Review - Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister

Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister

Publisher: Michael Joseph
Release date: 9 April 2026

Back cover blurb: A road trip across America with her teenage daughter was meant to be much-needed bonding time for Simone before Lucy leaves home for university. But on the first night of their stay, in a cabin deep in the Texan desert, Simone wakes to find Lucy missing and a mobile phone in her place. The phone rings and the voice on the other end issues instructions: Don’t tell the police. Come to this location. Be prepared to do a deal… There is nothing Simone wouldn’t do to save her daughter. Hide the truth. Commit a terrible crime. Become a wanted woman. But this is no ordinary kidnap and ransom. Getting Lucy back is just the beginning.

What would you do if your daughter was kidnapped, held at ransom, with her life in danger. 

Would you do as the kidnapper asks, even if that could be deadly or illegal?

It sounds like the plot of a movie, right? Some far fetched Hollywood blockbuster designed to thrill and entertain.

Most of us never believe that it could ever happen to us, and yet that is exactly what happens to Simone.

Simone flys out to meet her daughter in the state of Texas before they both return home and Lucy goes off to University. As an only child, Simone has missed Lucy terribly, and is determined to make the most of their time together.

When Simone wakes the following morning after meeting Lucy, she is faced with her worst nightmare. 

Lucy is missing. 

Then Simone recieves a call from an unknown number, issuing instructions.

They have Lucy, but she must not tell the police. If she follows their instructions, Lucy will be returned to her alive. 

Fail to cooperate, and Lucy dies.

Simone knows that she should ignore the instructions and call her husband, and then the police. They cam do the right thing, the proper thing, follow the appropriate channels and get her daughter back safely.

But Simone is too frightened to do anything other than what she is being asked, and so begins a terrifying journney into a murkey illegal underworld to get her daughter back.

Lots of twists, and I certainly didn't see the ending coming. Another great read from this author. 

Caller Unknown is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - the Enemy's Wife by Deborah Swift

The Enemy's Wife by Deborah Swift

Publisher: HQ Digital

Release date: 9 April 2026

Back cover blurb: 1941. When Zofia’s beloved husband Haru is conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army, she is left to navigate Japanese-occupied Shanghai alone. Far from home and surrounded by a country at war, Zofia finds unexpected comfort in a bond with Hilly, a spirited young refugee escaping Nazi-occupied Austria. As violence tightens its grip on the city, they seek shelter with Theo, Zofia’s American employer. But with every passing day, the horrors of war and Haru’s absence begin to reshape Zofia’s world – and her heart. Can she still love someone who has become the enemy?

This book is the second in Deborah Swift's 'Survivors of War' series. Whilst I enjoyed the first one in the series, I don't think you necessarily need to have read it to be able to read this installment. It could definitely be read as a standalone.

Personally, I think I enjoyed this novel more, as it explores a side of the war that isn't written about that often in historical fiction. The brutality of the Japanese and the uncertainties that foreign nationals faced in what they thought was a safe haven.

Zofia has been left to navigate Shanghai alone after her Japanese husband is conscripted in to the Japanese imperial army. She only has her friend Hilly, and her employer to help her. And sometimes trying to help Hilly feels impossible.

But they are both strangers in a foreign land, and it is the only reason that they are safe.

When things become volatile, her employer Theo’s wife and young family must leave to ensure their safety. Zofia worries that this will mean the end of her employment, but Theo decides he must keep Zofia on to help him learn the basics of Japanese, for he will need to engage with the enemy.

As time passes it is clear that there is an attraction between them, but they are both married, both moral, so nothing can possibly happen between them. Or can it?

We all know that war makes different people of us, and this novel demonstrates just how far we will go to protect and keep safe the ones that we love. Another brilliantly written novel from Deborah Swift and as always I look forward to reading her next.

The Enemy's Wife is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publisher who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray

Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray

Publisher: Macmillan

Release date: 7 May 2026

Back cover blurb: A dead judge. A silent defendant. And a courtroom full of liars. When Leila Reynolds is handed her first murder case, she’s shocked at how high-profile it is: the murder of a well-respected, well-known judge. This shouldn’t be the kind of case she’s leading; it’s way beyond her expertise. But the defendant, Jack Millman, is clear. He wants her, and only her. To make things worse, he’s refusing to talk. How is she supposed to prove herself on what appears to be an unwinnable case? Losing is not an option. She must find the most persuasive argument. Trials aren’t won by convincing judges or fellow barristers – they’re all about convincing a jury. Suddenly, Leila finds herself fighting not only to keep Jack out of prison, but also to keep her own secrets buried. It’s true what they say – there are two sides to every story. Guilty or not guilty? You decide . . .

This is so much more than a legal thriller. It is a twisty rollercoaster of a thrill ride (read?) and will leave you wanting more.

Leila Reynolds is one of the best barristers in the country, so when she is handed her first murder case she is thrilled.

Until she learns that she is up against one of the toughest barristers in the country, her husband. 

Leila is good, but Julian is better, and she knows he will do everything in his power to win and ensure that her client is found guilty of murder.

Jack Millman, the defendant and Leila have history, it's one of the reasons he has asked her to represent him. He insists that he is innocent, but he won't say a word against the real culprit, so Leila is left to scrabble around trying to find evidence to eliminate him.

In doing so she finds evidence of something that could destroy her marraige, and jeapordise the case. So she must pretend that everything is normal. Because she has an even bigger secret, and will do everything in her power to ensure it doesn't see the light of day.

It could destroy everything.

I can't say too much more as I don't want to give anything away, but this is definitiely one of the best books that you will read this year!

Dissection of a Murder is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Eye Spy by C.M. Ewan

Eye Spy by C.M. Ewan

Publisher: Pan

Release date: 26 March 2026

Back cover blurb: Waiting for the Eurostar in Paris, Mark’s four-year-old daughter alerts him to a ‘Bad Man’ during a game of 'Eye Spy'. Things only get worse when Mark notices that the man is on their train with a suspicious-looking suitcase, and he’s sitting ominously close. With secrets unravelling from the past, can Mark piece together the jigsaw of his life in order to save his family? Or will their journey come to a fatal end? 

Mark is returning from a family holiday to Paris, but it is a trip he has been forced to take without his wife. They had promised their daughter, Molly and Mark's stepdaughter, Freya that they would go away and they don't want to disappoint them. 

It has been a largely uneventful trip, until they reach the security queue at the Eurostar terminal. 

During an impromptu game of 'Eye Spy' whilst awaiting their turn in the security screening queue, Mark's daughter, Molly identifies a 'bad man'. Mark, who already suffers from severe anxiety is suddenly terrified that something awful is going to happen to them.

Although in reality he knows that this is ridiculous. For a start, Molly is only four years old. How could she possibly know if someone is inherently bad or not. But Mark trusts instincts.

Mark's parents were killed years previously in a terrorist incident whilst they were on holiday, and he has never fully recovered. He is constantly worried for his own safety, and that of those around him, particularly when travelling.

They manage to board the train without further incident, but Mark is still uneasy. And then his stepdaughter Freya disappears. 

Gone, without a trace.

Which is impossible on a train full of people with no way to get off, right?

Eye Spy would make a great TV series, and actually reminded me a lot of Nightsleeper (tv series, in terms of pace), and is similar to the 10:12 (in terms of train mystery) that I also read recently but I enjoyed this much more. There seemed to be more plausible tension in this, and a greater air of mystery.

Eye Spy is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Review - the Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary

The Drowning Place

Publisher: Vintage

Release date: 16 April 2026

Back cover blurb: Every place has its ghosts. Edenscar, a town in the Peak District, has more than most. 17 years ago, its inhabitants were hit by tragedy when a school bus veered off the road and everyone on board drowned. Everyone, that is, except Joseph Ashe. His miraculous survival has haunted him and the town ever since. Now a Detective Sergeant in the local police, Joe is called to the scene of a brutal and apparently inexplicable crime. The whole town is spooked, but Joe’s new boss, DI Laurie Bower, more used to inner-city police work, has no time for superstition. She just wants to find the very real killer who has left no trace and apparently had no motive. Joining forces, Joe and Laurie work to uncover the secrets of Edenscar, both past and present. But when you dig up the dead, expect to get your hands dirty…

The Drowning Place is one of the best crime novels that I've had the pleasure of reading recently. Sarah Hilary never disappoints!

I also love an unpredictable novel, and this is certainly that. There is a brilliant twist at the end that I didn't see coming - and I read a lot of crime! 

Seventeen years ago Joseph Ashe was on a school coach with his best friends when the bus careered off the road in the most tragic accident Edenscar had ever seen. It was a fatal accident, and Joseph was the sole survivor, and has lived with the guilt ever since.

Now a Detective Sergeant, Joseph is good at his job, but it still haunted by the past. Sometimes literally. For he sees the victims, his friends, as clearly as if they were still alive. Edenscar is a small community and everyone knows Joseph, and some are thankful for his 'gift', some not so.

Detective Inspector Laurie Bower is not local to Edenscar, but she has moved to the area temporarily to support her husband, who has returned to the area to support his sisters in looking after his Father who is in the early stages of dementia.

DI Bower is used to the hustle and bustle of the City and is worried that Edenscar is not going to be able to hold her attention, particularly when it comes to work. She has been temporarily transferred to Edenscar, where she will be working alongside DS Ashe.

She needed have worried, within 24 hours of her arrival there is a major incident, and she must quickly earn the trust of those around her to enable her to do her job effectively. As with any rural community they are naturally suspicious of outsiders so Laurie has her work cut out for her.

At first she struggles to work with Joe, she finds him closed off and hard to read, but then she learns that they are both dealing with ghosts of the pasts, and must find a way forward together so that they can deal with the present.

This is a beautifully twisty crime novel, and the first of two (I think) in a DS Ashe series, and I really look forward to the next installment. 

The Drowning Place is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - Adrift by Will Dean

Adrift by Will Dean
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Release date: 19 February 2026

Back cover blurb: Three of them adrift on the narrowboat. Mother, son, and wickedness. Peggy Jenkins and her teenage son, Samson, live on a remote stretch of canal in the Midlands. She is a writer and he is a schoolboy. Together, they battle against the hardness and manipulation of the man they live with. To the outside world he is a husband and father. To them, he is a captor. Their lives are tightly controlled; if any perceived threat appears, their mooring is moved further down the canal, further away from civilisation. Until the day when the power suddenly shifts, and nothing can be the same again.

I've read a few of Will Dean's books now and I think Adrift is definitely my favourite. I love that his books are all so very different, and this is one no exception.

Teenage Samson, his Mother, Peggy and his Father, Drew live on a narrowboat, on a remote stretch of Canal in the Midlands. 

Hidden from the view of any prying eyes, which is exactly what Drew wants for them. Drew is an award winning writer, who insists on complete peace and quiet for working during night hours.

Samson is bullied at school because his family dares to be different, and it is a daily battle for him to survive, in more ways than one.

Drew is used to getting his own way, to being the one in charge, making it clear that his family could not possibly survive without him.

Peggy uses writing herself as an escape from reality, but hides this from her husband until she thinks that she might be able to use it as an actual escape. The path to a new life for her and Samson.

Unfortunately Drew's reaction is worse than she could have anticipated and so the fight for survival really begins..

 

Adrift is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review - the Shock of the Light by Lori Inglis Hall

The Shock of the Light by Lori Inglis Hall
Publisher: The Borough Press
Release date: 12 February 2026

Back cover blurb: Cambridge, 1942. Twins Tessa and Theo had always shared everything – until the summer Tessa spent studying in France. She hasn’t been the same since. But before Theo can find out why, he is recruited by the RAF and disappears into the skies. Determined to carve her own path, Tessa joins the clandestine Special Operations Executive, slipping into the shadows of occupied France. It will be dangerous work, but France is the home of her greatest love – and her darkest secret. Tessa has many reasons for wanting to return. Two years later, only one of them comes home.

Twins, Tessa and Theo have been inseparable since they can remember, until the summer that Tessa spent studying at the Sorbonne in Paris. They were both supposed to study at Cambridge, until Tessa changed her mind at the last minute.

The space between only widens with the arrival of WW2. 

Theo signs up to the RAF, despite his Father's pacifist beliefs and Tessa is working for the government in a different way, though not the way she wants to be.

As a typist in a typing pool she doesn't think she is being used to her full potential. Luckily the powers that be agree, and Tessa is signed up as an SOE operative. She knows that the work is dangerous, but is determined to do her bit for the war effort.

As soon as she lands in occupied France she realises that she may have bitten off more than she can chew.

Theo meanwhile is flying above Europe in Battles testing his strength and ability. After suffering an injury that forces him home to his parents they discover together the news that Tessa is missing, presumed dead, but they don't understand how or why this was allowed to happen.

Theo, now resigned to a desk job is determined to find out what has happened to his Sister, especially as no one seems to want to talk about her disappearance. He knows that something is not right, but isn't prepared for the harsh reality.

Could his Sister really be responsible for the things that they are saying? Theo doesn't believe so, but he knows that Tessa changed when she came back from the Sorbonne, and things were never quite the same. 

Did he ever really know his sister at all?

This is an absolutely beautifully written novel, and is definitely one of my favourites of 2026 so far.

The Shock of the Light is available now via Amazon online and all good book shops.

Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.