Book Review | One Beats The Bush by Riall Nolan - The First in the Max Donovan Adventure Series

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One Beats The Bush is a well-paced action thriller that ticks multiple boxes; page-turning twists, fight scenes, a lot of crime and, more importantly, a main character you cannot help but love. Vietnam veteran Max Donovan is in Bangkok, and very hungover, when his friend “Fat” Freddie Fields is arrested in San Francisco for the murder of an Australian diplomat. He knows his old buddy would never hurt a fly, so he rushes back to the Bay Area to help. Suspecting Freddie is being framed, Donovan tries to rustle up some cash to bail him out, but only succeeds in getting into trouble with the local mob.  He’ll have to solve the case on his own. Unfortunately, the only clue he has suggest the answer lies in the jungle-covered mountains of Papua New Guinea. As he comes face-to-face with smugglers, hostile tribesmen, insurgents, and a web of corruption and deception, can Donovan achieve what is seemingly impossible? Nolan has managed to achieve a page-turning action thriller that doesn’t feel
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Book Review | The Coffin Club by Jacqueline Sutherland - A Widow By Choice Or Chance?

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The cover of this book caught my eye straight away when I was scrolling through NetGalley, whats not to love about yellow on black, bees and coffins ?!

The Coffin Club follows Kat, a recently widowed woman who has moved to the countryside for a fresh start. After finding it hard to connect with anyone she joins a local widows group, who love to call themselves The Coffin Club. Here she meets Nico, a widowed-single dad, and it feels like all her dreams are coming true. But not everything is as it seems. Who can Kat trust, and who should trust her?

I admit this book took me a while to get into, meaning I wasn’t hooked within the first 50 pages, but once I got into it I loved discovering all the dark twists and secrets. Sometimes I enjoy not being instantly hooked by a book, just leaving myself interested enough to want to continue but not enough to not want to put the book down. I feel like its easier to read when you’re really busy with life, and oh boy has my life got suddenly busy!

I loved the way Kat was written. You begin by feeling sorry for her but your opinion slowly changes as secrets are revealed. I enjoy that she is not necessarily a “good person” as it makes her a lot more relatable. Plus it makes you question, is she really as innocent as she seems?

Happily, I wasn’t able to guess the full ending of this book. I could tell there was something off with the characters but couldn’t put my finger on it. However, I do feel the ending was a bit rushed in the grand scheme of things. For example, the plot waffles on a bit throughout the book, seeming to get caught up on things that don’t add to the overall story or overly explains the simple things. Whereas, I feel this time and attention could have went into making the ending / the big twists more extravagant. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was the perfect read for taking slowly and picking up when I had the chance. All the characters gave off the right vibes and the plot was interesting. However, I do believe the book could have been shorter and still delivered the same impact.

Thank you to Jacqueline Sutherland, Oneworld Publications and NetGalley for granting me access to The Coffin Club. Published 07/04/22. Pre-order / order here

A safe space for me to ramble on about the books I’ve read. Don’t expect high quality, news worthy reviews; I’m just a simple woman who needs somewhere to vent! This blog contains affiliated links.

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