Book Review: The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson

AD* | The body of a young Russian woman washes up on an Icelandic shore. After a cursory investigation, the death is declared a suicide and the case is quietly closed.

Over a year later Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir of the Reykjavík police is forced into early retirement at 64. She dreads the loneliness and the memories of her dark past that threaten to come back to haunt her. But before she leaves she is given two weeks to solve a single cold case of her choice. She knows which one: the Russian woman whose hope for asylum ended on the dark, cold shore of an unfamiliar country. Soon Hulda discovers that another young woman vanished at the same time and that no one is telling her the whole story. Even her colleagues in the police seem determined to put the brakes on her investigation. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking.

Hulda will find the killer, even if it means putting her own life in danger. 

Book Review: All is Fair by Lynda Page

AD* | Through highs and the lows, good times and the bad, life on the fair is unforgettable
Julie and Dicky Otterman arrive at Grundy’s fair with an extraordinary new act: the motorcycle extravaganza, The Wall of Death. This seemingly happy couple is the talk of the town, but all is not as it seems, and Dicky’s dark and violent nature means Julie lives in constant fear.

There's always plenty happening at Grundy’s fair: Gemma knows Velda's secret. Renata is finally with Donny. New member, the well-spoken Tom, catches the eye of Jenny, the Grundy’s lost daughter, returned to the fair very recently...

Meanwhile, Sonny is away, angry and plotting. Amidst all the challenges the most worrying of all is betrayal from those closest to you. One thing is for sure: life on the fair is never simple.

Book Review: The Serial Killer's Daughter by Alice Hunter

AD* | Is murder in the blood?

In a sleepy Devon village, a young girl is taken from the streets. Local vet, Jenny, is horrified. This kind of thing doesn’t happen here.

But it’s not the first time she’s been so close to a crime scene. The daughter of a prolific serial killer, she’s spent her whole life running from who she really is.

And the crime is harrowingly similar to those her father committed all those years ago…

But she’s not her father’s daughter.

Is she?

Book Review: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

AD* | Carlota Moreau: a young woman, growing up in a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of either a genius or a madman.

Montgomery Laughton: a melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr Moreau with his scientific experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers.

The hybrids: the fruits of the Doctor’s labour, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities.

All of them living in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Doctor Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction.

For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and in the sweltering heat of the jungle, passions may ignite.