Written by a husband and wife team, First Cut is a fictional story of a medical examiner starting a career in a new city (San Francisco) and finding herself in at the deep end, with underworld figures determined to see that what she’s found is never used to bring them to justice. Dr. Jessie Teska is a fascinating and very realistic and relatable character, with her working-class Polish-Boston background, her massive student debts to pay off and her not-terrific taste in men.

For Jess Cook, the Turn Around Ranch is her last best hope to keep her daughter Chloe from repeating Jess's mistakes. Jess was a teen mom and Chloe's started running with a bad crowd. Jess is willing to do literally anything for Chloe, including learning to cook for thirty hungry ranch folk, and it's the mother-daughter story which tugs on the heartstrings most in this book. The hero Wade, a co-owner of the ranch, is a lovely guy who'd come across a bit too good to be true if

This is the fourth book in the Penniless Brides of Convenience series and possibly the one I’ve been looking forward to the most: Kate, Lady Elmswood, is the surrogate mother and mentor to the heroines of the first three books, her own convenient marriage with an absentee husband the model the other women aim for (and fail dismally, but that’s three entirely different stories). Now, Kate’s husband Daniel, the man she spent all of a few days with eleven years ago, is home recu

After twenty years in the US Army as a driver and a combat medic, Megan Malone is settling into the quiet life as a driver for a luxury car service in Dublin, Ireland. When a client unexpectedly drops dead just outside her car, her own empathy for the deceased’s husband means she can’t just walk away, and she’s drawn into the police investigation by insatiable curiosity. Dublin’s a fascinating setting for a cozy mystery series, with its old-world architecture and atmosphere c

Four people disappear from apparently quite comfortable lives. The only thing they appear to have in common is that each of them disappeared on their birthday… and each of them received a card wishing them a happy first birthday and inviting them to join a mysterious game. Digging deeper, psychologist Dr. Augusta Bloom and her investigative partner Marcus Jameson uncover something else the four have in common… they all displayed psychopathic tendencies. When a cyber investiga

Melisande Dulac is just trying to build a life for herself after several disastrous wrong turns. Apprentice mortician might not be a job for everyone, but it’s a chance Melisande didn’t expect to get, and she’s determined to repay the faith shown in her. Only problem… well, there are a lot of problems, but a series of events which would seem to point the finger of blame squarely at her for a crime she doesn’t even understand leave her no choice. She has to try and figure out

A Madness of Sunshine is well-known paranormal romance and urban fantasy author Nalini Singh's first foray into writing murder mystery, but it will come as no surprise to anyone who's read her other work that Nalini takes to the challenge with consummate skill. The tiny town of Golden Cove, on the rugged coat of the South Island of New Zealand, is vividly brought to life, both in the unforgiving beauty of the landscape and the harsh, strong people inhabiting it. Too often in

A charming and light-hearted Victorian romance, the story begins with Miss Amelia Fairclough finding herself in need of somewhere to shelter from a snowstorm. The only available place is a lodge on the road to a great house, fortunately occupied by a rather nice gentleman who takes her in. Of course, he’s not the estate manager he makes himself out to be, but the estate owner, the Marquess of Falconmore, no less, and when the entire village discovers the next morning that Ame

I’ve absolutely loved this series about the Bumgarten ‘dollar princesses’, four American sisters making their way and meeting their matches in Victorian high society. This one is the story of Sarah, the youngest sister, an animal-loving girl just as strong-willed as her older sisters, and Arthur, Duke of Meridian, the man her eldest sister Daisy was supposed to marry in the first book of the series but ended up with his brother Ash instead. Arthur left to go travel the world

Princes have pomp and glory—not murdered secretaries and crushes on commoners Nothing gets London's high society's tongues wagging like a good scandal. And when the personal secretary of the visiting Prince Sebastian of Alucia is found murdered, it's all anyone can talk about, including Eliza Tricklebank. Her unapologetic gossip gazette has benefitted from an anonymous tip about the crime, prompting Sebastian to take an interest in playing detective—and an even greater one in

Ruth “Ruthless” Harper is on the verge of becoming managing partner at her all-male consulting firm and she won’t let anything stand in her way. That includes men, relationships, and that dreaded F word, FEELINGS—distractions she eliminated long ago. After the worst day ever (a near-death experience and a public wedgie, for starters), Ruth realizes she doesn’t want to live and die alone. She puts together a business plan to find the perfect man and dives head first into the m

Two people. One chance meeting. Seven days to Christmas. Isobel Bennett is waiting for the number 11 bus when a man quite literally falls into her lap. Snow is falling, Christmas lights are twinkling, and a gorgeous man with dark brown hair has just slipped on ice and is now pressed against Isobel. Isobel knows she’s not imagining the chemistry between them. But then his ride arrives and, embarrassed, he beats a hasty retreat, murmuring apologies – and Isobel realises only to

Twelve years ago, Lizzie Burdett disappeared - and for the Carruso family, nothing has ever been the same since. Tom was Lizzie’s boyfriend, and the prime suspect, but with nothing ever found, he wasn’t charged. This story is told from the perspective of Tom’s younger brother Noah, only 15 when Lizzie vanished, who has a strained relationship with Tom and is struggling to find his own way in life. On a holiday escape in Thailand, Noah meets Alice, who reminds him of Lizzie at

Third in the Sinful Sinclairs series, there is very little referenced from the previous books in this one, and though both Edge and Sam were introduced in earlier books, rest assured you can start reading here and not feel like you’ve missed anything. What I’ve loved most about this series is the way Lara Temple really creates a sense of place; in this story, Edge and Sam spend a lot of time both in the present and in past reminiscences in Egypt, exploring archaeological site

I have to admit at about a quarter into this book, I couldn’t figure out what was businesslike about the marriage of this couple at all, because quite frankly they seemed to have fallen quite thoroughly in love with each other while exploring Florence (and where better?) However, as the story went on, I came to realise that Aidan was in absolutely no fit state to have his heart engaged, no matter how well he and Estelle suited each other. Aidan’s past is a very slow reveal, w

First of all, let me just comment that this book isn’t just for romance writers. If you’re a man concerned about his work ever winding up featured on the @menwritingwomen Twitter account, for example, or you’re terrified of one day being nominated for the Bad Sex In Fiction Award, you should make this book required reading, because the authors definitely know what they’re talking about, and they disseminate the knowledge in easily-digested, comprehensible chunks paired with s

In this third book in Susanna Craig’s Rogues and Rebels series, it’s the eldest of the Burke family, barrister Paris, who meets his match. Still suffering guilt over the consequences his participation in the failed 1798 Irish Rebellion brought down on his friends and family, he’s been drinking when he meets a young woman he incorrectly assumes is the new governess sent to look after his sisters. In the midst of a panicked flight from a forced marriage, Rosamund Gorse seizes o

Desperate to evade fortune-hunting suitors and hold onto control of her own property, Georgiana Caversteed marries the most convenient of all possible husbands - a convicted felon in Newgate who’s about to be shipped off to the Antipodes. Or so she thinks. It turns out that her husband, Ben Wylde, was actually in Newgate undercover for the Bow Street investigators, looking into a smuggling ring and a possible plot to rescue Napoleon from exile on St. Helena. The younger broth

I'm on tour again with Rachel's Random Resources, talking today about Kathryn Freeman's Reach for a Star. What if your dreams were so close you could reach out and touch them? How could anyone resist Michael Tennant, with his hypnotic blue eyes and voice like molten chocolate? Jessie Simmons certainly can’t. But Jessie’s a single mum who can’t sing to save her life – there’s no way she’ll ever cross paths with the star tenor. At least that’s what she thinks until she’s u

Having grown up in the UK, and with a love of true crime fostered by my mother who loved reading about serial killers, I was genuinely shocked to realise I had never even heard of Patrick Mackay, despite his killing at least five, possibly eleven or more people, in a period of just two years in the 1970s. In this excellent and detailed examination of Mackay’s life, crimes and victims, I learned all about this terrifying psychopath, a juvenile delinquent who killed seemingly o