MURDERABILIA - CRAIG ROBERTSON

Everyone has a hobby, some collect death.

When a body is deliberately left on show at a Glasgow Station, D.I Narey is ready to investigate. When she is taken off the case and confined to home she delves into the world of the dark web and the investigation takes a very sinister turn. Narey, along with her husband Tony Winter a journalist investigate the world of Death Collectors. Its a gruesome and disturbing world and not for the feint hearted.

This is an amazing dark and disturbing thriller, the sixth in the Narey and Winter series. Having started this series the wrong way round having read Book 7 first (and loved it) I'm still getting used to the characters not having grown with them from Book 1. This did not diminish the brilliance of this book. How can a book be so grisly in its subject but so utterly fascinating and engaging at the same time. Knowing there really are collectors of  "Murderabilia" out in the real world made me a bit uneasy while reading this book and I really shouldn't have read it late a night but I just couldn't put it down. The writing is tight and tense and this brilliant thriller keeps you on edge right to the last page,

I now have to go backwards again for my next instalment of the Narey and Winter story. I mentioned earlier that I had loved Book 6 which is called The Photographer. This is also highly recommended by this reader and reviewed in an earlier post if you fancy a peek.

THE QUAKER - LIAM MCILVANNEY

It is 1969 and Glasgow is in the grip of fear. A serial killer dubbed The Quaker has taken three women from the same nightclub and brutally murdered them. Six months later and D.I McCormack is called in to assess the progress of the squad on the Quaker case. Things aren't looking good and his arrival is not well received. When another women is murdered McCormack follows the trail in the hope of finding and catching the killer.

I know I'm a bit late to the party with this one but better late than never. I'm not surprised this book was a Scottish Crime book of the year for 2018, and it is certainly well deserved of the accolades. This is a tense thriller and so very well written. Sixties Glasgow is bought vividly to life with excellent characters and a very likeable Detective in McCormack who harbours his own secrets. The story moves along quickly but packs in so much . This is not your average crime novel, it is powerful, engaging and captures the corruption and atmosphere of 60's Glasgow to perfection.

I can't wait to read more from this author. Highly recommended.

SHEER WATER - LEAH SWANN

Ava and her two sons Max and Teddy are heading to Sheer Water to escape a troublesome past. On the way they witness a horrific plane crash and Ava steps in to help out. When returning to her car she finds the boys are missing. The chain of events that follow the disappearance of the boys will keep you on the edge of your seat and tightly gripped.

It's hard to know where to start when reviewing a novel like this. Sheer Water is such an extraordinary book of love, loss and plenty of menace all played out in such a poetical setting. This novel is so beautifully written, the setting so wonderfully captured. The sea is a constant feature all the way through the narrative that conjures up beautiful images of the Australian coastline that weave in and out of the story in poetical motion. I loved the characters especially the relationship between the two little boys. It is a book to savour but it is very hard to take slowly as the story moves at a cracking pace with unrelenting tension right up to the last page.

I loved this book and was very surprised to find it is a debut novel. The writing has such maturity and the author is a very good storyteller. It makes you think what wonders there are still to come from Leah Swann. Highly recommended.