Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
#Readaway2025
review
OutsmartYourShelf
post image
Pickpick

Near the Orkney Islands off the mainland Scottish coast, two divers pay a local to take them out to the area where the HMS Vanguard, a WWI ship which exploded taking almost all those onboard with it, lies. It has been designated a war grave & is therefore off limits to divers, but whilst illegally exploring the wreck one of them uncovers several plates from the ship's mess (canteen) & thinking they could be worth something, he takes 3 of them.

OutsmartYourShelf As the plates pass from one person to another, the people are haunted by the ghostly presence of a sailor & these hauntings ramp up until a tragedy occurs. The group which includes a priest, a medium, & a deliverance minister work together to lay the spirits to rest.

4h
OutsmartYourShelf There were several things I really liked about this one, especially the historical aspect (what happened to HMS Vanguard really did happen & there is a short piece about it at the end of the book), & the setting. I've always wanted to visit the Orkney Islands particularly to see Skara Brae - the prehistoric site - which makes a brief appearance here & it's made me want to visit even more. 4h
OutsmartYourShelf I thought the storyline worked well, even if there were a lot of characters to juggle, however the pacing was a little uneven at times & it was odd how the suggestion of a haunting was actually believed by so many with relatively little pushback. Overall it was an interesting read & I'd definitely read more of the author's work. 3.75🌟

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, The Book Guild, for the opportunity to read an ARC.
4h
DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 2h
15 likes5 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Seven Lively Suspects | Katy Watson
post image
Mehso-so

Since their second 'Three Dahlias' case, Rosalind has been staying with her new partner, ex-policeman Jack, Caro has written & published a book about their first case, & Posy can't make her mind up about leading man & possible love interest, Kit. At the premiere of the new Dahlia Lively film, the three women are approached by the makers of a true crime podcast who want the 'Dahlias' to investigate a possible miscarriage of justice. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf At the premiere of the new Dahlia Lively film, the three women are approached by the makers of a true crime podcast who want the 'Dahlias' to investigate a possible miscarriage of justice.

Just over five years ago, aspiring crime writer Victoria Denby was killed & a paper dahlia flower left at the scene. Fellow writer & part of the same friend circle, Scott Baker, was arrested in what seemed to be an open and shut case & has been in prison ever
3d
OutsmartYourShelf since, but what if he is innocent? Rosalind & Posy decide to tag along with Caro to a book festival being held in Denby's home town where her friends & fellow writers will all be making an appearance.

I found this one a bit disappointing compared to the first two books. The pacing was too slow & dragged in places, & although I like Rosalind & Caro, I find Posy the least convincing character of the three 'Dahlias'. Hopefully this is just a blip.
3d
29 likes3 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
The I-5 Killer | Ann Rule
post image
Pickpick

The story of the capture of Randall Woodfield, the I-5 serial killer who committed robberies, rapes, & murders along the I-5 corridor in the early 1980s. Woodfield started out as a promising athlete & was drafted by the Green Bay Packers, but it all came tumbling down due to his fixation with young women & misogyny.

OutsmartYourShelf Ann Rule definitely had a way with words, her true crime books are nearly always excellent reading. The ones I've read have been detail-orientated without being sensationalist about the crimes. This one does have some major triggers as the crimes are described in detail (gun violence, murder, sexual assault, & rape) including one incident which involves two young children. 4.5🌟 5d
Librarybelle I need to read more by Rule. I‘ve only read her Ted Bundy one, and that was years ago. 5d
DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 4d
29 likes2 stack adds4 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
post image
Mehso-so

Most British people over the age of 25 have probably heard about this case - the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a 3-year-old girl, from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal in May 2007. Left sleeping in the apartment alongside her two younger siblings, a group of parents decided to take it in turns in checking on their children throughout the evening rather than hire babysitters. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf For several nights this had been without incident but on that night, Madeleine would be gone - never to be seen again (so far).

This is a book about the incident but also the subsequent investigations by both the Portuguese & British police. It is very much from the position that the McCanns were not involved in their daughter's disappearance & several alternatives are given including that Madeleine may have woken up & left the apartment in
1w
OutsmartYourShelf search of her parents & been unfortunate enough to encounter her kidnapper. It's as possible as other theories.

It's now been 17 years (this book was released in 2017) & the case is no further on & Madeleine has never been found. Something has never sat right about this case for me &, after reading this, I still feel the same. 3⭐

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4613373503
Read 14th - 18th Nov 2025
1w
DieAReader ♥️♥️♥️ 1w
30 likes4 comments