The Dangerous Kind is a fictional thriller written by Deborah O’Connor which was first published in 2019.

The book is a fictional novel that tells a story about the monsters that live among us.

1 in 100 of us will commit a violent crime

1 in 100 of us are… the Dangerous Kind

Deborah O’Connor

I thought this book was an excellent read and was a very engaging and well written book. This book faces many tough topics such as child abuse, pedophile rings, domestic violence and rape so it definitely is not a light hearted read however it is a fast paced and thoroughly engaging book. Although there is a prominent plot where Jessamine Gooch looks into the case of a missing woman and all the twists and turns that come with this, there are also many other sub plots that are weaved into the story in a way that isn’t confusing. There is also the story of Jess’s daughter Sarah and the sound engineer that helps with the podcasts previous experiences that have clearly effected him. It is also written in different time periods with different characters narrating for different chapters but again O’Connor has written it in a way that isn’t Confusing. This adds realism to the book as in reality there isn’t always just one thing happening in peoples lives, its always intertwined with personal experiences and struggles which I thought O’Connor portrayed well.

O’Connor’s characertisation is something I really enjoyed about this book .The book is centred around a middle aged woman, Jessamine Gooch, who is a radio host on her show about convicted Killers. When she is approached to look into a current case that features a missing woman she soon come to learn many secrets from the past and present. Jessamine is a well written character, she is a middle aged woman who has an adopted teen daughter who she is struggling to communicate with as well as dealing with her own dating life and working on this case. she also volunteers at a domestic abuse helpline which is another layer to her character. there are many other characters in the book which are all written extremely well. O’Connor shares who they are and why that is the case.

The sheer amount of various topics in this book is something I touched on at the beginning but this really is something that I found extremely impressive. O’Connor manages to write about tough topics like child exploitation, pedophilia, the exploitation of girls in care homes, domestic violence and other topics in a way that conveys how horrific those are but without going into unnecessary explicit detail. A fine line that O’Connor has managed to walk expertly. Not only do you see those hard hitting topics you also see the topics of adoption and of technology and computer hacking so shows the variety in which O’Connor can write.

Overall, I would say that it isn’t an easy read as it does feature many tough topic but it certainly is a riveting one so if you are interested in crime/thriller novels this should definitely be added to your TBR list.

Alibi for a Judge is a fiction book by Henry Cecil which was first published in 1960.

I picked up this book at my local cafe/bookshop which sells preloved books! I was drawn to it initially by the cover of it alongside the title. It intringued me and after I read the blurb I purchased it. I really enjoyed this book and although it was written in 1960 it didn’t seem out of touch.

It follows Mr Justice Carstairs (a High Court Judge) as he looks for evidence alongside the wife of a man he sentenced to 10 years in prison. After begining to feel doubtful of the verdict he gave and thinking himself to have biased the deision he takes it upon himself to help investigate the truth of the crime.

I really ejoyed this book and at 200 pages long it didn’t take long to finish. It was split into chapters which were tiled according to the next plan of action for Cartairs and I thought it was well paced and thouroughly enjoyable. Some of the language used was rather formal however I felt this helped bring you into the world of the Judge and his plans to find the truth.

It is a book that is based on a crime that has been committed and following a judge as he investigates it further. This typically is a book that I would be drawn to but I must admit it is different to the books I have read. although there is a crime there is no real focus on this and is more so about the judge and how this is affecting him. There is no sensationalizing of a crime and yet there is enough twists in the narrative to engage me and compel me to continue reading.

I would overall recommend this book as it was very enjoyable and had a timeless feeling about it. There was no violence or major crime to keep you engaged and although it had twists in the story these didn’t need to be life or death to add depth to the story.

Many thanks, Caitlin x

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