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#ChristmasReadathon
review
OutsmartYourShelf
The Kill: A Novel | Jane Casey
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Mehso-so

Maeve & Derwent are on the team to investigate a spate of attacks on police officers. Maeve is also struggling with her knowledge of Superintendent Godley's corruption & boyfriend Rob's preoccupation with something or someone else.

Re-reading this in a clearer state of mind than being angry at the author throwing Rob 'under the bus', I can see more nuance this time but Derwent's predatory behaviour in this one still rankles.

26 likes5 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Mehso-so

DC Becky Greene receives some odd post at work - an advent calendar but behind every door is a photo from a crime scene. Is it a prank or is it real? An investigation into the photos reveals that they are real scenes & crimes & it seems someone has been killing for 20 years - one death a year in the month of December. Greene is paired with DS Eddie Carmine who has a link to one of the crimes. Can they catch the killer?

OutsmartYourShelf Good: the plot was quite interesting with the link to Christmas & the macabre 'advent calendar' of crime scenes. Bonus points also for the mentioning of 'American Gothic', the 1990s TV show starring Gary Cole. (Loved that show.) As soon as the name 'Lucas Buck' was mentioned, I knew. The not-so-good: I feel like the author was trying hard to force chemistry between the two police officers (Greene & Carmine) & it was just not happening. 3⭐ 3w
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3w
DieAReader 🎉Excellent! 3w
Andrew65 Well done 🥳🥳🥳 2w
32 likes5 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

It's like sitting down to afternoon tea with Moore & having him regale you with Hollywood gossip. Funny, self-deprecating, & ever -so-slightly ribald, he must have been a riot at dinner parties. Featuring stories about (but not limited to) Michael Caine, Tony Curtis, Frank Sinatra, & Cubby Broccoli, this is an undemanding & humorous read. 4🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1107636060
Read 18th-24th Dec 2024

26 likes3 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
All the Jingle Ladies | Beth Garrod
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Pickpick

Molly is your average 15-year-old, wanting to join a band, live under the radar at school, & being totally embarrassed by her parents being 'The Rocking Stockings' a Christmas band. Back when Molly was just a small child & her parents were known as the 'Brussel Shouts', they made a Christmas record called 'Love Your Elf' & Molly starred as 'Little Elf Girl'. A fact Molly has been trying to hide ever since. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf Now she hears that unbelievably the song has been chosen for the soundtrack to the latest Christmas romcom out this year & her cover could be blown. If her schoolmates & neighbours find out she was the 'Little Elf Girl', her life won't be worth living.

This is definitely not my usual reading fare but I quite enjoyed it. There were some parts that made me laugh out loud, there's lots of references to British pop culture, & there was so much going
3w
OutsmartYourShelf on - not just the main plot, although I thought that the twist was a bit obvious. There's a smidgeon of romance but it's age-appropriate if a bit corny. I'm not the target audience but it was a pretty good read & definitely great for my Christmas readathons for the seasonal setting. 4🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5185482475
Read 22nd-23rd Dec 2024

7018 points #WinterGames2024
3w
See All 6 Comments
Andrew65 Excellent 🎄🎅🏼🎄 3w
BookmarkTavern That sounds so cute! 3w
DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 3w
34 likes6 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Christmas Presents | Lisa Unger
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Pickpick

This is a comparatively short read for a crime thriller at under 300 pages but it packs a punch. I was simultaneously sympathetic to Madeleine & suspicious that she might not be being completely truthful. It was fairly fast-paced due to the length but I thought that the ending was a little weak. 4🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5966872614
Read 8th-9th Dec 2024

34 likes4 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
ALONE | Cyn Balog
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Pickpick

I've had this on my TBR shelf for absolutely ages so decided this year was the one, & I wish I'd read it earlier. The synopsis really doesn't convey how creepy the story is & there are one or two good twists. The only weak point I thought was the conclusion, I could see what the author was aiming for but it could have been a bit stronger.
4.5🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2422935343
Read 2nd-3rd Dec 2024

36 likes5 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

Remie Yorke took a job at the MacKinnon Hotel in the Scottish Highlands to be close to her brother, the only family she had left. Now he is dead & Remie has one shift left before she catches a flight & leaves for good. Only Remie & 2 guests are left at the hotel so it should be an easy shift but then Storm Ezra threatens to derail her plans as a blizzard hits.

OutsmartYourShelf As the lone member of staff at the hotel, Remie is manning Reception when a man raps on the door. He is injured & says he is PC Don Gaines who was escorting a prisoner out on the mountain road when an accident killed everyone else involved except the prisoner who escaped. Remie lets him in reluctantly & he says he needs to check the hotel & grounds for the escaped prisoner. A short while later, a second stranger arrives. 2mo
OutsmartYourShelf He is also injured & his name is...PC Don Gaines.

I've been looking forward to reading this one for a while & it mostly lives up to its promise. The plot is simple & yet effective with two men claiming to be the same person & no way to tell who is telling the truth. Good pacing & intriguing characters helped the story along, but it lost me in the final third when Remie decided she was John McClane.
2mo
OutsmartYourShelf Overall it was entertaining but it became less & less believable as time went on.
3.5🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4962954295
Read 1st-2nd Dec 2024

3099 points (including 267 words found)
2mo
29 likes4 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Dead of Winter | Darcy Coates
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Pickpick

Christa & bf, Kiernan, join a small tour group heading to an isolated lodge in the Rocky Mountains for 2 weeks. They are almost there when things start to go wrong: first a fallen tree blocks the road, Christa has an accidental fall & is separated from Kiernan when he & Christa take a short walk whilst waiting for the coach to be freed, & Christa only just finds her way back before succumbing to the snowstorm. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf The rest of the group have had to take refuge in a small hunting cabin due to the bad weather, things could be worse, until the group starts to be picked off one by one. Is there a killer out there or is the threat closer to home?

This was a good read to finish off 2023. It started off a little slow & I felt the pace was a bit off, but it soon picked up. I thought it was well-written if a little predictable
13mo
OutsmartYourShelf (I guessed what was happening almost straight away) but I still enjoyed it. Most the characters weren't very likeable but that's how you make a 'locked room' mystery work - plenty of suspects.

Verdict: well-written & hugely entertaining but rather predictable. 4🌟

Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5330090696
Read 30th-31st Dec 2023

#WinterGames #HollyJollyReaders @Laughterhp
13mo
See All 7 Comments
Catsandbooks ❄️🍭❤️ 13mo
Andrew65 Excellent 👏👏👏 13mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 13mo
PuddleJumper ❄️❄️ 13mo
22 likes1 stack add7 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

One year ago Carrie's husband, Sean Miller, went missing on Mount Everest. He had been part of a small group aiming to reach the summit, but was never seen again after the final push for the top. Carrie is determined she is going to find her husband's body & bring him home for burial, & their friend Tom, Sean's best friend & former climbing partner, volunteers to accompany her. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf Their Sherpa guide gives Carrie a journal left behind by Sean, & she reads this whilst they start their journey. It seems that Sean was haunted by something up there on Everest & spent the last few days feeling watched by something unseen.

The narrative is mostly told from Carrie's point of view in the present, whilst we get Sean's view from the expedition where he went missing.
13mo
OutsmartYourShelf I'm not gonna lie, I was hoping it was going to be a lot scarier than it turned out to be. The book does discuss the strange things that can happen on the mountain whether it's due to oxygen deprivation or something more supernatural (i.e. Third Man syndrome) but I felt a lot more could have been done with this. The majority of the book seemed to be Carrie being a pain in the ass. 3.5🌟- could have been better. 13mo
See All 10 Comments
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 13mo
Emilymdxn I LOVE creepy mountaineering novels! Have you read 13mo
OutsmartYourShelf @Emilymdxn Its an automatic yes from me if it‘s about mountaineering or polar exploration. I‘m fascinated by those two subjects. Echo is on my TBR list but I haven‘t read it yet. 13mo
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 13mo
Andrew65 Excellent 👏👏👏 13mo
Catsandbooks ❄️🍭❤️ 13mo
21 likes10 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Good Girls Don't Die | Christina Henry
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Mehso-so

Celia wakes up in a house with a husband & a daughter she doesn't recognise. When a nasty neighbour, who lives next door to the restaurant Celia supposedly owns, is murdered it looks like Celia is being primed to take the blame. Can she work out who she really is & who the killer is?

Allie has arranged to go to the beach for her birthday with friends Madison & Cam, however when the two friends' boyfriends tag along, Allie is annoyed. (Continued)

OutsmartYourShelf She falls asleep on the way there & when she wakes up they are not at the beach - Brad (Cam's bf) has driven them to an isolated cabin in the woods. Horror movie fan Allie is already uneasy & when a stranger starts trying to break into the cabin that night, it looks like big screen horror has become real.

13mo
OutsmartYourShelf Maggie wakes up in a shipping container with a group of women. None of them know each other or where they are, but they are all wearing t-shirts with a number on the back. They are finally released into The Maze, a deadly obstacle course, where they are told that if they want to see their loved ones alive again, they have to complete the course within 12 hours.

13mo
OutsmartYourShelf The synopsis sold me on this one & it was one of my few pre-orders for 2023. Maybe I was expecting too much, but it was a bit of a let-down. I didn't really care for the Celia storyline which was rather boring, the Allie & Maggie storylines were much better in my opinion, but it was the final reveal which was the worst - it was all a bit pedestrian. It was good but not great & left me feeling a bit unsatisfied really.
3⭐

13mo
See All 8 Comments
TheAromaofBooks At least it's off the list!! 13mo
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 13mo
Andrew65 Well done 👏👏👏 13mo
Catsandbooks ❄️🍭❤️ 13mo
18 likes8 comments