Review of 'The Girl in the Ice' by Robert Bryndza

As hard as I try to stray into more high brow fiction, or push myself out of my comfort zone I always come back over and over again to thrillers. They're quick reads, easy to get through and something that really help to motivate me to read when I'm in a little bit of a rut because I just NEED to know what happens.

Erika Foster is *pinches* this close to being kicked off the force due to her trauma around her partner's death and the way it has affected her work (nice, huh?). Solving the murder of the rich socialite girl who was pushed into a lake in Erika's area could be the key to getting everything back on track. However, when Erika discovers links between the victim and other attacks on prostitutes nearby everything turns nasty. The victim's rich, powerful family are determined to use their influence to keep the media posting positive things about their daughter and to avoid scrutiny against them that they feel ought to be placed elsewhere. 

As Erika gets closer to discovering the killer, the killer is getting closer to making her one of his next victims. 

This was a really intense once you got a good chunk of the way into the book as it had a bit of a slow start. However, once the pace picked up I did really enjoy it. My main gripe was that although I didn't guess exactly who the killer was, it wasn't a hard reach. I would have much rather the story linked up more with her past as the book hinted at throughout. There was a bit of the standard 'female detective underestimated and gaslit by her male colleagues gets more determined than ever to sort out her case' trope running the whole way through, but to be honest it's not my least favourite crime thriller trope to read.

If you enjoyed watching The Capture last year then I think you'd really enjoy this book! I gave this 4 stars.

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Review of 'Th1rt3en' by Steve Cavanagh

I'm always a 'you have to read a series in order' kind of person ... unless it's crime fiction. Then I don't think it matters at all because they all have kind of a similar plot and the lives of the investigators fall into a secondary plot behind the main 'whodunnit' one. 

Th1rt3en was my favourite thriller of 2019. It's told from two perspectives. The first is Eddie Flynn's: a con-man turned lawyer trying to prove his client's innocence. The second is the killer who really has committed the crime the trial is based around. The problem is that he's on the jury. The trial is a high profile one: Hollywood's biggest couple are at the centre of it, with the husband accused of brutally murdering his wife. It's down to Flynn to convince the public that the conspiracy theories they've created and want to hold onto might not be true.

The book really keeps you guessing as to which juror the murderer is, how exactly he got there and whether Flynn will realise that his case is being sabotaged from the inside out. It delves into Flynn's own history of alcoholism, crime and personal struggles with certain people in the justice system. The plot came together so well at the end and I found myself totally absorbed the whole way through the book. The twists were well-written, well-paced and believable. I now can't wait to read Steve Cavanagh's other books!

I've given this book 5 stars and would recommend it if you're a fan of shows like The Mentalist or White Collar. 

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Review of 'Keep You Close' by Karen Cleveland*

*This book was gifted to me to discuss on Instagram*

I'm a big crime thriller fan, and this book was one of my favourite ones I read last year. It reminded me a LOT of TV shows like Homeland, and was a really fast-paced, FBI-laced drama.

Keep You Close's Steph Maddox is an internal investigations officer at the FBI, tackling those inside the bureau who are accused of wrongdoing. Her whole world gets titled on its axis when a colleague warns her that the bureau are looking into her son on some alleged terrorist charges. She knows her son wouldn't be involved in an online terror group, or at least thinks she does until she finds a gun in his room. The book follows her own attempts to find who could be framing her son whilst trying to wrap her head around the fact that there's a chance it *might* be him.

I loved almost all of this book, and would gave given it 5 stars right up until the ending. It's one of those stories where the writer tries to make the culprit someone you would never guess, and in doing so ruins the entire plot (I'm looking at you Pretty Little Liars). The book was left very open ended: most of the strands of the plot weren't tied up and the resolution was left as a sort of suggestion that could be undermined. It was pretty clear that there's a sequel in the works and a lot of the answers are being left for that, but having read it without the sequel available it was a bit disappointing.

If you are a fan of US crime dramas/thrillers or shows like Homeland I would really recommend this still as it keeps you guessing throughout and the writing and pacing is genuinely very good. It's just the open ending that let it down a bit IMO.

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