BOOK REVIEW: The Postcard by Leah Fleming

1930's London
Caroline has lead a privileged life, supported by her Aunt Phoebe. But when her impulsive elopement to Cairo quickly turns sour, she finds herself alone with a newborn son. Then war breaks out and Caroline feels compelled to play her part. Leaving her son, Desmond with Phoebe, she begins a dangerous existence on the front lines. Will they be reunited?
2002, Australia
On his death bed, Melissa Boyd's father confesses a devastating family secret. Armed with only a few tattered keepsakes, including an old postcard addressed to someone called Desmond, Melissa embarks on a journey that will take her across oceans and into the past...

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Pages: 405

Leah Fleming weaves a marvellous story in her latest book, The Postcard. The book revolves around secrets and their varying consequences. Caroline's Aunt Phoebe kept a huge secret from her until she was forced to tell her the truth. The secret destroyed their relationship and affected how Caroline went forward in life and the decisions she made. In the present day Melissa discovers that her father had a secret too, she is going to have to delve in to the past in order to discover how she is connected to the Desmond addressed on the postcard left by her father. If she is connected to him then why has her father waited so long to tell her?
The Postcard has a brilliant pace and as a reader you are taken from Scotland to London, Egypt and Australia. The depiction of the Second World War is fascinating and highlights the lengths that women went to in order to help the war effort. Some left behind children, never to see them again, all in the name of duty.
I highly recommend this book, Leah Fleming's writing style is rich and enticing and the book is brimming with secrets and mysteries.

I am taking part in the blog tour for this book, please take a look at the poster at the top of my blog for more information and come back on Thursday where I have questions and answers with the very talented Leah Fleming. 

Book Review: Keeping the Dead by Tess Gerritsen

When an ancient mummy is discovered in the basement of a museum in downtown Boston, excitement starts to mount. Under the glare of a media frenzy, the mummy is taken to hospital for a CT scan. Forensic pathologist Maura Isles is invited to attend.
As the CT scan proceeds everyone in the room leans in- and gasps in horror as an image of a bullet is revealed. Maura declares it a possible homicide, and calls in Detective Jane Rizzoli.
When the preserved body of a second victim is found, and then a third, it becomes clear that taking lives is not enough for this terrifying killer. And that unless Rizzoli and Isles can find and stop him, he will soon be adding yet another chilling piece to his monstrous collection. 

I hadn't read a book from this series for quite a while but the fact that I read this book in just over a day, shows how much I still enjoy them.
I wouldn't say that Keeping the Dead is one of my favourites but I flew through the pages, Tess Gerritsen had me hooked from the very beginning.
An ancient mummy wrapped in 2000 year old bandages is found to have a modern day bullet embedded in its leg. Where has the victim come from and why has someone taken so much care to preserve her in such a way?
Tess Gerritsen is definitely a master of this genre, her books are so well written and she provides constant twists and turns. There was a big plot twist at the end which I really was not expecting.
Keeping the Dead isn't just your standard crime/thriller book, it asks questions about what evil is, how far would you go to protect the ones you love and how long can you keep running from something until it finally catches up with you?
I think that Keeping the Dead focused much more on the plot than giving us anything new about Rizzoli and Isles which is maybe why it's not one of my favourites.
A I always say, this is an excellent series of books. I can't recommend Tess Gerritsen enough, I will be very sad to get to the final one.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 4/5