Bamburgh: A DCI Ryan Mystery (The DCI Ryan Mysteries)

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The characters are, as always, fleshed out and given their own personalities. The storyline has two threads going on, only one of which I have mentioned above as this is the major tagline. The style is easy reading and the tension is built up towards the end of the novel. LJ Ross was only outsold by Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club and Matt Haig's Midnight Library, according to the BookStat top 25 for 2021. Her eleventh novel, The Infirmary, is a prequel story to the DCI Ryan series and is available as a major Audible Originals audio-drama starring Tom Bateman, Kevin Whately, Bertie Carvel, Hermione Norris and Alun Armstrong. Meanwhile, after a recent revelation about her sister, DC Melanie Yates’ quest to avenge her death is becoming an obsession. With a new DCS to contend with and hundreds of cold case files to sift through, the chances of uncovering a dormant killer seem unlikely. But as Melanie delves deeper into the secrets of the past to uncover the truth, she soon realises it lies much closer to home…

In May 2021, Louise was shortlisted for the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association ‘Dagger in the Library’ award, which recognises an author’s entire body of work having been consistently enjoyed by library borrowers around the United Kingdom, and an author’s longstanding support of libraries.

Diaries & Calendars

There’s no shortage of books about the history of Northumberland – so we’ve focused on just a few that give you the history of some of her more famous residents and those which give an overall flavour of the history in an easy-to-read format. The Life of Grace Darling – John Harper and John Pagan

I've only previously read the first book in this series and I wouldn't have described myself as a fan yet. But consider me converted, as I really loved this latest instalment. What bothered me about this book (and I really loathe being critical because its so readable) is the fact it’s the third book in this fine series to use almost identical plot and character development to drive the story. Seriously. The ideas – the structure, the character, the psychopathy, the ability to fool peers and family for decades, everything, have been used not once, but twice before. In fact, when a new character was introduced, I had the fleeting thought, ‘oh, please don’t make this person behave like…’ Well, Ross did. I even eye-rolled when it became evident the storyline was the same. I mean, how many times can a small police station tolerate this kind of thing? Even one of the characters makes a joke about it towards the end. Not sure that lets Ross off the hook. It’s just as well the characters are so damn loveable and, after 18 books, we’re invested in them, and the overall story so gripping you keep reading. But I confess to feeling disappointed that, yet again, this particular plot device and type of character was used. But now? The books are ending at cliff-hangers just to make you read the next book. Some of the mysteries could have been wrapped up without the need for another book. As well as poor plot development, the team are beginning to get a bit irritating – and to have a Chief Constable who doesn’t question for one second, Ryan’s instructions (as good as he is) regarding another senior colleague, just seemed very lame. The first novel in her Alexander Gregory Thrillers series, Impostor, was shortlisted in the British Book Awards 2020: Crime & Thriller Book of the Year. The audiobook of Impostor, narrated by Hugh Dancy, was also selected as a finalist in the New York Festivals Radio Awards, Best Fiction Audiobook of the Year Category.It didn't take me long to get on Ryan's side, and I was soon immersed in the investigation, too. There are some great twists along the way, and I also appreciated that the big reveal happened earlier on, allowing more progression regarding how this affected the characters involved, keeping you fully invested in their individual developments. Louise was born in Northumberland, England. She studied undergraduate and postgraduate Law at King’s College, University of London and then abroad in Paris and Florence. She spent much of her working life in London, where she was a lawyer for a number of years until taking the decision to change career and pursue her dream to write. Now, she writes full time and lives with her husband and son in Northumberland and Edinburgh. She enjoys reading all manner of books, painting, travelling and spending time with family and friends. Maybe revealing he’s the bad guy after half the book would have kept me interested and not continually rolling my eyes at the things that kept happening. It was revealed way too soon. With a passion for writing and reading, a writing career seemed the most plausible way to express her creativity. The idea for the first novel in the series came while she was traveling to Edinburgh with her husband.