This is the blog of Samie Sands, author of Lockdown. There will be many great books and projects reviewed here. For more, check out thelockdown.co.uk.

Sunday 31 May 2020

Letters from the Dead by Steve Robinson

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From acclaimed author Steve Robinson comes a thrilling new Jefferson Tayte mystery.
When genealogist Jefferson Tayte is hired to prove the identity of a black sheep in his client’s family tree, he unwillingly finds himself drawn into a murder investigation with nothing more to go on than a 150-year-old letter and a connection to a legendary ruby that has been missing for generations.
As more letters are mysteriously left for him, Tayte becomes immersed in a centuries-old tale of greed, murder and forbidden love that takes his research from the wilds of the Scottish Highlands to the colour and heat of colonial India.
A dark secret is buried in Jaipur, steeped in treachery and scandal. But why is it having such deadly repercussions in the present? Can Tayte find the ruby and prevent the past from repeating itself before it’s too late?
This is the seventh book in the Jefferson Tayte Genealogical Mystery series but it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story.

Friday 29 May 2020

Next Girl to Die by Dea Poirier

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Solving the case will avenge her sister—unless the killer finds her first.
It’s been fifteen years since Claire Calderwood’s sister, Rachel, was brutally murdered in their small hometown in Maine. Claire has finally carved out a life for herself as a homicide detective in Detroit, but the past comes calling when the local police back home ask for her help with a murder eerily similar to Rachel’s.
Still haunted by Rachel’s cold case, Claire returns home, hoping to solve the crime and finally put her grief to rest. As she starts investigating, the last thing she needs is tenacious journalist Noah Washington asking questions she’s not ready to answer. But like her, Noah won’t give up until he finds the truth—and Claire reluctantly finds herself relying on him more and more when disturbing new details about Rachel’s death come to light.
When the killer strikes once again, Claire knows he’s not done. Now he’s set his sights on Claire, who will have to find the courage she needs to survive a deadly confrontation years in the making.

Wednesday 27 May 2020

When I Was You by Minka Kent

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A stolen identity leads a woman down a dark and desperate path in a gripping novel of psychological suspense by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Minka Kent.
After barely surviving a brutal attack, Brienne Dougray rarely leaves her house. Suffering from debilitating headaches and memory loss, she can rely only on her compassionate new tenant, Dr. Niall Emberlin, a welcome distraction from the discomfiting bubble that has become her existence.
But Brienne’s growing confidence in her new routine is shaken when she stumbles across unsettling evidence that someone else is living as…her. Same name. Same car. Same hair. Same clothes. She’s even friended her family on social media. To find out why, Brienne must leave the safety of her home to hunt a familiar stranger.
What she discovers is more disturbing than she could have ever imagined. With her fragile mind close to shattering, Brienne is prepared to do anything to reclaim her life. If it’s even hers to reclaim.

Tuesday 12 May 2020

The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton

The Mind Readers by [Lori Brighton]
Cameron Winters is a freak. Fortunately, no one but her family knows the truth …that Cameron can read minds. For years Cameron has hidden behind a facade of normalcy, warned that there are those who would do her harm. When gorgeous and mysterious Lewis Douglas arrives he destroys everything Cameron has ever believed and tempts her with possibilities of freedom. Determined to embrace her hidden talents, Cameron heads to a secret haven with Lewis; a place where she meets others like her, Mind Readers.

But as Cameron soon finds out some things are too good to be true. When the Mind Readers realize the extent of Cameron’s abilities, they want to use her powers for their own needs. Cameron suddenly finds herself involved in a war in which her idea of what is right and wrong is greatly tested. In the end she’ll be forced to make a choice that will not only threaten her relationship with Lewis, but her very life.

I Said Yes by Kiersten Modglin

I Said Yes: an addictive psychological thriller by [Kiersten Modglin]
***#1 BEST PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER FROM WINTER 2020 by ThrillerFix.com***
The next psychological thriller from the bestselling author of The Good Neighbors...



Yes.
The word that brought me such great joy and, eventually, such heartbreak.
When Mark asked me out for the first time, I didn't have to think twice.
I said, "Yes."
When he asked me to marry him just a year later, the answer came as easily as the breath that followed it.
"Yes." When he asked me to keep his secret, my response came too quickly.
"Yes."
 Now, in front of a judge and jury, I'll be asked the question I never anticipated. "Did you know who the killer is?" The answer is second nature by now. "Yes."



"Modglin's most complex, layered, emotional, dark, and shocking book yet." 
-Emerald O'Brien, Author of The Knox and Sheppard Mysteries

Sunday 10 May 2020

Sara's Game by Ernie Lindsey

Sara's Game: A Psychological Thriller (The Sara Winthrop Series Book 1) by [Ernie Lindsey]
She's never played a game like this before...
Two years ago, Sara's husband left for the gym one morning...and never came back.
His car was found. He wasn't.
Unbelievably, the police report said, "No foul play suspected." There were a few unreliable sightings over the following months, but little else.
Now, on the last day before summer break, her three children have gone missing from their schools, all at the same time.
And the note under her windshield wiper asks one cryptic question: Are you ready to play the game?

Friday 8 May 2020

The Spider Heist by Jason Kasper

The Spider Heist (Spider Heist Thrillers Book 1) by [Jason Kasper]
As an FBI agent, she specialized in hunting America’s most elite thieves.
Now, she’s become one of them.
“My heart was in my throat until the very end, and once I reached the last word, all I wanted was more.” Lisa Regan, USA Today and WSJ Bestselling Author
Blair Morgan’s world is in shambles.
After being used as a scapegoat by a corrupt former boss, she is unceremoniously fired from the FBI. Now, with her reputation, pride, and years of service stripped away, Blair just wants to start over.
But when a chance date turns into a mysterious job offer, her past comes crashing back to haunt her.
In a flash, Blair becomes entangled in a high stakes bank heist. Her status as a former FBI-agent-turned-hostage transforms her into an instant media sensation. And the unwanted attention makes her a target for ruthless killers that will stop at nothing to silence her.
Caught in the crosshairs, Blair must confront her past before she loses her freedom—or her life.
But there is something strange about this team of bank robbers. They aren’t who they seem. And as a deadly SWAT raid closes in, Blair discovers that she may not be either...

Wednesday 6 May 2020

Noble Beginnings by L.T. Ryan

Noble Beginnings: A Jack Noble Thriller (Jack Noble #1) by [L.T. Ryan]
The CIA created him.
He sacrificed everything for his country.
Now the agency that unleashed him wants him dead.


With over 2 million copies sold and thousands of five-star reviews, the Jack Noble thriller series by USA Today & Amazon bestselling author L.T. Ryan will keep you up all night and leave you begging for more.

With the world focused on Afghanistan, Jack Noble finds himself on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq. A Marine in name only, Jack is on-loan to the CIA. Normally an integral part of the team, he finds that he is nothing more than a security detail in Iraq.

Jack and his partner Bear Logan have a run-in with four CIA special agents over the treatment of an Iraqi family. Within hours Jack and Bear are detained.

All Jack wanted was to finish his enlistment and move on with his life. All he did was intervene and save a family from unwarranted violence at the hands of four CIA agents. But he soon discovers that he did far more than intervene. He has placed himself dead square in the middle of a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of the U.S. government.

Noble Beginnings is the first book in the USA Today & Amazon million plus copy bestselling Jack Noble thriller series. This fast-paced political crime thriller with over 1600-5 star reviews by USA Today bestselling author L.T. Ryan will have you burning through the pages late into the night as Jack Noble races to stop the conspiracy before it claims his life.

If you like Nelson DeMille, WEB Griffin, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp, and Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne, you will be engrossed in this unputdownable Jack Noble thriller.

Other Books in the Jack Noble Series of Political and Action Thrillers
Noble Beginnings is the first of twelve Jack Noble thriller books. In addition, a recently released prequel, and four series spin-offs are available. The series has earned thousands of five-star reviews, and has been downloaded over two-million times to Kindles around the world.

If you enjoy gripping thrillers loaded with suspense, action, twists & turns, Jack Noble is for you!

Readers are saying...

"JASON BOURNE, JACK RYAN, JACK REACHER. AND NOW JACK NOBLE..."

"I totally agree with the reviewer who said if you like Jack Reacher, you'll love Jack Noble."

"I enjoy the Jack Noble character as much as Mitch Rapp, Scott Horvath, or Jack Ryan."

Noble beginnings was a top 100 book on Amazon from June 2018 through August 2018

L.T. Ryan spent 15 consecutive months in Amazon's top 100 authors list from June 2018 through September 2019

USA Today Bestseller L.T. Ryan: 3/27/2014, 3/5/2015, 7/7/2016, 12/15/2016, 5/25/2017

Monday 4 May 2020

Send Down the Rain by Charles Martin

Send Down the Rain: New from the author of The Mountains Between Us and the New York Times bestseller Where the River Ends by [Charles Martin]
New York Times bestselling author Martin offers us “grace, mercy, and forgiveness in this sweeping love story.”*
Allie is still recovering from the loss of her family’s beloved waterfront restaurant on Florida’s Gulf Coast when she loses her second husband to a terrifying highway accident. Devastated and losing hope, she shudders to contemplate the future—until a cherished person from her past returns.
Joseph has been adrift for many years, wounded in both body and spirit and unable to come to terms with the trauma of his Vietnam War experiences. Just as he resolves to abandon his search for peace and live alone at a remote cabin in the Carolina mountains, he discovers a mother and her two small children lost in the forest. A man of character and strength, he instinctively steps in to help them get back to their home in Florida. There he will return to his own hometown—and witness the accident that launches a bittersweet reunion with his childhood sweetheart, Allie.
When Joseph offers to help Allie rebuild her restaurant, it seems the flame may reignite—until a forty-five-year-old secret begins to emerge, threatening to destroy all hope for their second chance at love.
In Send Down the Rain, Charles Martin proves himself to be a storyteller of great wisdom and compassion who bears witness to the dreams we cherish, the struggles we face, and the strengths we must summon when life seems to threaten what we hold most dear.
*Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Charles Martin never fails to ask and answer the questions that linger deep within all of us.” —Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author, for Long Way Gone
“Charles Martin understands the power of story and he uses it to alter the souls and lives of both his characters and his readers.” —Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author
  • Full-length, stand-alone novel
  • Includes discussion questions for book clubs
  • From the author of The Mountain Between Us and Where the River Ends

Saturday 2 May 2020

The Dancing Girls by M.M. Chouinard

The Dancing Girls: An absolutely gripping crime thriller with nail-biting suspense (A Detective Jo Fournier Novel Book 1) by [M.M. Chouinard]
"‘Wow, what a book!! I don't think I drew a full breath for the entire time I was reading… I took it everywhere I went… I needed to read it at every opportunity!… Unbelievably twisty… I loved every word of it!’ Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jo pulled together the victims’ pictures. In all cases their arms were askew, in a way that looked like—what? It was like they were freeze-framed in the middle of some action. It was like they were dancing.

When loving wife Jeanine Hammond is found dead in a small leafy town in Massachusetts, newly promoted Detective Jo Fournier is shocked to her core. Why leave her body posed like a ballerina? Why steal her wedding band and nothing else? Hungry for answers, Jo questions Jeanine’s husband, but the heart-breaking pain written on his face threatens to tear open Jo’s old wounds. It’s the same pain she felt when her boyfriend was cruelly shot dead by a gang in their hometown of New Orleans. She couldn’t get justice for him, but she’s determined to get justice for Jeanine’s devastated family.

But before Jo can get answers, another woman is found, wedding ring stolen, body posed in the same ritualistic way.

Digging through old files, Jo makes a terrifying link to a series of cold cases. She knows a serial killer is on the loose, but nobody will listen to the truth – not her bosses, nor the FBI. Still, Jo won’t let her superiors keep her from stopping the murderer in his tracks, even if it means the end of her career.

Just as she is beginning to lose hope, she finds messages on the victims’ computers that feel like the crucial missing link. But she knows the murderer is moments away from selecting his next victim. Will she be able to take down the most twisted killer of her career before another innocent life is lost?

An absolutely unputdownable and brilliant new crime thriller series that fans of Robert Dugoni, Lisa Regan and Melinda Leigh will devour in one sitting.

Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict

Carnegie's Maid: A Novel by [Marie Benedict]
The USA Today Bestseller
From the author of The Only Woman in the Room comes the mesmerizing tale of what kind of woman could have inspired an American dynasty.
Clara Kelley is not who they think she is. She's not the experienced Irish maid who was hired to work in one of Pittsburgh's grandest households. She's a poor farmer's daughter with nowhere to go and nothing in her pockets. But the other woman with the same name has vanished, and pretending to be her just might get Clara some money to send back home.
If she can keep up the ruse, that is. Serving as a lady's maid in the household of Andrew Carnegie requires skills she doesn't have, answering to an icy mistress who rules her sons and her domain with an iron fist. What Clara does have is a resolve as strong as the steel Pittsburgh is becoming famous for, coupled with an uncanny understanding of business, and Andrew begins to rely on her. But Clara can't let her guard down, not even when Andrew becomes something more than an employer. Revealing her past might ruin her future — and her family's.
With captivating insight and heart, Carnegie's Maid tells the story of one brilliant woman who may have spurred Andrew Carnegie's transformation from ruthless industrialist into the world's first true philanthropist.

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