Review: A Boy Made of Blocks by Keith Stuart

Title: A Boy Made of Blocks
Author: Keith Stuart
Publisher: Sphere
Publication Date: 1st September 2016
Pages: 400
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 5/5
Purchase: Amazon

Alex loves his family, and yet he struggles to connect with his eight-year-old autistic son, Sam. The strain has pushed his marriage to the breaking point. So Alex moves in with his merrily irresponsible best friend on the world’s most uncomfortable blow-up bed.

As Alex navigates single life, long-buried family secrets, and part-time fatherhood, his son begins playing Minecraft. Sam’s imagination blossoms and the game opens up a whole new world for father and son to share. Together, they discover that sometimes life must fall apart before you can build a better one.

Inspired by the author’s own relationship with his autistic son, A Boy Made of Blocks is a tear-jerking, funny, and, most, of all true-to-life novel about the power of difference and one very special little boy.

Review: Broken Heart by Tim Weaver

Title: Broken Heart
Author: Tim Weaver
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: 28th July 2016
Pages: 528
Source: Purchased
Rating: 5/5
Purchase: Amazon

A woman drives to a secluded beauty spot on the Somerset coast.
CCTV watches her enter but doesn't see her leaving.
In fact, Lynda Korin is never seen again.

How can someone just disappear?

Her sister calls missing persons investigator David Raker.
For him, the mystery of where she went is only the start. The real question is why a woman with no reason to run would choose to leave her entire life behind?

Was it her decision? Or did someone make it for her?

Raker is an expert at following the echoes of decades-old lies. But only Lynda Korin knows the most shocking secret of all - and she's missing, presumed dead...

Review: The Rule of Fear by Luke Delaney

Title: The Rule of Fear
Author: Luke Delaney
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 30th June 2016
Pages: 432
Source: Library
Rating: 5/5
Purchase: Amazon

Sergeant Jack King is back on active duty after months off following a violent encounter. On the Met’s promotional fast-track scheme, King is headed straight for the top, but policing the streets is where his heart truly lies.

Tasked with cleaning up the notorious Grove Wood estate, King is determined to rise to the challenge. But it’s not just drug dealers and petty thugs his team have to worry about. Someone on the estate is preying on children, and they need to find the culprit, fast.

Soon King finds himself over his head: the local residents won’t play ball, his superiors want results yesterday, and he’s refusing to admit that he’s suffering from PTSD. As the pressures combine, the line between right and wrong starts to blur and King finds himself in a downward spiral. Only he can save himself – but is it already too late?

Review: Blood Sister by Dreda Say Mitchell

Title: Blood Sister
Author: Dreda Say Mitchell
Publisher: Hodder
Publication Date: 11th August 2016
Pages: 480
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 5/5
Purchase: Amazon

There are two ways out of Essex Lane Estate, better known as The Devil. You make good, or you turn bad.

Jen Miller is determined not to make the same mistakes her mother did. She's waiting to find herself a good job and a decent man.

Her younger sister Tiff is running errands for a gangster and looking for any opportunity for fun and profit. But she might just be in over her head...

The choices you make and the plans you have don't always turn out like you expect. Especially if you live on The Devil's Estate. When their paths cross with the unstoppable Dee - a woman with her own agenda - Jen and Tiff will learn that lesson the hard way.

At least they can rely on each other.

Can't they?