The pace is fast and intense and when combined with the use of narratives from the past and present it creates a real atmosphere and feeling of suspense.
I thought that Dr Alana Vaughn was a well developed and interesting character, as were all of her fellow characters in fact.
Overall, I’m giving We All Fall Down 5 out of 5 and adding it to my five star favourites shelf! It’s thought-provoking, expertly written and frighteningly believable. I can’t wait to read more by Kalla and I’m shocked that I’ve never read anything by him before!

Dr Ruth Hartland rises to difficult tasks. She is the director of a highly respected trauma therapy unit. She is confident, capable and excellent at her job. Today she is preoccupied by her son Tom's disappearance.
So when a new patient arrives at the unit - a young man who looks shockingly like Tom - she is floored.
As a therapist, Ruth knows exactly what she should do in the best interests of her client, but as a mother she makes a very different choice - a decision that will have profound consequences.

I’ve always loved reading about anything remotely related to psychology and so I found the psychological element of A Good Enough Mother extremely fascinating. I feel like I’ve learnt so much about the therapeutic process without even realising it. The whole book is intelligently and insightfully written and while it was at a slower pace than I’m used to, it suited the story well and I really enjoyed reading it.
The subtle foreshadowing gives the plot a suspenseful edge while Ruth as a main character is really engaging. Her nuances made her feel real and helped me to connect with her as she tried to help others overcome their trauma whilst battling her own loss privately.
I also found this book rather moving at times as some of the patients’ stories were so emotional and their discussion of their lives in their therapy session so well written that it actually brought tears to my eyes.
The ending felt poignant and memorable and I thought that it fitted the book perfectly.
Overall, I’m giving A Good Enough Mother 5 out of 5 and adding it to my five star favourites shelf! It’s gripping, moving and insightful. A thoroughly compelling read.

Today is my stop on the blog tour for You Die Next by Stephanie Marland! Thank you so much to Alex for organising the tour and don’t forget to check out the rest of the stops!

You can run - but you can't hide...

When a group of urban explorers stumble across a murderer's kill room in a derelict film studio, terror strikes. And when one of the group is found dead, the team realise - they're being hunted.
DI Dominic Bell is investigating the murder, but as the body count rises, time is running out. The only person who can help him is a figure from his past, Clementine Starke - but Clementine is haunted by her own demons. Can the two of them pair up to catch the killer? Or is it already too late?

I was on the blog tour for the first book in this series, My Little Eye, and I absolutely fell in love with Marland’s writing. As soon as I started reading You Die Next I instantly remembered why that was. The short chapters which flick between perspectives keep the pacy, fresh feel while the multi modal aspects such as the messages and live streams make the plot totally original and contemporary and Marland’s skilful writing keeps you hanging on to every word.
As I mentioned above, this book is the second in the series and while the case from the previous book plays a big part in this one, it’s explained in enough detail so that you’ll have no problem understanding if you haven’t read the first book. Additionally the main plot regarding the ‘Urbexers’ is standalone so you can jump right into that, however I think that to get a proper insight into the characters’ relationships, particularly Clementine’s relationships with others and specifically with Dom, you’d benefit from reading the first book too. (And trust me, that’s far from a chore!)
The plot has a really up to date feel with unique and well-developed characters and themes throughout. I did guess who the culprit was towards the end, but this didn’t spoil my enjoyment at all as not only was I compelled to keep reading to see if I was right, but the tension and action really ramped up so I couldn’t have stopped reading even if I’d wanted to!
Overall, I’m giving You Die Next 5 out of 5! It’s riveting, contemporary and entirely unique. I’m going to have to try really hard to be patient for the next book in the series!!

DI Richard Poole is hot, bothered and fed up. He’s stuck on the tropical island of Saint-Marie, forced to live in a rickety old shack on a beach, and there isn’t a decent cup of tea to be found anywhere.
When a boat explodes in the harbour, Richard and his team soon realise there’s a new murderer on the loose. But who is it? And why did the killer leave behind a ruby at the scene of the crime?
As the police dig deeper, they uncover secrets that go back decades, and a crime from the past that can never be forgiven.
Worse still, they soon realise this is only the beginning. They’ve got to catch the killer before there's another death in paradise…

I can’t express enough how much I love the Death in Paradise series, in both the television and book format. So the latest addition, Murder in the Caribbean, got me very excited.
However if you’re new to the Death in Paradise series, don’t be put off, as there’s no need to read the books in order and you can easily start with this one and then go back to the others as you choose. Personally, I love the way that opening a Death in Paradise book is like greeting an old friend, (as you get to know the characters and their quirks better and gain more of an understanding of them the further the series progresses) and so I’d recommend starting from the first one so that you have that experience, but as I said, by no means do you have to and they can easily be read in whichever order you choose.
The opening of this book is fantastic and grabbed my attention straight away. I think that Robert Thorogood is an absolutely brilliant writer with a real talent for immersing you in the story and the world he creates, with every detail brought to life on the page. His warm and witty writing style made me smile throughout and brought a very welcome hit of sunshine into a cold, grey day.
As I mentioned when I reviewed the last book, Death Knocks Twice, despite Richard Poole’s unorthodox ways, you can’t help but love him and his typical ‘englishness’ and he works really well as the DI for me. In fact, all of the characters work really well and it’s not at all difficult to imagine them - at times I felt I could almost hear their voices.
The plot had me engaged, with plenty of red herrings keeping me guessing in the lead up to a very satisfying ending.
Overall, I’m giving Murder in the Caribbean 5 out of 5 and adding it to my five star favourites shelf! It’s engaging, twisty and thoroughly entertaining. I couldn’t think of a better book for my last review of 2018!

Robert Thorogood is the creator of the hit BBC One TV series DEATH IN PARADISE.
He was born in Colchester, Essex, in 1972. When he was 10-years old, he read his first proper novel – Agatha Christie’s Peril at End House – and he’s been in love with the genre ever since.
He now lives in Marlow in Buckinghamshire with his wife and children.