Perfect Silence

Perfect Silence by Helen Fields

Published by Avon 

August 2018

Helen Fields is back with her fourth novel featuring Detective Inspector Callanach.  Here's the blurb to give you a clue as to what it's all about...

When silence falls, who will hear their cries?

The body of a young girl is found dumped on the roadside on the outskirts of Edinburgh. When pathologists examine the remains, they make a gruesome discovery: the silhouette of a doll carved in the victim’s skin.

DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach are struggling to find leads in the case, until a doll made of skin is found nestled beside an abandoned baby.

After another young woman is found butchered, Luc and Ava realise the babydoll killer is playing a horrifying game. And it’s only a matter of time before he strikes again. Can they stop another victim from being silenced forever – or is it already too late?

And if that wasn't enough, here's an exclusive extract from the book....

Detective Inspector Luc Callanach brought his car to a halt on

the verge of Torduff Road. A pair of curious horses watched

passively over a six-bar gate as blue fl ashing lights destroyed

the early morning peace. Pulling a hoodie over his t-shirt, he

checked the time. Five thirty in the morning. The crime scene

investigators were in the process of erecting floodlights

around the scene to make up for the lack of sunlight. The

weak October rays wouldn’t touch the ground until six thirty

at the earliest. DCI Ava Turner pulled her car up behind his

and climbed out in sports gear that had already seen a work

out that morning.

‘Do you never sleep?’ he asked, as they fell into step together.

‘Is it a French thing, using a question as a greeting? Because

in Scotland we tend to say hello first. Surely you’ve been here

long enough to know that by now. What do we know about

the victim?’ she replied, rubbing her hands together furiously.

‘I haven’t seen her yet,’ he said, peeling off his gloves and

handing them to Ava. ‘Put those on, it’s freezing out here. It’s

quite a long way up the lane. The route’s long and narrow,

heading south towards the reservoir, so the squad have sealed

off a full mile section. Scenes of Crime are already getting started.

I gather it’s a single victim, young adult female.’

Ava showed a uniformed officer her identification as they

ducked under yellow tape. ‘The usual pathologist, Ailsa Lambert,

is on leave at the moment, so who’s looking after the body?’

she asked.

Perfect Silence is out right now in paperback and kindle editions.  Sleep well and don't have nightmares!

Happy Reading

Miss Chapters x

The Mystery of Three Quarters

The Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah

Published by Harper Collins

23rd August  2018

The world’s most beloved detective, Hercule Poirot – the legendary star of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and most recently The Monogram Murders and Closed Casket—returns in a stylish, diabolically clever mystery set in 1930’s London.

Returning home after lunch one day, Hercule Poirot finds an angry woman waiting outside his front door. She demands to know why Poirot has sent her a letter accusing her of the murder of Barnabas Pandy, a man she has neither heard of nor ever met.

Poirot has also never heard of a Barnabas Pandy, and has accused nobody of murder. Shaken, he goes inside, only to find that he has a visitor waiting for him — a man who also claims also to have received a letter from Poirot that morning, accusing him of the murder of Barnabas Pandy.

Poirot wonders how many more letters of this sort have been sent in his name. Who sent them, and why? More importantly, who is Barnabas Pandy, is he dead, and, if so, was he murdered? And can Poirot find out the answers without putting more lives in danger?

Hercule Poirot is back and yet again written by the wonderful Sophie Hannah.  Now I know that some die-hard Agatha Christie fans have hated the fact that Sophie has written these Poirot novels, but as a total fan of the queen of crime fiction I love them totally and you should too!  I can hear Poirot as I read these books, and I do think that Sophie Hannah has captured him on paper perfectly.  I also love the fact that in these books he has a new side-kick in the guise of Edward Catchpole who is the author of these novels and is always there at hand to lend a role in the police proceedings.

This book starts with a letter - one which accuses a woman of murdering a man she has never heard of, a Mr Barnabus Pandy, who apparently died whilst in the bath.  The author of this letter is one Mr Hercule Poirot!  After being accosted by this rather angry lady, Poirot finds himself blamed for the sending of not one, not two but four letters in total; all saying the same thing - that the recipient has murdered Barnabus Pandy!

This is enough for Poirot to investigate the case, despite the police ruling it an accidental death initially, and with Catchpole at his side, he visits the home of Mr Pandy to find out more about his demise from the women who lived with him - his daughters and granddaughter and to find out the truth.  But of course, as more seemingly unrelated characters are brought into play, we soon learn that not everyone is being honest with Poirot.

Did my own "little grey cells" work out whodunnit in this cleverly crafted plot?  No of course they didn't, but Poirot did in his own determinable style!  I can't wait for the next installment!

Happy Reading

Miss Chapters x