The Devil in the Dock Review | Richard James

After thoroughly enjoying The Head in the Ice, I was looking forward to seeing where the adventure would take George Bowman next. Head back in time for a new mystery set in the Victorian era with my review of The Devil in the Dock.

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Publisher: Sharpe Books | Date: 2020 | Genre: Historical/Mystery

Plot: ‘Are there devils here?’

Considered a loose cannon, Detective Inspector George Bowman of Scotland Yard is despatched to London’s docks where he can do no harm.

When an explosion rips through the wharves, however, he’s soon pitched into a world of intrigue and extortion.

With the whole of Victorian London in the grip of the mysterious Kaiser, Bowman must find the strength to escape the ghosts that haunt him. Just who is the Kaiser, and what do they have to do with his wife’s death?

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The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Review | Stuart Turton

Highly popular books often leave me dubious whether I’ll enjoy them or not. But it’s fair to say this one lived up to its expectations. The plot was unique, the characters engaging and the narration style different to what I’ve previously come across. It’s fair to say my review on The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle just proves how much I enjoyed it!

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmarks | Date: 2018 | Genre: Mystery

Plot: Tonight, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed… again.

It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed.

But Evelyn will not die just once. Until Aiden – one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party – can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot. 

The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath…

Traitor’s Codex Review | Jeri Westerson

I’m venturing into a completely new author this time, and I fell in love. Westerson creates a historical mystery full of charm and fantastic characters that swept me away. It didn’t matter that my first was several books into the series (this is book 12!), I soon figured it out, and now want to read the rest. Check out my review on Traitor’s Codex.

Publisher: Severn House | Date: 2019 | Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery

Plot: Crispin Guest, Tracker of London, is enjoying his ale in the Boar’s Tusk tavern – until a stranger leaves a mysterious wrapped bundle on his table, telling him, “You’ll know what to do.” Inside is an ancient leather-bound book written in an unrecognizable language. Accompanied by his apprentice, Jack Tucker, Crispin takes the unknown codex to a hidden rabbi, where they make a shocking discovery: it is the Gospel of Judas from the Holy Land, and its contents challenge the very doctrine of Christianity itself.

 Crispin is soon drawn into a deadly maze involving murder, living saints, and lethal henchmen. Why was he given the blasphemous book, and what should he do with it? A series of horrific events confirm his fears that there are powerful men who want it – and who will stop at nothing to see it destroyed.

The Word is Murder Review | Anthony Horowitz

I’ve been a fan of Anthony Horowitz since a teen. When I saw this come up on Netgalley, I was intrigued to say the least. Deciding it was time to explore his adult fiction, I requested a copy – and had such a blast with this book. Keep reading for my review on The Word is Murder.

Publisher: Random House, Uk, Cornerstone Century | Date: 2017 | Genre: Mystery

Plot:  SHE PLANNED HER OWN FUNERAL. BUT DID SHE ARRANGE HER OWN MURDER?

New York Times bestselling author of Magpie Murders and Moriarty, Anthony Horowitz has yet again brilliantly reinvented the classic crime novel, this time writing a fictional version of himself as the Watson to a modern-day Holmes.

One bright spring morning in London, Diana Cowper – the wealthy mother of a famous actor – enters a funeral parlor. She is there to plan her own service.

Six hours later she is found dead, strangled with a curtain cord in her own home.

Enter disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant, eccentric investigator who’s as quick with an insult as he is to crack a case. Hawthorne needs a ghost writer to document his life; a Watson to his Holmes. He chooses Anthony Horowitz.

Drawn in against his will, Horowitz soon finds himself a the center of a story he cannot control. Hawthorne is brusque, temperamental and annoying but even so his latest case with its many twists and turns proves irresistible. The writer and the detective form an unusual partnership. At the same time, it soon becomes clear that Hawthorne is hiding some dark secrets of his own.