Welcome to Litsy!

Molly is your average 15-year-old, wanting to join a band, live under the radar at school, & being totally embarrassed by her parents being 'The Rocking Stockings' a Christmas band. Back when Molly was just a small child & her parents were known as the 'Brussel Shouts', they made a Christmas record called 'Love Your Elf' & Molly starred as 'Little Elf Girl'. A fact Molly has been trying to hide ever since. (continued)

When Guy Haines meets Charles Bruno on the train he has no idea his life is about to unravel. On his way to see his estranged wife to hopefully obtain a divorce, Haines finds himself confiding in fellow passenger Bruno almost against his will. Bruno has his own trouble, namely his father, & during a quiet meal in Bruno's compartment, Bruno comes up with the idea of swapping murders.

This looked a promising thriller in the synopsis & I really enjoyed books set in/on isolated areas. I found this one a little underwhelming though. Although the idea is good, the POVs for Dee & Tori were not differentiated enough by their characters, & I had to keep checking who was narrating a particular chapter as it could have been either. (continued)

This penultimate (for now) book in the series examines the dark side of....Morris dancing. Yes the traditionally twee pastime involving dressing in a costume, with bells, & banging wooden sticks together! I might have been more incredulous had I not read a book earlier this year (or last year) about the old practice of wassailing & its more sinister side.

This is a comparatively short read for a crime thriller at under 300 pages but it packs a punch. I was simultaneously sympathetic to Madeleine & suspicious that she might not be being completely truthful. It was fairly fast-paced due to the length but I thought that the ending was a little weak. 4🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5966872614
Read 8th-9th Dec 2024

This is the fourth of the books set in the Jolvix world that I've read, & it's probably my second least favourite. The story line is good but I disliked the main character. Granted she has issues to do with both her childhood & the death of her first love, but she is absolutely horrible to ex-colleague & friend Ted at times. I found myself a bit irritated with her to be honest. 3.5 🌟

TWs: death, discussion of suicide, drug use/alcoholism.

My review is a bit too long to post here so see it in full at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/729121346

Read 6th-7th Dec 2024
4630 points (including 419 words found)

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Celia wakes up in a house with a husband & a daughter she doesn't recognise. When a nasty neighbour, who lives next door to the restaurant Celia supposedly owns, is murdered it looks like Celia is being primed to take the blame. Can she work out who she really is & who the killer is?

Allie has arranged to go to the beach for her birthday with friends Madison & Cam, however when the two friends' boyfriends tag along, Allie is annoyed. (Continued)

The Stromberg family suddenly pick up & move from their comfortable life to an isolated house, surrounded by pine forests, in northern Sweden. Although their mother & father seem happy enough, the youngest Stromberg is angry at being torn away from their old life. At first the surprisingly large house is part-occupied by a group of children on conservation work, but when they leave, the Strombergs are left alone with just the weird housekeeper.

BFFs Sam & Ally reunite with new friend, Sandy, (whom they met in Book 2 Camp Whispering Pines), when she invites the two friends to spend the weekend before Christmas at her family's house on Orcas Island. It doesn't take long before Sam manages to sniff out the rumour of a ghost at a nearby mansion, but this time, it seems the living may be the real danger. (continued)