**Making a dent in my book shelf** #MiniReviews #BookChallenge part 1

One of my bookshelves

Like every book blogger in the country I have numerous books sat on my bookshelves I’ve been meaning to read for ages. So I decided to set myself a mini challenge and read as many books as I can from my own personal collection between now and the end of December (which December? I’m not sure yet😂🙈).

All the books mentioned were bought by myself in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce

Alison has it all. A doting husband, adorable daughter, and a career on the rise – she’s just been given her first murder case to defend. But all is never as it seems…

Just one more night. Then I’ll end it. 

Alison drinks too much. She’s neglecting her family. And she’s having an affair with a colleague whose taste for pushing boundaries may be more than she can handle.

I did it. I killed him. I should be locked up. 

Alison’s client doesn’t deny that she stabbed her husband – she wants to plead guilty. And yet something about her story is deeply amiss. Saving this woman may be the first step to Alison saving herself.

I’m watching you. I know what you’re doing. 

But someone knows Alison’s secrets. Someone who wants to make her pay for what she’s done, and who won’t stop until she’s lost everything….

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Wildfire (21 Feb. 2019)

A disturbing story of toxic relationships, manipulation, desire and betrayal, I raced through Blood Orange by debut author Harriet Tyce. I genuinely enjoy a Psychological thriller that delves into the complexities of toxic relationships. I can genuinely say I loathed every character in this book. Alison appears to have it all, but it’s not enough, here’s a woman whose hell bent on pushing the ‘self destruct’ button. 

I’m afraid I lacked empathy for Alison, mostly because of her reckless behaviour, but such is the power of the author’s writing, I ended up hoping she would find a way to turn her life round and rid herself of the unhealthy relationship She had with her husband, and her lover. The men in Alison’s life are manipulative, bullies, and unpleasant,  any woman in control of her life would see the warning signs and run for the hills! And yet I really enjoyed this book, there’s an overwhelming sense of dread, as Alison’s life begins to unravel, and the all important tension increases all the way to the hugely satisfying finale. Highly recommended to those who enjoy unsettling, dark domestic noir. 

One Last Pray For The Rays by Wes Markin 

School should be the safest place in the world. Not this winter.

Detective Michael Yorke faces his most harrowing case yet.

When 12-year-old Paul disappears from school, Yorke’s only clue is a pool of animal blood. Fearing the worst, he turns toward the most obvious suspect, recently released local murderer, Thomas Ray.

But as the snow in Salisbury worsens, Ray’s mutilated body is discovered, and Yorke is left with no choice but to journey into the sinister heart of a demented family that has plagued the community for generations. Can he save the boy? Or will the evil he discovers change him forever?

As anyone who follows my blog will know I do love a crime thriller that veers towards the dark side, and One Last Prayer by Wes Markin fitted the bill perfectly, it’s brutal, gritty with more than a touch of the macabre. One Last Prayer For The Rays opens with a hell of a bang, and from that moment on the author holds you in his clutches with a gripping story, that’s shocking, gory, and so deliciously twisted

The story centres on 12-year-old Paul Ray who disappears from school, from a distance the Ray family could be seen as a generation of pig farmers, and nothing more, but delve into their murky and flawed family tree and you will find generation upon generation of depraved psychopaths, the kind that emit evil from every pore, where violence is the norm, and remorse is a word that doesn’t feature in their vocabulary! Dysfunctional doesn’t even come close to describing this family, but one things for sure their a family you won’t forget in a hurry.  One Last Prayer For The Rays is a strong police procedure,  fast paced read that gets darker and more tangled with each turn of the page. which made for a compulsive and thrilling read.  

If you are looking for a cosy Murder mystery then this definitely isn’t the book for you, but if you’re a crime thriller whose not adverse the the occasional gory scene then this one’s definitely for you. An incredibly strong debut and one to read with the lights on. This is the first book I read by Wes Markin, but it definitely won’t be my last. 

My thanks to Shell Baker at http://bakersnotsosecret.blog for recommending One Last Prayer For The Rays to me. 

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Independently published (29 Jan. 2019)

The Holiday by T.M. Logan 

Seven days. Three families. One killer.

It was supposed to be the perfect holiday, dreamed up by Kate as the ideal way to turn 40: four best friends and their husbands and children in a luxurious villa under the blazing sunshine of Provence. 

But there is trouble in paradise. Kate suspects that her husband is having an affair, and that the other woman is one of her best friends. 

One of these women is willing to sacrifice years of friendship and destroy her family. But which one? As Kate closes in on the truth in the stifling Mediterranean heat, she realises too late that the stakes are far higher than she ever imagined. 

Because someone in the villa is prepared to kill to keep their secret hidden.

If you were thinking of going on holiday with your closest friends, you may want to think again! The Holiday by T. M. Logan serves as a warning that it’s just possible that your best friends could also be your worse enemies! As three families, four friends,  find out when they spend a week together in Provence. This book is very much character driven, no fast paced plot here, but it certainly made for an intriguing read, shrouded in subterfuge each member of the family has something to hide. As the author reveals secret after secret each character comes under close scrutiny, all the characters have their flaws some have very unpleasant traits, to be honest they are a pretty unlikable bunch, but never the less this also made them more intriguing.

You never quite know who to trust as Kate tries to uncover which of her friends is having affair with her husband,  and the author doesn’t help by tantalising the reader with red herrings along the way. As the temperatures in Provence increase so does the tension between the four friends, what first starts out as a simmering niggle  develops into boiling rage of emotions that ends in tragedy. The plot is an interesting one which explores themes such as secrets, parenting, loyalty and betrayal. The Holiday is the perfect summer read for those who enjoy a slow burning psychological thriller. 

• Print Length: 480 pages
• Publisher: Zaffre (25 July 2019)