“So a lot of people came to explain to Hector that love or lack of love prevented them from sleeping, thinking, laughing and in some cases even living. And with this last category Hector has to be very careful, because he knew that love can make people kill themselves, which is a very foolish thing to do, so don’t ever do it and if you have thoughts about doing it go and see someone like Hector immediately, or call a close friend.” –excerpt from chapter one –

“Three seconds. Two seconds. One sec— A glimmer of relief lit up Archibald’s face when he saw the six figures fixed on the tiny computer screen. Then the winning combination flashed, disabling the motion sensors. Exactly as he had planned. One day, possibly, he’d make a mistake. One day, he might commit a burglary too far. But not tonight. He had the all-clear. The show could begin.” –excerpt from Chapter 2 –

“But curiosity, my sense of adventure, and greed won out. I decided to quit my waitressing job and depart for China but keep my three-hundred-square-foot studio. I’d always felt different – the bright dot of briliant red among a vast expanse of green. An earth-shattering lion’s roar amidst the mundane drones of everyday life. After all this was a once-in-a-thousand-incarnations chance.” Last year I read and thoroughly enjoyed Mingmei Yip’s Petals From the Sky, so when I was offered an advanced review copy of her new novel Song of the Silk Road I jumped at the chance.

After reading and thoroughly enjoying A Hemorrhaging of Souls Nicola was kind enough to send me a copy of her book Unnatural States to read. And here’s where I have to make a confession, because this book has sat ready and waiting on my Kindle for many months now. And I’ve picked it up a couple [...]

Gary Goodhew is intelligent, intuitive, and the youngest detective at Cambridge’s Parkside Station. When Gary discovers the first body in a series of murders involving an eccentric Cambridge family, he gets his chance to work on a homicide investigation. He must use his own initiative to flush out the killer, even though it means risking his job and discovering the truth about the one person he hopes is innocent.