Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Hardwick Heath Killer by Michelle Kidd

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE HARDWICK HEATH KILLER (DI Nicki Hardcastle Mysteries Book #3) by Michelle Kidd on this Books ‘n’ All Promotions book tour.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

Two grisly murders. Three days apart. One brutal killer?

The call comes at midnight on a stormy March night. A body has been found hanging from a tree on Hardwick Heath. In the dead man’s pocket is a handwritten note: SORRY. LIFE IS JUST TOO HARD. LOVE TO YOU ALL.

Detective Nicki’s instincts tell her this was no suicide — but someone has gone to a lot of trouble to make it look like one.

Three days later, a second body is found floating in a pond, just a few miles away. But the victim didn’t drown.

The police are treating the deaths as separate cases. Then Nicki uncovers a link between the two dead men — and the case takes a shocking twist.

As she unearths a series of secrets stretching back twenty years, Nicki and her team find themselves in a race against time before more people die.

THE DETECTIVE
Detective Nicki Hardcastle is in her early thirties. She’s an independent, determined woman who is good at her job and treats her team with the respect they deserve. When she was ten years old, her little brother Dean disappeared. Nicki was supposed to be watching him. Now, she is estranged from her family, and finds it difficult to let people get close to her. Contentedly single, Nicki’s perfect evening consists of a long run followed by a hot bath. Her closest companion is her cat, Luna.

THE SETTING
Bury St Edmunds is a picturesque market town in the heart of Suffolk, on the east coast of England. Founded in the 11th century, the town is notable for its rich and colorful history. Tourists flock to see the ruins of the medieval abbey and maybe catch a glimpse of the infamous ghostly ‘Grey Lady’. It’s also home to the Angel Hotel, once frequented by Charles Dickens, and the Nutshell, famous for being Britain’s smallest pub. It’s an unlikely setting for murder. But its tranquil surroundings and stunning architecture hide a darker side.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213692484-the-hardwick-heath-killer?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=WF3rmdxQu8&rank=1

ALSO BY MICHELLE KIDD

DI NICKI HARDCASTLE
Book 1: MISSING BOY
Book 2: THE TROPHY KILLER
Book 3: THE HARDWICK HEATH KILLER

DI JACK MACINTOSH
Book 1: SEVEN DAYS TO DIE
Book 2: FIFTEEN REASONS TO KILL
Book 3: SIXTEEN CARVED PIECES
Book 4: TWENTY YEARS BURIED
Book 5: THREE BROKEN BODIES

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

THE HARDWICK HEATH KILLER (DI Nicki Hardcastle Mysteries Book #3) by Michelle Kidd is a British police procedural crime thriller that builds to an exciting and surprising climax but is slow to get going in the beginning with its multiple subplots that are slightly confusing. This series also intertwines DI Nicki Hardcastle’s past throughout and I believe it is best to read the books in order to understand what is happening in this regard.

DI Nicki Hardcastle and her team are still recovering from their last major case when they are called to what appears to be a suicide, but it is not. Three days later, a major landowner in the district is found floating dead in a lake.

At first these murders appear to have nothing in common, but as the team investigates, there are secrets stretching back twenty years that begin to bring all the clues and players together. Nicki is in a race against time to stop the killer before more people die.

This is a good British crime thriller read, but I felt at times the pace was bogged down by too many subplots. I appreciate the work done by the author to bring these many threads together in the end to completely surprise the reader and I enjoy this series with Nicki’s complex and secretive personal life, but there were also times that Nicki did things that I thought were out of character for a smart and intelligent DI. Overall, while this was not my favorite in the series, the investigation was well written, and I am excited for book #4 because of the slight cliffhanger at the end of this book.

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Author Bio

Michelle Kidd is a crime fiction author best known for the DI Jack MacIntosh and DI Nicki Hardcastle series. Michelle qualified as a legal executive in the early 1990s, spending ten years practising civil and criminal litigation.

But the dream to write was never far from her mind and in 2008 she began writing the first book in what would later become the DI Jack MacIntosh series. Michelle now works full time for the NHS and lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. She enjoys reading, wine and cats — not necessarily in that order.

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Social Media Links

TWITTER
AUTHOR WEBSITE
FACEBOOK

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Seven Days by Michelle Kidd

Seven Days (DI Jack MacIntosh #2) by Michelle Kidd

#SevenDays #DIJackMacIntosh @AuthorKidd @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today I am excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on the Damppebbles Blog Tour for SEVEN DAYS (DI Jack MacIntosh Book #2) by Michelle Kidd.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

One killer. One city. One week.

July 2012 and a serial killer is terrorising the streets of London. With the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games in just seven days time, Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh and his team at the Metropolitan Police have one week to find him. With the killer’s motives unknown, and a mysterious clue being left at each scene, the case takes on a menacing and personal twist. Distracted by his own demons, will DI Jack MacIntosh solve the case before it is too late?

The clock is ticking.
Tick.
Tock.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50619225-seven-days?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ahmwNJCcQp&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

SEVEN DAYS (DI Jack MacIntosh Book #2) by Michelle Kidd is the exciting new book in the DI Jack MacIntosh series. Once again, Ms. Kidd has written a page turner that kept me guessing the identity of killer incorrectly well into the night. While this book’s plot is a complete investigation, to get all of the backstory on all the characters, I feel it is helpful to start with “The Phoenix Project” which is book #1 in this fast-paced thriller/British police procedural series.

It is July 2012 and DI Jack MacIntosh and his team are assigned the monumental case of capturing a serial killer in just seven days before the Opening Ceremonies for the London Summer Olympics. Women’s bodies are being discovered strangled and dumped in London parks. There appear to be no ties to connect the victims and all of them have been thoroughly cleaned of all forensic evidence.

As the days count down, Jack works to discover the killer while still fighting demons from his past that could cloud his judgement when it is most important. The killer has Isabel. Will Jack and his team be able to uncover the killer before it is too late?

It was great to be reunited with the characters from the first book and introduced to DS Carmichael in this one. One minor problem was I did feel Jack had too many flashbacks written into the story and at times they slowed the pace a bit, but I did realize they were included to show the extent of his PTSD which he has never dealt with in his adulthood. I love not only Ms. Kidd’s intricately written plot twists and surprises that comprise the individual book’s plotline, but also her ability to still leave small threads that arc over all the books in the series without making you feel cheated.

I recommend this second book in this series and I am anxiously waiting for the next!

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About the Author

Michelle Kidd is a self-published author known for the Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh series of novels.

Michelle qualified as a lawyer in the early 1990s and spent the best part of ten years practising civil and criminal litigation.

But the dream to write books was never far from her mind and in 2008 she began writing the manuscript that would become the first DI Jack MacIntosh novel – The Phoenix Project. The book took eighteen months to write, but spent the next eight years gathering dust underneath the bed.

In 2018 Michelle self-published The Phoenix Project and had not looked back since. There are currently three DI Jack MacIntosh novels, with a fourth in progress.

Michelle works full time for the NHS and lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. She enjoys reading, wine and cats – not necessarily in that order J

Bibliography

The Phoenix Project (DI Jack MacIntosh book 1)

Seven Days (DI Jack MacIntosh book 2)

The Fifteen (DI Jack MacIntosh book 3)

Social Media Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorKidd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michellekiddauthor

Website: https://www.michellekiddauthor.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellekiddauthor/ 

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/3obLftd

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/3qNy2bM

Publishing Information

Published in paperback and digital format on 22nd January 2020

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Phoenix Project by Michelle Kidd

The Phoenix Project (DI Jack MacIntosh #1) by Michelle Kidd

#ThePhoenixProject #DIJackMacIntosh @AuthorKidd @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Damppebbles Blog Tour to share my Feature Post and Book Review for THE PHOENIX PROJECT (DI Jack MacIntosh Book #1) by Michelle Kidd. This is an exciting thriller/international crime/mystery mash-up that is the first book in a new series by a new to me author.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

How long can the past remain buried?

A simple message in a local newspaper. A set of highly sensitive documents left in the back of a London black cab. Both events collide to cause Isabel Faraday’s life to be turned upside down. Growing up believing her parents died in a car crash when she was five, Isabel learns the shocking truth; a truth that places her own life in danger by simply being a Faraday. Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh of the Metropolitan Police races against time to save her, and at the same time unravels long forgotten secrets involving MI5, MI6, the KGB and NASA. Secrets that have lain dormant for twenty years. Secrets worth killing for. With kidnap, murder and suicides stretching across four continents, just what is the Phoenix Project?

The Phoenix Project is the first Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh novel.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42112850-the-phoenix-project

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

THE PHOENIX PROJECT (DI Jack MacIntosh Book #1) by Michelle Kidd is an exciting thriller/international crime/mystery mash-up that is the first book in a new series by a new to me author.

Isabel Faraday is about to go from a simple shop assistant to becoming the center of an international plot which has her on the run for her life.

Long kept secrets that have lain dormant for twenty years are on the verge of being exposed, but there is a contingent that will do anything and kill anyone to prevent that from happening. Everyone is involved, MI5, MI6, the FBI, NASA and the KGB and with Isabel’s life on the line, Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh of the Metropolitan Police races against time to save Isabel and unravel the secrets of the Phoenix Project and a secret organization protecting it called PRISM.

What is the Phoenix Project?

This book is a little confusing at first, not just trying to understand why Isabel is in danger, but also because there are so many characters from many different agencies. Once you get everything sorted out, each turn of the page increases the pace of the plot. The thrills, twists and turns, murders and intrigue take off and continues to crescendo towards a very satisfying conclusion. I was especially intrigued with Jack and I believe he is a great protagonist to follow into future books.

I am looking forward to following DI Jack MacIntosh and author Michelle Kidd in the future.

***

About the Author

Michelle Kidd is a self-published author known for the Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh series of novels.

Michelle qualified as a lawyer in the early 1990s and spent the best part of ten years practising civil and criminal litigation.

But the dream to write books was never far from her mind and in 2008 she began writing the manuscript that would become the first DI Jack MacIntosh novel – The Phoenix Project. The book took eighteen months to write, but spent the next eight years gathering dust underneath the bed.

In 2018 Michelle self-published The Phoenix Project and had not looked back since. There are currently three DI Jack MacIntosh novels, with a fourth in progress.

Michelle works full time for the NHS and lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. She enjoys reading, wine and cats – not necessarily in that order J

Bibliography

The Phoenix Project (DI Jack MacIntosh book 1)

Seven Days (DI Jack MacIntosh book 2)

The Fifteen (DI Jack MacIntosh book 3)

Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorKidd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michellekiddauthor

Website: https://www.michellekiddauthor.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellekiddauthor/ 

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3nLLqMQ

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2IkU6Jz

Publishing Information:

Published in paperback and digital formats on 5th October 2018