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#readaway2025
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OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

Why did the 9th Duke of Rutland, owner of the spacious Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, die on a couch in a cramped. cold, suite of rooms in the servants' quarters? In 1940, in poor health & fading fast, the Duke refused to be removed to more comfortable surroundings & insisted on being left alone in the rooms, which were then locked up & left untouched for 60 years after his death. But why?

OutsmartYourShelf Research into the correspondence of the family highlighted missing letters for 3 separate periods of the Duke's life & hinted of secrets being kept, even now, & the author was determined to solve the mystery.

There were actually 3 separate incidents: the first one was tragic, the second was so banal I've forgotten about it already, whilst the last is arguably the worst of the three. It's difficult to say much more without giving any spoilers.
22h
OutsmartYourShelf Safe to say, the Duke's mother was a pill & even the Duke himself ended up disappointing this reader. The book itself was well-researched & written, although the quotations from the letters were sometimes overlong. 3.5🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/731265725
Read 15th-25th June 2025

#ReadYourKindle @CBee
#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
22h
DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 4h
27 likes3 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

Stephanie 'Stevie' Diaz is happily married to Troy, but has a job as a 911 operator that she hates. One night, Stevie answers a call & hears a woman who is being followed by someone in a truck. Whilst online, the woman is forced off the road in an isolated area & starts running for her life, Stevie hears a gunshot, but the call is ended. The officers sent to the area find the woman's car but there is no sign of her or the other driver. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf Stevie can't let it go though because she recognised the caller, childhood friend Andrea (Andy) newly back in the area. They may have lost touch but Stevie knows if it were the other way round, Andy would look for her.

I have very mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, the mystery plotline is good & the book itself is well-written, but on the other hand, I just can't stand the main character.
2d
OutsmartYourShelf She was fine up until about halfway through but when I'd finished the book I ended up loathing her. This is all to do with the 'love triangle' aspect & Stevie's obvious narcissism. She lobs a grenade into the relationship with her husband, Troy, & then expects him to not have the normal reactions anyone would have & uses emotional manipulation to try & get what she wants. I almost cheered when he finally called her out on her BS. 2d
OutsmartYourShelf Although I mostly enjoyed this, I probably won't read any further books in the series mainly because Stevie is insufferable. 3.7🌟

Thank you to #NetGalley & publishers, Super Gravity Press LLC, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7614777839
Read 23rd - 25th June 2025

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
2d
DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 1d
30 likes4 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

Det Lieutenant Eve Dallas is called to the scene of a puzzling murder.. The founder of computer gaming company U-Play, has been found murdered in his locked holo-room. According to the security logs, no-one else entered or left the room during the time of the murder, not even the house droid, so how did Bart Minnock end up literally losing his head?

OutsmartYourShelf The 30th case for Dallas & Peabody is a locked room mystery with a difference! I really enjoyed the storyline & there were several scenes of banter between Dallas & Peabody, but the funniest scene for me was the one with Dallas & Trina (the beautician) - had me laughing out loud. This series shows no signs of flagging when it's still getting 4/5 stars from me 30 books in. 4.5🌟
3d
DieAReader 💖💖💖 3d
23 likes3 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
Deep Waters | N.W. Bulfin
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Mehso-so

Archaeology graduate Eoin Ryan leaves his soul-crushing call centre job for a position as a teacher at a remote island commune. Mainly self-sustaining, the group sounds like the perfect solution to his problems, but if something sounds too good to be true.....

First of all, I thought the plot & setting were intriguing & having studied archaeology & history, an MC from that background & the bits about Irish mythology were interesting. (continued)

OutsmartYourShelf One issue for me though was that the pace was far too slow, for large parts of the book nothing much really happened, but the real problem was the frequent conversations which went something like: other character gives a bit of info to Eoin , Eoin replies “Interesting/ Fascinating/I see what you mean“. For much of the time the conversation actually went nowhere in terms of plot development & it became rather tedious & made the reading experience 5d
OutsmartYourShelf stilted instead of naturally flowing.

I did enjoy it enough to finish reading it & parts of it were interesting. The too slow pace & stilted conversations were the only downsides. 3.25⭐

TWs: violence, animal death.

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Croghan, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7664655197
Read 18th-22nd Jun 2025

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
5d
DieAReader #Next 👋🏻 I hope your next read is better🤞🏻 5d
32 likes3 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
The Bodies | Sam Lloyd
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Pickpick

In the early hours one morning, Joseph Carver finds his teenage son, Max, in the kitchen frantically trying to clean his bloodied hands. Max says there's been an accident - he killed someone with his car, tried to help them but when it was obvious they were dead, he panicked & fled the scene with the body. Joseph promised his late wife that he would always protect Max so he decides to cover it up & helps Max bury the body.

OutsmartYourShelf It's all sorted until Joseph finds out that Max lied to him about the accident as the car doesn't have any damage & he swore he didn't know who the victim was & yet Joseph found a wallet in Max's room. If Max lied about that what else could he be lying about? A few days later Max calls Joseph saying he needs his help & when he arrives there's another dead body.... 1w
OutsmartYourShelf Wow, this was a non-stop, fast-paced ride! It's intense, gripping, & almost gives the reader whiplash with the switch-back reveals. With the decisions Joseph makes, you're sitting there thinking “Really?!“, but there's no denying it grabs the attention. The reader has a front seat view into Joseph's mind as he starts to crumble from the pressure of it all. 1w
OutsmartYourShelf If you enjoyed the author's previous books 'The Memory Wood' & 'The Rising Tide' you'll love this one. 4.5🌟

TWs: [major] violence, murder / [minor] animal death

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Random House UK/Transworld Publishers/Bantam, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7595169546
Read 17th-18th Jun 2025

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
(edited) 1w
20 likes3 comments
review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

When 90-year-old care home resident, Daphne St Clair, confesses to being a serial killer, everyone wants to be the one to break the story. Why would someone who has gotten away with decades of murders suddenly confess? Podcaster, Ruth King, is the person Daphne chooses to tell her story, but as they get to know each other during the interviews, it becomes clear that neither of them are telling the whole truth.....

OutsmartYourShelf This is a great read! Daphne is a mix of an even more ruthless Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind, & Debbie Jellinsky from Addams Family Values - scheming & marrying her way out of poverty & disposing of her rich husbands when they outstay their welcome. Daphne also has a very droll sense of humour about it all & is really quite unrepentant. It neatly skewers the double standards back then & also highlights the constant pressure on women 1w
OutsmartYourShelf to make being the perfect wife & mother their whole personality, without complaint.

The author doesn't shy away from making Daphne completely unlikeable in a lot of ways, yet the reader can't help but tag along to see what she does next. Unfortunately Ruth suffers from being in the bright light of Daphne's all-encompassing personality & seems rather drab & dull in comparison. It was a fascinating look at a female serial killer,
1w
OutsmartYourShelf albeit a fictional one, which isn't afraid to look at the darker aspects of ordinary life.
4🌟

TWs; sexual assault, murder, misogyny.

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Headline/Mountain Leopard Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7424270826
Read 14th-16th Jun 2025

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
1w
OutsmartYourShelf albeit a fictional one, which isn't afraid to look at the darker aspects of ordinary life.
4🌟

TWs; sexual assault, murder, misogyny.

My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Headline/Mountain Leopard Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7424270826
Read 14th-16th Jun 2025

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
1w
DieAReader 🎉Fantastic!! 1w
31 likes1 stack add5 comments