Category Archives: Mystery-Thriller-Suspense

Rocket Girl - Cover

Book Review: Rocket Girl (Kick Johnson Mysteries) by Diane Vallere

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About the book, Rocket Girl Rocket Girl - Cover

  • Pages: 330
  • Publisher: Polyester Press
  • Publication Date: 23 February 2027
  • Categories: Historical Mystery/Thriller

A plucky, recently widowed mathematician takes a job with a new NASA-funded research center, but when a fellow employee turns up dead, things add up to murder…

Dallas, 1961. There’s a new president in the White House, a new birth control pill, and a new Russian satellite called Sputnik flying overhead. Everything’s new except Kick Johnson’s options: she’s unexpectedly on her own after three months of marriage to a man she barely knew, her car has been repossessed, and no bank will give her—or any single woman—a loan. When she answers an employment ad at the new Center for Rocket Science Research and lands a job as a math aide, her trajectory points upward—until evidence of a murder is found on the property.

The victim was an engineer who worked on the space program. His death raises questions about the safety of the center and the lengths someone will go to steal the research inside. It also highlights more personal issues like why he was at Kick’s house two days before he was killed. Now her new life involves a fair amount of deception and danger with global stakes—not to mention a surprising secret that hits painfully close to home.

As the space race heats up, Kick has to solve a formula she had no part in writing before her future—and that of the space program she’s learned to love—burns up on reentry.

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About the Author, Diane Vallere Rocket Girl - Author - Diane Vallere

National bestselling author Diane Vallere writes mysteries where ordinary women stumble into extraordinary situations…and murder is never far behind. From the dawn of the Space Race to contemporary life, her character-driven novels combine memorable heroines with humor and heart.

A past president of Sisters in Crime Worldwide, Diane edited the Agatha Award–winning essay collection Promophobia: Taking the Mystery out of Promoting Crime Fiction. She studied art history at the College of William and Mary and spent decades working as a merchant in the luxury fashion industry before trading fashion accessories for accessories to murder.

Connect with Diane:

Website | Goodreads | Instagram

My Thoughts 2026-AuthorPicMelissaABartell

I’m a space junkie, and I love a strong female character, so a historical mystery that combines wit, charm, and the space race was practically guaranteed to appeal to me. I devoured Rocket Girl in a single afternoon, completely forgetting to eat or drink in the process.

Kick Johnson is exactly the kind of amateur detective I love. Circumstances propel her into a radically different life: from newlywed to widow in just three months, and from homemaker to gainfully employed at a fictional research center reminiscent of the facilities depicted in Hidden Figures. It’s a whirlwind of change, but the story never feels rushed.

Diane Vallere clearly did her research. She captures the atmosphere of Mercury-era NASA and its associated research facilities while grounding her story in the broader culture of 1961 Texas. Women faced significant barriers to financial independence, while public schools were still struggling through court-ordered desegregation. These realities aren’t merely period window dressing. They’re part of the world that shaped Kick, and they inform both her choices and the story itself.

One thing I particularly appreciated was the distinction between systemic misogyny and individual behavior. While Kick encounters plenty of institutional barriers, most of the men she works with at the rocket center have genuinely good intentions. I especially liked Don Lancer, who gives her a chance professionally, and Bill Arden, who encourages her growing sense of adventure. Honorable mention goes to her brother-in-law, Ned.

The female friendships are equally important, particularly because they’re imperfect. Kick’s relationship with her mother-hen sister, Trudy, is especially compelling. Watching her establish her independence without sacrificing their closeness was one of my favorite aspects of the novel. Connie and Betty, her colleagues at the rocket center, also stood out, as did Mildred, whom I sincerely hope we’ll see more of in future books.

Of course, there’s also a murder to solve, and Vallere delivers excellent plotting with pacing to match. The mystery unfolds naturally alongside Kick’s personal transformation, with neither element overshadowing the other.

Rocket Girl is a thoroughly satisfying historical mystery that feels like a period piece without ever feeling dated. Instead, it has a breezy, retro-futuristic energy that perfectly suits its setting. It’s smart, engaging, and full of characters I’d happily spend more time with. I’m already looking forward to Kick’s next adventure.

Goes well with: Texas BBQ brisket, coleslaw, and a cold Shiner Bock.

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The Crooked Option 2b Red page

Book Review: The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Terror, by Stephen Cox

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The Crooked Mediums Guide to Terror

 

About the book The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Terror: The Crooked Option 2b Red page

  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 14, 2026
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.2 MB
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True terror is a murderer you can’t stop.

London 1882. A carpenter is killed by a train – an eerie, brutal crime. Flamboyant medium Mrs Ashton and her sapphic partner Braddie seek justice for the widow.

A charismatic new medium takes London by storm. Dock-lass Maisie sees her frightening prophesy of vengeance.  A noble family is devastated, but worse is to come.

Outgunned and bewildered, the three confront a deadly conspiracy. They risk losing everything.

A reckoning from beyond the grave.

Praise for Book 1: The Crooked Medium’s Guide To Murder

“witty, atmospheric and queer‑hearted”

“humour, mystery and a wonderfully crooked sense of morality… delivered with charm.”

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About the author Stephen Cox: The Crooked Stephen-Cox

Author Bio – My grandmother told me I read too much.  I remember walking in the garden when I was small, telling myself stories. It was over thirty years of wanting to be a novelist before I tried… and succeeded.

The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Murder was much loved. It arose because I wanted to write about Britishness and specifically about Englishness; about our complex relationship with the past; I wanted leads who were morally grayer but still capable of kindness. Personally, it was time for a novel with queer leads. And these difficult times I needed to write something with some uplift. I always intended more than two books. The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Terror is spookier, and more dangerous. It throws all three women out of their comfort zone.

I spent nearly all my childhood in Bristol, and I’m now an adoptive Londoner.   I live with my partner, and it’s lovely my two adult children come back from time to time. Our garden rages wild.

Connect with Stephen:

Website | Bluesky | Facebook | YouTube | Mastodon | Free Newsletter 

My Thoughts

I came into the world of Stephen Cox’s The Crooked Medium with book two, and while I had no trouble navigating the story—it absolutely works as a standalone—I suspect my experience would have been even richer had I read the first book beforehand. (I’ve since purchased it, so I can remedy that at my leisure.)

What hooked me immediately were the characters. Braddie and Mrs. Ashcroft are partners in every way, and I loved their relationship as much as I loved the reason Mrs. Ashcroft is a “crooked” medium: she genuinely possesses a supernatural gift, but it’s telepathy rather than the Sight she claims to have.

It’s the smaller details of their relationship, though, that made them sing from the page. These are two women who had argued over where to exchange vows in a time when their relationship could not even be openly acknowledged. One had wanted a church wedding—even if the church was closed—while the other had lobbied for something open-air. Their eventual compromise, a ruined abbey open to the sky but centered around women, was both romantic and wonderfully symbolic.

Cox is as good at world-building as he is at plot. The mystery is well-paced and, I confess, kept me guessing, while the people left behind by the victim’s death felt substantial enough to deserve stories of their own. I especially enjoyed period details such as mentions of D’Oyly Carte and unfamiliar slang like “hinny,” little touches that gave this American reader the pleasure of encountering Victorian Britain rather than merely being told that the story was set there.

I also appreciated that while earning enough to live—and creating the life they want—is important to our detecting duo, neither woman has lost her compassion. That compassion, particularly toward other women, gives the novel warmth beneath its spiritualism and murder.

I was so thoroughly immersed that I came away from the final pages half-expecting horse-drawn coaches, gray weather, and the scent of strong tea. Instead, I was subjected to unrelentingly sunny Florida skies and the realization that my coffee had gone cold.

At roughly five hours of reading time, The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Terror is a quick read, but an immersive one, with just the right blend of spiritualism, crime-solving, period atmosphere, and British wit.

Goes well with: steak-and-kidney pie and a pint of porter.

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Prize includes – Our Child of the Stars, Our Child of Two Worlds, The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Murder and the Crooked Medium’s Guide to Terror.

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Gleam box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for fulfillment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for dispatch or delivery of the prize.


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Review: The Frequency by Randall D. St. Claire – with Giveaway

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About the book, The Frequency  Final Cover Design 2 28 2026

  • Genre: Mystery / Speculative Thriller / Thriller / Suspense / History
  • Publisher: Atmosphere Press
  • Publication Date: July 21, 2026
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He didn’t expect his life to change in a single moment. He didn’t expect it to ask anything in return. 

Bronx Rousselle built his small life on purpose: a pawnshop in northern Minnesota, a few familiar faces, no debts he couldn’t count, no relationship anchors. Friendship, in his experience, always came with a cost—and Bronx never owed much to anyone. Humor helped. If he laughed hard enough at trouble, it often lost interest.

Then something finds its way into his hands. Old. Hidden. Mystical at first glance. Powerful enough to draw attention from people who don’t ask—they take. Curiosity bleeds into pursuit, and luck demands a toll. As it stretches from the American Midwest to the frozen edges of Greenland, Bronx is pulled into a world where survival is measured in seconds—and trust in scars.

But the greatest danger isn’t what’s chasing him. It’s how the journey begins to change him—forcing uneasy alliances.

A woman who carries pain without breaking. Another who will not bend. Men in shadows, where loyalty is uncertain and betrayal waits.

And somewhere between the cold, the fear, and the weight of what he carries, Bronx begins to feel something he’s spent a lifetime avoiding:

Connection. Responsibility. Loss.

The kind that doesn’t let go.

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About the author, Randall D. St. Claire RandyPortraits-19

Randall D. St. Claire writes intelligent, character-driven thrillers that live at the intersection of discovery, consequence, and the human cost of both.

His ninth novel, The Frequency, grew from a simple question that wouldn’t let go — what happens when a historic discovery powerful enough to change the world appears destined to fall into the wrong hands? Born in Southern California, he moved to Texas in 1996. Mentored by Patricia Anthony and Carol Woods, he is a past President of the Greater Dallas Writer’s Association.

Connect with Randall:

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My Thoughts Melissa - 2026

The Frequency does not so much begin as detonate. Randall D. St. Claire had me from the opening sequence, and once the story took off, I had no interest in putting it down. This is a rocket-powered thriller with a cinematic sensibility, but its speed never comes at the expense of character. The tension holds even when the humor slips in, and both feel completely natural.

Bronx Rousselle is a terrific reluctant hero. Gruff, taciturn, and firmly committed to keeping the rest of humanity at arm’s length, he becomes more appealing as the pressure builds and the man beneath the defenses begins to emerge. His growing attachment to other people is gradual, believable, and clearly inconvenient to him—which makes it all the more satisfying. He may prefer not to care, but his actions keep giving him away.

Dr. Edwin James Gibbons is an equally memorable presence. His collection of Texas expressions brought warmth and levity to the story, while also giving Bronx one more unpredictable personality to contend with. His homespun Texas expressions may occasionally bewilder outsiders, underscoring how regional phrases do not always travel as intended.

St. Claire packs a great deal into the novel: murder, conspiracy, scientific possibility, Arctic danger, betrayal, loyalty, and a restrained thread of romance. None of it feels crammed in. The plot remains clear, the suspense keeps tightening, and the quieter moments give the action emotional weight. I was especially impressed by the way the humor relieves the tension without puncturing it.

The Arctic setting is rendered with enough clarity to feel both beautiful and actively hostile. The landscape increases the isolation, magnifies every risk, and made me appreciate central heating on an almost spiritual level.

What stayed with me most, though, was the balance between spectacle and tenderness. The Frequency offers all the momentum and danger I want from a thriller, but its characters are what make the story matter. The ending lands with an unexpected softness that feels earned after everything that precedes it. Engaging, deftly constructed, and impossible to resist, this is exactly the sort of novel that deserves a screen adaptation. I would happily buy a ticket.

Goes well with: A piping-hot deep-dish pizza and an ice-cold St. Pauli Girl Lager. 

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Book Review: On the Bayou, By Sean Bridges

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On The Bayou - Campaign

 

About the book: On the Bayou On The Bayou by Sean Bridges

  • Suspense, Thriller, Mystery
  • Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
  • Publication Date: 25 May 2026
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A stake-out at a trafficker way-station ends with Special Agent Jennifer Nash placed on forced leave. Until a government insider offers her a chance at redemption.

All she has to do is accompany an elite Louisiana SWAT team on a takedown mission. But as she’s shuttled by boat into the Atchafalaya Basin, she believes some of the unit might be compromised.

The raid ends in disaster. And the police find themselves outnumbered in the middle of a criminal operation, with a connected Cajun community and ruthless cartel members determined to put them down at all costs.

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About the Author: Sean Bridges Sean Patrick Bridges

Sean Patrick Bridges is an award-winning screenwriter and film producer. He graduated from Schiller International University in Heidelberg, Germany. He’s been a Finalist and Semi-Finalist for the Nicholl Fellowship. Had a project invited to the Sundance Institute. He’s produced and directed two documentary short-subjects in the Caribbean.

He’s written novels, screenplays, short stories and produced audiobooks. He’s appeared as some form of Law Enforcement in a few TV episodes and film. And he’s worked on various projects with Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios.

He’s the owner of Audible Parade Productions in the Texas Hill Country. Their latest audio story is TRIPLE SIX, a five-episode presentation. For current information, check out audibleparade.com.

Connect with Sean:

Website  |  Instagram | LinkedIn | Amazon | GoodReads | FaceBook

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My Thoughts: Melissa - 2026

Sean Bridges’ On the Bayou drops readers into a world where danger comes from every direction, but what impressed me most wasn’t the body count or the relentless action. It was the people.

Bridges has a knack for making even a large ensemble cast feel distinct. The members of the SWAT team are more than interchangeable tactical operators; each arrives with a recognizable personality, perspective, and place within the group. Their camaraderie, disagreements, and dark humor create the sense that these are people who have spent years working together under pressure. Jennifer Nash stands at the center of it all, carrying the emotional weight of a previous operation gone horribly wrong. Rather than reducing her to trauma, Bridges allows her resilience and determination to define her just as much as her losses.

This is also a thriller that understands momentum. Once events are set in motion, the pace rarely eases off. Scenes flow naturally into one another, keeping the tension high without feeling chaotic. The Louisiana setting becomes far more than scenery. The bayou itself feels alive—humid, oppressive, unpredictable, and increasingly claustrophobic. Bridges uses the landscape to amplify the suspense, turning the swamps into a place where uncertainty lurks behind every patch of reeds and every stretch of dark water.

The first-person present-tense narration adds to that immediacy. Reading this novel often feels less like observing events and more like being dropped directly into them. The sensory details are vivid enough that you can practically feel the insects, the heat, and the mud. As the situation deteriorates and the danger escalates, the sense of vulnerability becomes increasingly effective.

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One aspect that stood out was the attention devoted to developing the primary antagonist. Bridges spends time exploring the forces that shaped him, creating a villain who is frightening not because he is mysterious, but because his brutality feels entirely believable.

My primary criticism is that the book would have benefited from another round of editing. Grammatical errors appeared often enough to pull me out of the story from time to time.

I also found myself conflicted by some of the language used by the criminal characters when referring to women. While it likely reflects the attitudes of the kind of men Bridges is portraying, the frequency of those insults occasionally became distracting. What makes that tension interesting is that the same novel gives us Jennifer Nash—a capable, layered protagonist I genuinely enjoyed spending time with. Despite my reservations, she is a character I would gladly follow into another installment.

Goes well with:  a cold beer, a bowl of spicy gumbo, and a healthy respect for anything lurking beneath the water’s surface.

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Book Review: Hidden Truth, by C.D. Steele

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Hidden Truth

Hidden Truth Book coverAbout the book: Hidden Truth 

Private Investigator Joe Wilde is investigating the murder of Philippa Redmond a former Labour MP. She had been found dead in her sauna over the Christmas holidays six weeks ago. The majority of her family had been staying with her at the time, but the police didn’t regard any of them as suspects. Evidence suggested an intruder had got into her home.

Joe also takes on a cold case of a missing woman named Julie Turnbull. She had disappeared six years ago without a trace. Meanwhile Joe’s good friend DI Whatmore is investigating the horrific murder of a woman who was burnt to death in her own home. His investigation crosses over with Joe’s missing person investigation. As they conduct their own investigations there are more killings.
DI Whatmore and Joe must join forces to track down a serial killer and solve a puzzling mystery, but doing so puts them and others in grave danger.

Buy, read, and discuss this book:

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About the author, C.D. Steele 

C.D Steele works as an Executive Officer in the Civil Service. He has a degree in Recreation Management and lives in County Down, Northern Ireland. This is his third novel and is the next book in the Joe Wilde Series after False Truth and Dark Truth.

Connect with C.D.:

Amazon Author Page

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Giveaway to Win 3 x copies of False Truth (book 1 in the Joe Wilde series) and 1 x copy of Dark Truth (book 2). (Open to UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Gleam box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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My Thoughts MAB-2026

I had a difficult time getting into Hidden Truth, and I suspect part of that is because I was jumping into an established series without having read the two preceding books.

A number of characters appear fairly quickly, and for a while I felt as though I was being introduced to people whose histories I was expected to already know. It took some time to settle into who everyone was and how they related to one another.

The novel also carries several different narrative threads at once. I normally enjoy a layered mystery, but at times it felt like there were a lot of moving pieces competing for attention. In addition, the editing could have used a more careful pass. There were a few moments where characters were misnamed, which briefly pulled me out of the story, and I noticed several grammatical errors that stood out.

That being said, my overall reading experience was still a favorable one. Steele clearly knows how to weave together complex story lines, and the dialogue throughout the book felt rich and convincing. He also demonstrates a willingness to tackle difficult subject matter without shying away from it, which I respect.

Joe Wilde himself is a likeable lead character, and I particularly appreciated his strong sense of justice. He anchors the story well and gives the reader someone solid to follow through the darker corners of the narrative.

Despite my initial difficulty settling in, Hidden Truth ultimately proved to be a solid investigative thriller. If you enjoy crime fiction with multiple threads and morally driven protagonists, this series is definitely one worth exploring, whether you begin here or go back to the first book.

Goes well with: strong coffee and a Reuben sandwich.

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Book Review: The Regression Strain by Kevin Hwang

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About the book: The Regression Strain 

  • Genre: Medical Thriller
  • Publisher: Normal Range Press
  • Publication Date: May 26, 2025
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bookcoverregressionstrainDr. Peter Palma joins the medical team of the Paradise to treat passengers for minor ailments as the cruise ship sails across the Atlantic. But he soon discovers that something foul is festering under the veneer of leisure. Deep in the bowels of the ship, a vile affliction pits loved ones against each other and shatters the bonds of civil society. The brig fills with felons, the morgue with bodies, and the vacation becomes a nightmare.

One by one, the chaos claims Peter’s allies. His mentor spirals into madness and the security chief fights a losing battle against anarchy. No help comes from the captain, who has an ego bigger than the ocean.

With the ship racing toward an unprepared New York, the fate of humanity hinges on Peter’s deteriorating judgment. But he’s hallucinating and delirious…and sometimes primal urges are impossible to resist.

The Regression Strain is a fast-paced medical thriller laced with psychological suspense, perfect for fans of Michael Crichton and Blake Crouch.

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About the author: Kevin Hwang Author_Regression Strain

Kevin O. Hwang, MD, is a professor of internal medicine in Houston where he sees patients and teaches residents. His academic work has appeared in leading medical journals. Nothing excites him more than chicken enchiladas, index cards, and appropriately sized packaging. The Regression Strain is his debut novel.

Connect with Kevin:

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My Thoughts MAB-2026

I’m a sucker for a good science-based thriller, and I also love medical drama, so as someone who came of age reading Michael Crichton, when I had the opportunity to review this book, I jumped at it, and Kevin Hwang’s writing caught me and held me fast from beginning to end.

What unfolds on the Paradise is more than a contained outbreak story. It is a pressure cooker at sea, blending investigative tension with deeply personal stakes. The illness may be the catalyst, but the heart of the novel lies in the people trapped with it: physicians, security officers, crew members, and passengers from wildly different backgrounds. The cast feels varied and fully human, and the story makes it brutally clear that no one is insulated by rank, expertise, or good intentions. I was especially drawn to Dr. Peter Palma, whose history shadows every choice he makes. His compassion is genuine, but so is his fragility, and that combination gives the narrative real emotional weight.

The ethical questions here are not abstract. They land hard and fast as alliances fracture and fear overrides reason. The atmosphere grows tighter with every chapter, and the cruise ship setting amplifies that claustrophobia in a way that feels almost uncomfortably plausible. The pacing never lets up, yet the author still finds room to explore what happens when advanced medicine collides with the most primitive parts of human nature. More than once, I felt echoes of 2020 in the way misinformation spreads, authority falters, and ordinary people are forced to confront who they really are under pressure.

Ultimately, The Regression Strain delivers exactly what I want from a medical thriller: credible science, escalating stakes, and characters whose choices matter. It is unsettling without being gratuitous, thoughtful without slowing the momentum, and it lingers after the final page in the way the best speculative fiction does. If you like your suspense grounded in biology and human frailty rather than gimmicks, this one absolutely belongs on your list.

Goes well with: strong black coffee in a thick mug, eaten-at-midnight leftovers from the fridge, and the uneasy feeling of being far from shore with nowhere to run.

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Book Spotlight: FRANTIC by Brent Bradley

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About the book, Frantic

  • Techno Thriller/ Conspiracy Thriller
  • Publisher: BCS Publishing
  • Publication Date: March 7, 2025
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A delusional prison patient warns Dr. Brian Heiser, Marriage and Family Therapist, of enormous impending disaster. Dr. Heiser and his best friend, a lauded Forensic Psychologist, find themselves entangled in a 72-hour deadly race to stop an AI bill being fast-tracked through the Texas state legislature.

Patricia Reigns, an elite developer of artificial intelligence, teams with them, thus cementing the trio as a viable threat.

Unbeknownst to Fred, however, Brian and Patricia had a secret past. That past soon rekindled feelings in Patricia towards Brian, and vice versa. And this woman was not one to play coy.

The more they uncover, the more the deadly power of Artificial Intelligence is unleashed on them at every turn, from unseen top tech billionaires all vying for the same AI state contract.

What follows is a three-day frantic sprint toward truth that none of them could have possibly fathomed: a secret plot funded by the world’s wealthiest tech giants, an AI bill touted as a massive “progressive” leap forward for Texas, assassins funded to the gills in blood money, politicians bought and paid for, and a media that couldn’t care less.

Last, buckle up for an intense final stretch that’s simply impossible to foresee.

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About the author, Brent Bradley authorpicFrantic

Dr. Brent Bradley is a well-known couples therapist. He’s treated over a thousand couples in therapy and supervision of therapists. His books and articles are read internationally. He holds a PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy, an MA in Christian Theology, and a BA in English Literature. 

Brent brings an expert focus and depth to emotion and relationship dynamics in his fictional writing. His style radiates with intelligent plots, suspense, romance, and mystery – all delivered within a relentless pace. 

Brent is married with one twin daughter (and one that passed away in the womb). They live in League City, TX. He is an avid fan of the Astros and Texas A&M baseball. 

He is a follower of Christ.

Connect with Brent: 

WEBSITE | AMAZON | GOODREADS |TWITTER

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Under Cover UVM_B_PBK

Book Review: Under Vixens Mere by Kit Fielding

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Under Vixens Mere

About the Book, Under Vixens Mere: Under Cover UVM_B_PBK

After Harry Jones takes his life in the chilling waters of Vixens Mere, not one body is found by the police rescue team, but two.  Tucked away in the English countryside, the run-down marina at Vixens Mere hosts a ragtag community of houseboats whose lives are as tangled as their mooring ropes. Harry Jones’s death dredges up more than grief: a second body in the water, hidden love affairs, and old grudges. As the marina begins to reveal the truths of the past, its dwellers unify against investigators, vindictive exes, and anyone else who tries to break them. The boats of Vixens Mere brim with secrets…. A marriage broken by war, a guilty lover returning, a ramshackle haven for aging hippies, a newcomer chasing a better life, a home haunted by addiction, and a loyal outcast whose devotion turns deadly. Step aboard and lose yourself in the secrets, betrayals, and unbreakable ties of a small community.

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Purchase Link | Goodreads 

Enter the Giveaway to Win 3 x Stacks of 5 Inkspot Publishing books (UK Only):

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Gleam box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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About the Author, Kit Fielding: Under Author IMG_1616

Kit Fielding plans and writes his novels in a motorhome at various locations around the country.

The feeling of impermanence is natural to him due to his mother’s traveller roots and a childhood succession of tied-cottages accommodation in different parts of England.

Kit Fielding says that there was always a curiosity about what was waiting, or was lurking, just around the corner. This legacy has stayed with him to the present day and it feeds into his work.

Connect to Inkspot Publishing:

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My Thoughts: MAB-2026

Under Vixen’s Mere is one of those novels that quietly gets under your skin and then refuses to leave.

From the opening pages, the prose immediately stood out to me. It’s spare without ever feeling sparse—clean, confident, and quietly assured. Dialogue and description are held in careful balance, each doing its work without calling attention to itself. Nothing strains for effect, and that sense of restraint builds trust early on, inviting the reader to settle in and follow where the story leads.

I was drawn to this book for deeply personal reasons. I’ve long fantasized about living on a boat, and I happily lose hours watching The Mindful Narrowboat on YouTube (mercifully free of mysterious bodies). What I didn’t expect was how fully this novel would deliver not just a setting, but a lived-in way of life—one that feels authentic rather than romanticized.

This is, in many ways, vicarious travel: across years, across seasons, and into a rare, largely off-grid canal-boat community tucked into the English countryside. The residents of Vixens Mere come and go with the rhythms of the water, maintaining an almost paradoxical balance—deep closeness paired with fierce privacy. Secrets are kept, histories linger, and yet there is mutual sympathy and loyalty that feels earned rather than idealized.

The cast is refreshingly outside the usual literary comfort zone: nightclub bouncers, pig farmers, laborers, drug dealers. These are not middle-class protagonists smoothed for palatability, yet each one climbs off the page with warmth, dignity, and unmistakable humanity. They love, fight, fear, and hope as fiercely as anyone else. I could picture every one of them.

Under Giveaway Screenshot 2025-11-06 at 09.45.44

Kit Fielding manages a large ensemble with impressive control, giving each character space to breathe—and yes, killing some of them. Tragedy and darkness are present throughout, threaded carefully among humor and joy. The mere itself—the body of water at the novel’s heart—becomes a quiet gravitational force, anchoring two stable, loving couples while secrets of adoption, unrequited love, affairs, suicide, and manslaughter drift in and out like the boats themselves.

What struck me most was the confidence of the writing. The scene-setting is assured, the revelations slow and satisfying, and the sense of jeopardy in the latter half is handled with admirable restraint. This is a writer who asks for your patience—and repays it fully.

Most of all, this book felt refreshing. Refreshing in its refusal to lean on stereotype. Refreshing in its complex, contradictory characters. Refreshing in a storytelling style that is unusual, engaging, and delivered with raw honesty and flair.

Choosing a favorite among the residents of Vixens Mere is nearly impossible, but if pressed, I’d gladly spend an evening with Big Ed and Millie aboard Crystal Lady—the emotional linchpins of this ragtag family. Their relationship feels utterly authentic, and I’d happily sink a beer (or three) with them in The Shed.

This is one of those rare books I was reluctant to finish—not because the ending faltered, but because I didn’t want to leave these people behind. I know they’ll be living in my head for a long time yet.

Goes well with: a pint in a weathered pub, damp boots by the door, and the quiet creak of ropes against wood as night settles over the water.

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The Locked Room Ebook

Book Review: The Locked Room by Holly Hepburn

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The Locked Room

The Locked Room EbookAbout the Book: The Locked Room 

Join Harriet White in 1930’s London for another glorious Sherlock Holmes-inspired mystery, for fans of Nita Prose and Janice Hallett.

After a very close call on the Norfolk Fens, Harriet White is about ready to hang up her deerstalker and settle back into her normal life, working in a bank on Baker Street. Until she discovers a letter in The Times newspaper challenging Sherlock Holmes to prove his status as the world’s greatest detective, by solving an impossible mystery. The letter, signed Professor James Moriarty, advises Holmes that the crime will be committed within the following seven days. There will be no further clues – Holmes himself must deduce which crime is the correct one to investigate.

Dismissing the letter as a prank, Harry goes about her business until news breaks of the theft of valuable jewel collection from a safe in an apparently locked room in a Mayfair townhouse.

Intrigued in spite of her misgivings, Harry dons a disguise and investigates. But as she begins to unpick the puzzle, a body is found. And now, a stranger, and far more deadly mystery begins to unfold around her…

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Author PicAbout the Author: Holly Hepburn

Holly Hepburn writes escapist, swoonsome fiction that sweeps her readers into idyllic locations, from her native Cornwall to the windswept beauty of Orkney. She has turned her hand to cosy crime inspired by Sherlock Holmes himself. Holly lives in leafy Hertfordshire with her adorable partner in crime, Luna the Labrador.

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MAB-2025My Thoughts

Locked-room mysteries are my Kryptonite, so I was already inclined to be generous with The Locked Room. Add in a female sleuth, a Sherlock-adjacent premise, and 1930s London, and I was fully on board before the first page. What I did not expect was how thoroughly this book would delight me—or how quickly I’d be buying the first two installments in the series for pure, unapologetic pleasure.

The Locked Room drops us back into Harriet White’s world after a near-fatal case on the Norfolk Fens. Harriet is ready to retreat to the relative safety of her bank job on Baker Street, until a provocative letter appears in The Times, publicly challenging Sherlock Holmes to solve an “impossible” crime in seven days. When a jewel theft from a supposedly locked Mayfair room hits the headlines, Harriet’s curiosity—and sense of justice—prove impossible to ignore.

I jumped into this series with book three and never felt lost, which is no small feat. Author Holly Hepburn provides just enough grounding to orient new readers while rewarding longtime fans with deeper character beats. I was also intrigued to learn that the premise draws inspiration from a real historical incident, which adds an extra frisson to the cleverness of the setup.

Hepburn’s writing is witty, assured, and inviting, with a light touch that keeps the pages turning. The historical setting feels lived-in rather than performative. I could see the grand townhouses, the quieter streets, and the sharp contrast between wealth and hardship in interwar London. Period details are woven in naturally, never paraded for effect, which makes the world feel solid and breathable.

This particular mystery unfolds around a snowbound manor and delivers one of the most satisfying locked-room puzzles I’ve read in years. False identities, impossible footprints, and a wonderfully human subplot involving Harriet’s mischievous younger brother keep both the tension and the charm dialed high. Hepburn’s prose is richly evocative; the chill of the house, the glow of firelight, and the small rituals of comfort feel almost tangible, even as the tension tightens and the stakes rise.

The twists genuinely surprised me. The romantic thread simmers gently without ever hijacking the mystery. When the final reveal landed, I actually gasped—then immediately flipped back to earlier chapters to admire how skillfully I’d been misdirected.

The Locked Room is clever, cozy without being complacent, and deeply satisfying for puzzle-lovers. If you adore classic detective fiction but crave a fresh perspective, Harriet White deserves a place on your shelf—and very likely, in your reading rotation for a long while to come.

Goes well with: a blazing fire, a generous glass of brandy, and the delicious certainty that you’re about to be very cleverly fooled.

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Two Into the Cold: Clare & Russ Begin

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In the Bleak MidwinterI went looking for a new-to-me mystery series that could hit a very specific sweet spot: cozy without being precious, thoughtful without tipping into pretension. I found it first in audiobook form, almost by accident, and I was hooked from the opening chapters. This series slid neatly into my ears and refused to let go.

In the Bleak Midwinter opens the Reverend Clare Fergusson / Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne series, and from page one it feels like stepping into a snow-globed village where everything looks quaint until you notice the blood on the ice. Millers Kill is small, wintry, tight-lipped, and brimming with secrets. Clare arrives as the new Episcopal priest—smart, guarded, quietly carrying her own scars—and Russ is the town’s steady, married police chief who knows every back road and every family history. The murder at the center of the book is strong, but the real hook is the slow, careful way these two circle each other: wary, respectful, emotionally literate, and painfully human. This is not a gimmick pairing. It is grounded, moral, and full of restraint, which somehow makes it even more compelling.

A Fountain Filled with Blood deepens everything I loved about the first book. The mystery—rooted in school rivalries, old resentments, and the quiet hierarchies of a small town—unfolds with confidence, but the emotional stakes rise just as sharply. Clare is more settled but no less complicated. Russ remains bound by duty and marriage, and the ache between them becomes more visible, more fraught, and more honest. This series understands that longing is rarely glamorous. It is awkward, ethical, exhausting, and deeply human, and that realism is one of its quiet superpowers.

There is also something deeply comforting about the cultural shorthand Spencer-Fleming uses. References to PBS, public radio–adjacent sensibilities, and a certain late-20th-century, educated-Northeast worldview made me feel instantly at home. It is clear the author lives in or very near my cultural zeitgeist, and those small, knowing touches add a layer of authenticity that is easy to underestimate and hard to fake.

A special note for audiobook listeners: Suzanne Toren’s narration is wonderful. The voices feel lived-in rather than performed, the pacing gives emotional beats room to breathe, and the atmosphere of Millers Kill—snow, silence, tension—comes through beautifully. It is the kind of narration that makes long drives shorter and everyday chores suspiciously enjoyable.

Together, these first two novels promise a series that cares as much about souls as it does about bodies, as much about silence as about clues. Come for the murder. Stay for the moral complexity, the slow-burn tension, and the feeling that you are being trusted with real people, not just characters.

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