Wednesday 29 September 2021

Guest Review: The Cove: A Summer Suspense Mystery by LJ Ross

Gabrielle Adams has it all – brains, beauty, a handsome fiancé, and a dream job in publishing. Until, one day, everything changes.

'The Tube Killer’ takes his victims when they least expect it: standing on the edge of a busy London Underground platform, as they wait for a train to arrive through the murky underground tunnels of London.

Gabrielle soon learns that being a survivor is harder than being a victim, and she struggles to return to her old life. Desperate to break free from the endless nightmares, she snatches up an opportunity to run a tiny bookshop in a picturesque cove in rural Cornwall.

She thinks she’s found the perfect escape, but has she swapped one nightmare for another?

Suspense and mystery are peppered with romance and humour in this fast-paced thriller, set amidst the spectacular Cornish landscape.


Review: This is the first book in the Summer Suspense Mysteries series from LJ Ross. I have enjoyed reading her other books, the DCI Ryan stories in particular, so I was interested to try this new series. This book is set mainly in Cornwall, quite different from Ryan’s turf in the north-east of England.

The story centres on Gabrielle, who is one of the victims of the ‘underground killer’ who has been terrorising travellers in London, pushing unsuspecting women off platforms to their deaths. Gabrielle was lucky in escaping being killed, but her life has been changed forever. Unable to resume her job, she decides to leave the capital and secures the post of manager of a bookshop and cafe set in a secluded Cornish cove. She quickly settles into the small community in this seemingly idyllic setting, but a series of sinister events begin to unnerve Gabrielle and she doesn’t know who she can trust.

This was a quick read, but nonetheless an enjoyable one. I loved the central character, Gabi, and greatly admired her determination to put the awful events of the past behind her. Even though she was shocked by just how isolated her new existence was going to be, she took it in her stride and went from strength to strength as the days passed. I was just beginning to wonder when the suspense was going to creep into the story when it appeared with a bang and had me on the edge of my seat for the rest of the book. There were not many other characters in the story, but those who did appear had interesting back stories all of their own. I hope that LJ Ross will be releasing more books in this series, but in the meantime I would recommend giving this first one a try.

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

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