1922, Mabel is hired to act as a private secretary at a conference for suffragettes. One of the potential leaders is murdered shortly after arrival and Mabel calls upon her London Ladies’ Murder Club to help her investigate while they wait for the police…
Murder of a Suffragette is the 4th book in the Mabel Canning series of cosy murder mysteries set in the 1920s.
Annie Harkin has always been prominent among the suffragettes and it has negatively impacted her health. But she still believes she has the strength to lead them again and joins the conference where she is killed before the members elect a leader. Luckily Mabel is on hand to start off the murder investigation while the ladies wait for the police to arrive. She is joined by her neighbours who have helped her in the past.
Mabel has had a thoroughly modern outlook throughout the series so I enjoyed seeing her alongside the suffragettes. Her romanctic relationship with Park continues to simmer and add an extra dimension as a subplot. Mabel has a number of suspects and motives to explore. There is little violence as you would expect from the cosy genre of murder mystery. I enjoyed the historical aspects to the plot and characters which have been well researched.
Murder of a Suffragette is an enjoyable historical murder mystery and I liked the added social commentary surrounding the fight for women’s suffrage.
Book Description:
Women from all around the country have joined together to fight for the vote. But when one of them is killed, only amateur sleuth Mabel Canning can halt a murderer’s campaign…
Fellbridge Hall, England: Mabel Canning is thrilled to be organising a suffragette conference. But when all the women are settled in the sprawling country mansion, she barely has time for a sip of gin before chaos ensues. Leading suffragette Annie Harkin has been found murdered in her bed, clutching a white feather in her outstretched hand…
As the guests clamour for justice for Annie, young police officers Ned and Ted arrive in time to trip over the banners and be roundly ignored. And with a killer on the loose, the suffragettes swiftly vote for Mabel and her pals to take control. When it comes to solving mysteries, there’s nobody equal to the London Ladies’ Murder Club!
But soon it’s clear many a suffragette is hiding a secret under her sash. Eccentric veteran of the cause Dorothea Goose is acting rather flighty; why is she so afraid of the police? Would Annie’s rival go this far to replace her as leader? Or has someone taken a life to stop the cause of women’s lib?
Then Mabel uncovers what happened to Annie’s closest comrade in the years before the war, and she is sure the answers lie in the past. But will Mabel be elected as the killer’s next victim? Or can she crack the case and save the fight for Votes for Women?
A totally addictive whodunnit bursting with suspense and sparkling with wit, from USA Today bestseller Marty Wingate. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Richard Osman, Verity Bright and T.E. Kinsey.
Author Bio:
Marty Wingate is a USA Today best-selling author of both mysteries and historical fiction. Marty enjoys weaving humor into her books and creating characters—from quirky and loveable to sinister and duplicitous—that leap off the page. Before embarking on her series about the London Ladies Murder Club with Bookouture, Marty published three contemporary cozy mystery series (the Potting Shed, Birds of a Feather, and First Edition Library books). She has also published two standalone books of historical fiction and found stories of the past to be compelling. She’s delighted to combine her penchant for both mysteries and histories to bring her readers more satisfying stories. Marty currently resides near Seattle, Washington.
Detective Ellie Reeves is preparing to rejoin her team after a short break following a tough case and personal issues. She finds the bodies of twin girls out in the snow and is shocked that they haven’t been reported missing. Could the parents be responsible for the murders or are they in danger themselves…?
The Ice Sisters is the 10th book in the Ellie Reeves detective thriller series set in America. There are no spoilers about past cases but the personal relationship plot strands continue from earlier books.
The last case hit Ellie hard and she is also in emotional turmoil because the man she likes, Cord, is going to marry his pregnant lover. But her personal life is forced into the background as she is needed to lead a major homicide investigation into the deaths of two young girls. The identities of the twins are difficult to establish and it becomes apparent that secrets from the past could lead other girls into the killer’s path.
There are some big and emotional issues handled in the book which add depth to the plight of the characters. The child murders are handled sensitively and there is little graphic detail about their deaths. The writing is ever so fast paced with chapters just a couple of pages long. This keeps the momentum of the plot rapid and maintains the tension as we see multiple perspectives including the killer and his prey.
The Ice Sisters is a tense and fast paced crime thriller but also features plenty of emotion.
Shock slammed into her as she spotted the two little girls lying on the cold hard ground, snow swirling round their fragile bodies. Twins with button noses and heart-shaped faces, their pretty green eyes closed forever…
As the snow falls and a bitter wind blows, Detective Ellie Reeves is devastated to discover the bodies of two little girls, alone and frozen on an icy lake, in the isolated town of Cold Mountain. The girls are holding hands, with matching bows in their blonde curls, and when Ellie realizes they are twin sisters, her heart breaks for their mother, who must be desperately wondering where her little darlings are.
But, back at the police station, she is horrified to discover that nobody has reported the sisters missing. Are their parents in danger too? When an abandoned car is found near the girls’ bodies, and Ellie learns that the female driver is in hospital, she prays that the injured woman will know something about the twins.
A DNA test shows that the woman in hospital is the twins’ mother Barbara, and Ellie rushes to interview her. But when Ellie arrives at the hospital she is faced with an empty bed. Barbara has fled and her house is abandoned too. As Ellie searches the family home, she is chilled to see there is no sign of any children. If Barbara is the twins’ mother, where are the toys and photos of her precious girls?
When another little girl disappears, Ellie knows that finding Barbara might well be the key to saving an innocent child. But who is Barbara running from? Or does she have something to hide? And with the clock ticking and a fearsome winter storm brewing, can Ellie find the truth before another innocent life is lost?
This pulse-pounding and utterly addictive crime thriller will have you staying up way past your bedtime and tearing through the pages! Perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh, Lisa Regan and Kendra Elliot
AUTHOR BIO
USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author Rita Herron fell in love with books at the ripe age of eight when she read her first Trixie Belden mystery. But she didn’t think real people grew up to be writers, so she became a teacher instead. Now she writes so she doesn’t have to get a real job.
With over ninety books to her credit, she’s penned romantic suspense, romantic comedy, and YA novels, but she especially likes writing dark romantic suspense and crime fiction set in small southern towns.
Rolling into autumn, and half term at last! The leaves are seriously dropping now and the nights feel so long. Temperatures don’t seem too bad yet though.
I have given Anya a dilemma as she has carved a pumpkin and wants to put it on display. But if she does then she will have to share the sweets I have bought with the trick or treaters. Or don’t put it out and she and the boys can have the sweets all to themselves. Decisions, decisions…
DS Tyler from the Cold Case Review Unit is delivered an anonymous note that talks about a past crime. He chases down leads and discovers a link to the disappearance of an MP’s wife two decades earlier. Months later, Tyler is injured and his colleague DC Mina Rabbani is informed about the case…
Sleeping Dogs is the 4th book in the DS Adam Tyler series of police procedurals. It is not necessary to read the earlier books as there is enough information to catch up on personal events and development. However, if you were going to read the series then I would advise reading books 2 and 3 consecutively as they have continuous plotlines.
A mysterious note sets Tyler on a course that sees him seriously injured. Now his colleagues Mina and Doggett need to work out what leads he followed into danger. The book is written in the two timelines and they gradually converge as the plot progresses. The use of the different timelines slows down the pace but gets the readers’ brains scrambling to guess at the connections between past and present.
This book has a very different feel to the last book, partly due to the narrative style of the timelines but also due to Tyler being unconscious in the present day so Mina is much more prominent. I enjoyed this book more and more as it progressed and Tyler and Mina separately make huge discoeries about the past.
We also see the experiences of Ruth, and her interactions in both timelines. This increases the tension as we feel sympathy for her as she is a vulnerable person but must have a connection to Tyler and the case. The characters are very naturally and authentically portrayed which brings them to life.
Sleeping Dogs is an intriguing crime novel with great characterisation.
Book blurb:
THE LIES OF THE PAST . . .
When an anonymous tip lands on his desk, DS Adam Tyler is intrigued in spite of himself. The disappearance of a young mother twenty-four years ago was big news, but the case was never solved – this tantalizing new lead is something he simply can’t ignore. But the letter has set in motion a dangerous chain of events, and Tyler’s search for the truth soon leaves him fighting for his life.
. . . LIVE IN THE PRESENT
With Tyler out of action, DC Mina Rabbani must step up to lead the Cold Case Review Unit in his absence, retracing Tyler’s steps and uncovering his secrets to figure out what he was working on. But as she begins to put the pieces together, the case starts to hit frighteningly close to home. Without DS Tyler to protect her, Mina realises that now she’s the one with hard choices to make.
A murdered girl. A missing girl. An escaped abduction victim. DC Morgan Brookes has had a busy morning where the crimes keep stacking up. Could there be a connection?
Two Broken Girls is the 13th book in the Morgan Brookes series of crime thriller/police procedurals set in the Lake District.
The day begins badly with the discovery of a murdered college student. Then another student arrives at the police station to report her best friend missing. On the way to investigate, Morgan is in a car crash swerving to avoid a third student who runs into the road begging for help. The police are stretched as they attempt to solve three crimes simultaneously.
I absolutely raced through this book, couldn’t put it down (my only complaint is that it was over too soon). The plot is fast paced, chapters short and the characters felt authentic and real. Developments happen quickly and there were some great twists which kept me guessing. Most of the book is written to show the police investigation but there are also some chapters from the killer’s perspective to increase tension and mystery.
The dynamic between the police characters sparkles and fizzes with humour, respect and compassion. There are several references (but no spoilers) to previous victims to show the continuing emotional effect on the police characters. Morgan is a great detective and her fearless attitude to policing gets her into the thick of the action and puts her frequently in danger!
Two Broken Girls is a very enjoyable police procedural and crime thriller with fab lead characters.
Sweat trickles down the girl’s spine as she dances around her bedroom. The curtains blow open and a gust of hot, humid air comes through the window. She has no idea she is being watched from the street below. The dainty chain around her neck will soon be his. Another keepsake. His second broken girl.
On the banks of the River Rothay, as the first rays of sunshine hit the fast-flowing water, Melody Carrick’s body lies lifeless, red strangulation marks where her gold cross necklace used to hang. Detective Morgan Brookes is certain the killer was surprised by early-morning dog walkers, and she won’t rest until she unearths the evidence she needs to stop his next attack.
But before Morgan has a chance to attend the post-mortem, seventeen-year-old Paige Evans rushes into the police station claiming her stepfather Alan kidnapped her best friend. He has an old wooden box full of jewellery that she believes are trophies. Morgan’s blood runs cold: Melody’s necklace is tangled up in the chains.
Morgan races to Alan’s home, but on the way, she spots a young woman stumbling out of a nearby forest. She’s not Paige’s missing friend. Disorientated, with ropes cutting into her wrists and tears running down her face, the girl claims to have been abducted and then suddenly set free. By a man who looks nothing like Alan.
Chasing the most twisted killer of her career, can Morgan discover the connection between these terrible crimes? With two girl’s lives already in ruins, can she find the latest innocent victim this monster has hidden in time?
Author Bio
Helen Phifer is the Bestselling writer of the hugely popular Annie Graham, Lucy Harwin, Beth Adams and her current series featuring Detective Constable Morgan Brooks published by the fabulous Bookouture.
She lives in the busy town of Barrow-in-Furness surrounded by miles of coastline and a short drive from the glorious English Lake District.
Helen loves reading books that scare the heck out of her and is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years. Unable to find enough scary stories she decided to write her own and her debut novel The Ghost House released in October 2013 became a #1 Global Bestseller.
