Crime Archives - Luke’s Blog

16Feb 2025 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Happy Bloody Christmas by Jo Middleton book review

Happy Bloody Christmas was one of the most pleasant surprises I had in all of 2024. I was asked if I'd like to receive this book by the publisher and accepted as Christmas was coming up at the time and I thought it would be nice to have something festive to read. Little did I know I was going to read one of the most enjoyable books I'd read all year! This article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Happy Bloody Christmas tells the story of Anna Johnson who wakes up after a Christmas party with…

14Nov 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Fatherland by Robert Harris book review

Book reviews, Crime, Historical Fiction, Mystery

When I picked up Fatherland by Robert Harris in the charity shop I found it and read the back, it really intrigued me. I've already read a Robert Harris in The Act of Oblivion and so he's an author I know I'm a fan of and an author I know specialises in making his historical fiction novels as historically accurate as possible. So when I saw Fatherland was about an alternative history where Germany had won the second world war, I was very intrigued! This article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. As I said, Fatherland…

10Nov 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith book review

Book reviews, Crime, Mystery

For quite some time now I've been interested in picking up Galbraith's The Cuckoo's Calling because as a crime thriller it's quite long (over 500 pages whereas the usual is probably between 300-4000 pages). Now, you may be wondering why this would intrigue me and not deter me. Well, I'm I know this has been a successful series for J.K. Rowling and so I the combination of its length and its popularity had me wondering how it manages to stay well liked despite its length. And now I know. This article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the…

22Oct 2024 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

Murder at the Matinee by Jamie West book review

Book reviews, Crime, Mystery

Murder at the Matinee is the sequel to Death on the Pier, a book I was quite the fan of as it felt like a modern day Agatha Christie set almost 100 years ago. It was a book I’d likely now dub a “cosy crime” where there’s no real danger and it’s just all about interviewing suspects until we get to the route of the problem. Murder at the Matinee is exactly the same. This article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Murder at the Matinee picks up some time after Death on the Pier with…

26Sep 2024 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

Breaking the Dark by Lisa Jewell book review

Book reviews, Crime, Fantasy, Mystery

Lisa Jewell is one of my favourite authors - I've enjoyed almost every one of her thrillers that I've read. So when she kindly reached out and asked if I'd like a copy of her new Marvel novel, Breaking the Dark, I jumped at the opportunity. Lisa Jewell plus Marvel must result in a book I'd really enjoy, right?! Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Breaking the Dark is a story about Jessica Jones - one of the lesser-known Marvel heroes, probably most famous for her tv series in Netflix riding…

09Jun 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent book review

Book reviews, Crime, Mystery, Thriller

I picked up Strange Sally Diamond after I had selected a few books I could take on a short staycation with me and then it was narrowed down by me reading the blurbs to my partner and her deciding on one based on that. It's a unique story with a great and loveable main character with some dark moments heavily layered in that keep those interested in darker storylines interested. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Strange Sally Diamond, maybe unsurprisingly to some, tells the story of Sally Diamond and when…

23Mar 2024 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

The Maid by Nita Prose book review

Book reviews, Crime, Mystery

During a haul of some of the cheapest paperbacks I could find on Amazon, I picked up the much talked about The Maid by Nita Prose. An appealing front cover and the promise of a unique main character pulled me in on this one and had me hoping for a new series to get stuck into (knowing there was a sequel and plans for a third). Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may received a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the products. The Maid follows our main character Molly who is an young woman who works at a hotel as a…

21Mar 2024 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie book review

Book reviews, Crime, Mystery

Agatha Christie is widely considered the greatest crime writer to ever do it. Not only did she end up writing an incredibly large number of them, but some of the "cliches" and "tropes" that we experience in crime today were literally formed by her. This last point is no more true than the incredibly popular story of And Then There Were None. Oh and when I say popular, apparently only about five other books have ever sold more than this one book which is impressive for a woman who penned 75 books, 66 of which were full-length detective novels. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost…

28Feb 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Slow Horses by Mick Herron book review

Book reviews, Crime, Mystery, Thriller

I was starting to see Slow Horses by Mick Herron absolutely everywhere. I went to a celebration of a book launch at the end of last year where Mick Herron was mentioned, my own dad was reading the series and raving about it and it kept popping up as “popular” when I went to watch anything on Apple TV. So I thought it was time I delved into the world of Slough House and the MI5 rejects that work there. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may recieve a small comission at no extra cost to you. Slow Horses is the first book in the Slough House series which focuses, as I said above,…

05Jan 2024 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Helle & Death by Oskar Jensen book review

Book reviews, Crime, Mystery

I'm not the world's biggest crime fan. I think I feel a little bit like once you've read one crime book, you've sort of read a lot of them. However, sometimes a crime book comes along that's something just different enough to make it stand out for me. I think Helle & Death was just different enough to have me remember it for quite some time. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the products. Helle & Death was kindly sent to me by the publishers in return for an honest review. Helle…

Category: Crime