Audio Book Review: Silent Night, Deadly Night by Richard L. Mabry MD (Narrated by Meghan Kelly)

I don't listen to audio books very often, and after listening to Silent Night, Deadly Night by Richard Mabry MD, i'm converted!

A woman's body has been found buried in the snow. Did Ina Bell Patrick die of natural causes or was she murdered? The victim had no immediate family, so her niece Laura and two nephews Robert and Zac stand to inherit. Meanwhile the police soon realize they are looking for a killer. A killer who may not have stopped at Ina Bell, but may now be trying to eliminate those who stand to gain most from her death.

I loved this novella. This was my first time to read one of Richard Mabry MD's thrillers, and I will definitely be reading more from now on. His descriptions particularly of medical matters were really interesting, and helped to bring plenty of tension and suspense to the story. Just when I thought I knew the killer, something happened that caused me to rethink my suspicions!

As I listened to this novella on audio, I found the narrator Meghan Kelly to be excellent at articulating the story and projecting just the right atmosphere, really bringing the characters alive for me.

I would like to thank the author Richard Mabry MD for my audio copy of this book via Audiobook-Boom and Audible.com.

The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza

The body of a beautiful young socialite has been found beneath the ice in a South London park by a young man following the sound of a ringing iPhone. DCI Erika Foster has been called in to head the murder investigation after the body has been identified as that of Andrea Douglas-Brown whose father is thee Sir Simon Douglas-Brown, millionaire business man and member of the House of Lords.

Erika believes Andrea had many secrets, and it is those secrets that will hold the key to her murder, but she finds her investigation into Andrea's private life is a no-go area as far as her superiors and Andrea's father are concerned. However, Erika is not one to allow convention or internal police politics to hold her back, and she soon finds herself suspended from duty and removed from the investigation, just as she is beginning to get somewhere. Erika believes the person responsible for Andrea's murder has killed before and they should now be hunting a vicious and dangerous serial killer. The question is, will Erika be his next victim?

This was a brilliant book. I was gripped from start to finish and even found myself resenting those moments where I had to do mundane things like sleep, when I really wanted to read this book!

In Erika Foster, Robert Bryndza has found the perfect protagonist. Feisty, spirited, and troubled Erika will do whatever it takes to fight evil and bring the guilty to justice. I just loved her, and her police colleagues.

I came to this book late, but i'm really delighted about that because it means I will soon be reading books two and three in the series and which I already have waiting for me on my Kindle. 'The Night Stalker' and 'Dark Water', so i'm a lucky girl! And if they are half as good as 'The Girl in the Ice', I am in my element.

Many thanks to the publishers Bookouture for this arc, via NetGalley.

Murder on the Marsh by Anne Penketh

First a little boy has been found murdered, his heart cut out. Now a woman's body has been found. Everything is pointing to a serial killer on the loose in Glaveny, a quiet Norfolk village. The police are under pressure to find a killer before he kills again. For Detective Inspector Sam Clayton this case has arrived just when his personal life lies in tatters, and he struggles with anger issues.

I enjoyed this book, the first of a new crime series, with DI Sam Clayton in charge of a team of police which also includes DS Neil Pringle and DS Julie Everett, both of whom are struggling with difficult personal lives of their own. In fact, I did at times find I was more interested in the private lives of the police officers than I was in finding out who the murderer was. We were presented with several possible suspects, but I didn't really care who committed the murder, because the victim came across as a horrible woman. A woman dabbling in the occult, and messing with the heads of those around her.

I'm interested in reading the second book, because I want to find out how things are with DI Sam, DS Neil and of course DS Julie, and should they be out fighting crime while they struggle on the domestic front, well i'm interested in that too!

I received this galley from the publishers via NetGalley.

Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris

This book was amazing! I cannot believe that this was a debut novel for author B. A. Paris.

Grace has been very unlucky in love. As soon as her boyfriends meet her sister Millie they leave. Millie is the sweetest, most loving sister anyone could have, and Grace is determined that no-one will come between them. When Grace meets Jack she cannot believe how lucky she is. Jack is incredibly handsome, with beautiful manners, but most importantly Jack is really fond of Millie, and is not put off by the fact that Millie has special needs. When Jack asks Grace to marry him she doesn't hesitate. Jack is perfect. Or is he? Is he not just too good to be true?

I love psychological thrillers, and i've read a lot of them, and I love how they mess with your head! But I have never read one before that terrified me like this one did. This was a truly scary and frightening book about domestic violence, and how a person can be completely taken in by someone only to discover when it is too late, just what they really are.

It is difficult to believe that this is B. A. Paris's debut novel. The writing is just flawless and the plot gripping. Her characters are believable and very real, and the hairs were standing on the back of my neck for most of the book! I can't wait to read B. A. Paris's second novel, because if it is anything like Behind Closed Doors I know it will blow me away.

The Amish Christmas Kitchen by Kelly Long

There is nothing like a little Christmas reading to get you in the festive mood. Now is the perfect time of year to start building up to that most special time of year. The evenings are getting dark, the fires are being lit in the hearth, and the nip of cold air is beginning to pinch at our nose.

The Amish Christmas Kitchen contains three romantic Christmas stories by authors Kelly Long, Jennifer Beckstrand, and Lisa Jones Baker. All with an Amish theme, and each story contains a recipe from the author. The stories are quaint, charming and very very innocent. Guaranteed to get you in the Christmas spirit, and for anyone interested in the Amish way of life, these stories will give you added incite. Each story was romantic, amusing and totally delightful. I really enjoyed them.

I received this galley via NetGalley.

Beat the Rain by Nigel Jay Cooper

Louise and Tom fall madly in love. After what feels like a very short time together, Tom becomes ill, but doesn't tell Louise, and he also doesn't tell his twin brother Adam, in fact he tells no-one. But while Tom is busy dying, Louise and Adam are busy falling in love, they just haven't realized it yet, but Tom has. Adam has always taken second place to Tom. Adam is handsome, but not quite as handsome as Tom. Adam is clever, but not quite as clever as Tom - you get the picture? Will Adam and Louise have a future together, or will the ghost of Tom forever get in their way?

This is a psychological thriller, but for a long time it reads like a romance, and I did despair that we would ever get down to the nitty gritty of why this book is in the thriller genre and not romance genre. This was a good read, don't get me wrong, a very good read, and a very strong debut from author Nigel Jay Cooper, but it takes a long time to get to the point, and when we do get there the story of Adam and Louise is a strong one, a shocking one, and while I did see a couple of twists coming, the book did not end as I had expected it to.

Nigel Jay Cooper is definitely an author to watch out for. In Beat the Rain he came up with a pretty unique plot. His characters are nasty, unpleasant people who at the end of the day, really did deserve each other, or at least that is my opinion anyway.

I will make a point of keeping an eye out for Nigel's next book, because I know it's going to be another cracker.

I received this galley via NetGalley.

Maniac by Angus MacVicar

Alec returns to his home village of Kilcolum, in Scotland, to recover from a mental breakdown. However, almost immediately Alec comes under suspicion for the evil murder of a little girl in the village. Everything seems to point to Alec being the murderer, and even Alec is uncertain as to his guilt or innocence. Turning to his old girlfriend Jenny for comfort, he soon finds things are not the same in Kilcolum as the day he left, for one thing Jenny is now wearing a diamond ring on her engagement finger.
This was an interesting murder mystery. I really enjoyed it, even though I had guessed who the murderer was early on, there was plenty of suspense and interesting characters to keep me reading. I would like to read more by this author who wrote suspense well, and who died in 2001.

I received this galley via NetGalley.