I love the Tudors so find Philippa Gregory’s well written books on this subject absolutely fascinating and this one had me on the edge of my seat most of the way through. It follows the story of the last of Henry VIII’s wives, Kateryn Parr, who, as a young widow now in love with Thomas Seymour was forced into marriage with the king. She was a very intelligent woman, a dangerous thing to be in medieval times, especially if you happen to be interested in theological studies. Of course this was a time when such studies were particularly dangerous due to the ongoing feuds for religious power between the newly formed protestants and the flung aside papists. During the time of their marriage King Henry’s health deteriorated to the stage where he could no longer walk and could only ride with the help of courtiers to hoist him on and off the enormous war horses big enough to bear his spreading bulk. Henry seemed to change his mind about anything and everything so no one was safe including Queen Kateryn who would most certainly have been put to death as a heretic but for the king’s own very timely demise.

This is the third book in the series featuring DCI Ava Turner and her sidekick DI Luc Callanach who is a French detective now working in Edinburgh. The two seem to have a bit of a ‘will they won’t they’ relationship which adds to the tension of the book. While this book can be read as a stand alone Callanach has a back story as to why he’s no longer working in France which is often referred to and, therefore, useful to know. The main plot concerns a serial killer using different methods to kill and various identities making him more difficult to trace – until he makes the inevitable mistake. The sub plot which tells of police corruption and their connection to gangsters is more difficult to follow but your understanding deepens as the plot unfolds. Throughout the book the author’s thorough research into forensics and the effects of drugs adds to the tale’s authenticity making it a really good page turner.

This is a great book. Intense and so well written that I finished it in two days! The story follows a family living on the edge of Glasgow society whose mother is an alcoholic drug addict. The main character is a the young Tyler Wallace who clearly does not want to be involved in his older siblings life of crime and drugs but, is bullied into it. Tyler just wants to protect his younger sister from the perils of their existence in a near derelict block of high rise flats. In the course of their life of crime the brothers, along with their elder sister, break into the ‘wrong’ house and their lives become a dangerous game of cat and mouse between them, some well known villains and the police. In amongst all the chaos Tyler meets a girl who gives him a glimpse of a completely different way of life – but will this ever work out for him …………..

Any woman who has gone through the menopause will identify with the main character, Mary Shields, and her overheating out of control body! Mary is a social worker who crashes through the book in a series of disasters and every time she tries to put something right it does indeed end up in the worst case scenario. The book is gritty, funny and altogether unputdownable as you follow Mary through the consequences of her efforts to right wrongs both in her career and personal life. Mary has to deal with wife beaters, killers and paedophiles who she tries to stop going further down the slippery slope to hell but manages, unintentionally, to make things worse. She even manages to involve those she cares about the most in the very crimes she hates. A must read for anyone trying to juggle a career with family life and add a little personal enjoyment along the way!

I absolutely love this book – anyone who knows me will tell you I am a huge fan of Val’s but if I’d never heard of her (is that even possible?) I would love this book. Being the first in the Karen Pirie series Karen doesn’t feature as much as she does in the rest of the series but this is only the beginning of her career. The story features four young lads who find a body on a snowy night in st Andrews and, although the victim’s brothers are convinced of the lads guilt, no one is ever charged as there seems to be no evidence to prove anyone’s guilt.

The second part deals with the four lads twenty five years later when someone appears to be preying on them one by one. However, the story takes an unexpected turn eventually exposing the true killer through the advanced forensic techniques available.

This book will keep you gripped from page one until it’s very surprising end in true McDermid style!

We had this author as our author of the month in our local library and I was lucky enough to choose Matthew’s Tale The story follows the life of a saddler who returns to his home town of Carluke after serving in the army and facing the horrors of the Battle of Waterloo. He has many ghosts to face from his past but manages to overcome them all with solid determination even standing up against the local laird when he is falsely accused of a crime. This book is a a departure from the author’s usual detective stories but a good page turner I found hard to put down.