Her Sister's Killer by Mari Hannah #HerSistersKiller @mariwriter @orionbooks #StoneandOliver #BookReview

 

Newly promoted Inspector Frankie Oliver has always been consumed by the idea of finding her sister's killer and bringing them to justice.

But when new evidence about the tragic unsolved murder comes to light, and her former boss DCI David Stone embarks on an investigation without her, everything starts to unravel.

After decades without answers, who knows where the trail might lead? And will knowing the answers be the very thing that breaks Frankie irreparably?

The past and present collide with devastating consequences in this taut, breathless new thriller from award-winning crime writer Mari Hannah.

Her Sister's Killer by Mari Hannah was published on 6 March 2025 by Orion, and is book five in the Stone and Oliver series. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

Whilst Her Sister's Killer is book five in this series, it can easily be read as a stand alone novel. The author is skilled in creating back stories that enhance the current plot but also inform the reader. Saying that, I would advise that any new reader takes the plunge and reads the complete series. 

Frankie Stone and David Oliver have been partners, both professionally and personally for a while. Their personal relationship is something of an on/off affair, but they are fond of each other, not really being able to let go. 

Frankie has recently been promoted to Inspector and as part of this process, she must leave the Murder Investigation Team and spend some time in a very rural area of Northumberland, she also has to wear uniform again. Frankie's absence is beneficial to David as he's acting on loose talk overhead at a social function and has re-opened the investigation into the death of Frankie's sister.

Frankie's sister was murdered in 1992, and that tragic event has totally overshadowed her life, and her parent's lives ever since. David is determined to get to the bottom of the long unsolved crime, but needs Frankie out of the way whilst he is working on it. It becomes clear that he also needs to remain as silent as he can about what he's doing when he's in the office surroundings. His suspicions do not fall very far. 

As Frankie becomes more involved in the criminal goings on in her new patch, dealing with some dark and emotionally challenging issues that she really didn't expect; David also becomes more and more engrossed with his investigations. 

Mari Hannah has given her readers a crime novel with a dual plot and it's very very cleverly done. Her characters are solid and lifelike and the plot is tension filled and absolutely gripping.  Add the incredible sense of place that Hannah details so extremely well and you have a crime novel that is up there with the best of the year so far. Highly recommended by me. 

Mari Hannah is a multi-award-winning, bestselling author/screenwriter. 

She writes across three crime series: DCI Kate Daniels (in development for TV with Sprout Pictures & Atlantic Nomad); Stone & Oliver and Ryan & O'Neil. 

Among her numerous awards is a Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library 2017. 

In 2019, Mari was the programming chair of Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. 

In 2020, she was the recipient of Capital Crime International Crime Writing Festival's Crime Book of the Year. 

She lives in rural Northumberland with her partner, an ex-murder detective.

www.marihannah.com

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Bare by Lorna Tucker BLOG TOUR #Bare @always_leyt @Octopus_Books @RandomTTours #BookReview

 

The inspirational true story of one woman's fight to survive on the streets of London

I, Lorna Tucker, have lived a life that most you can't even begin to imagine...

'You need to read this book' MICK JAGGER

'Unflinching and unforgettable' VOGUE

'An essential read showcasing the resilience of the human spirit' JUANO DIAZ

I have lived in London's piss-soaked streets, I have lived with the sweet embrace of heroin, I have lived when I should have died.

I have lied, I have thieved, I have stripped, I have tricked, I have loved, I have fallen, I have survived.

I could be your daughter, your mother, your lover - I could be you.

Come to hell and back with me.

AN EYE-OPENING, PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF FEMALE HOMELESSNESS, FROM ONE OF BRITAIN'S MOST EXCITING FILM-MAKERS

Bare by Lorna Tucker was published in hardback on 20 March 2025 by Brazen / Octopus Books. My thanks to the publishers who sent my copy as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour 

The slim hardback edition of Bare by Lorna Tucker that I read has less than two hundred pages. However, it is certainly not a quick read, nor is it an easy read, or even a fulfilling read. It is stark, it is grim, it doesn't hold back. Tucker does not spare her reader. She does not use flowery language in the hope of disguising what she has done, how she has lived. She is honest, open and just so eye-opening. I finished the book wondering how on earth anyone who had experienced the things that she has could ever make something of themselves.  She has though. She is now a much acclaimed film maker, she has a husband and children, a home and a life. For many many months, she didn't have any of those things. She didn't even have hope. 

The book begins in the mid-1980s on a 'generic pebble-dashed housing estate, Watford). This opening tells the reader just how ordinary Lorna's life was . Her parents were working class, they'd been through tough times but the family, on the whole, were pretty average. 

Lorna's experiences are not average. Drink, drugs, violence, sexual predators, truancy, shop lifting, sleeping on the street, lice, filth, hunger, police cells. This is what made up Lorna's existence for the majority of her story. It is not pleasant, there are times when I wanted to put the book down and sanitise my hands, it's grubby and hard hitting. 

Lorna Tucker shows a huge amount of bravery in her words. She shows courage and determination. She shows a vulnerability that is heart breaking and she shows a rawness that is inspiring. 

Truly haunting, this is a book that I will remember for a very long time. 

Lorna Tucker is an artist, writer and filmmaker, who has secured her place as one of the most exciting documentary directors working today, known for tackling big social themes with humour, ease and grace.

Her first feature documentary, Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist, was an Official Selection at Sundance 2018. Her subsequent documentaries include: Amá, about the sterilisation abuse of Native American women over the past 60 years; Someone's Daughter, Someone's Son, chronicling stories of homelessness in the UK; and Call Me Kate, about the inner life of screen legend Katharine Hepburn.

She was named one of the biggest breakout female filmmakers by Harper's Bazaar and Elle in 2018, and one of Creative England's CE50 the following year.

She has written articles for British Vogue and the guardian and her first solo art exhibition will open at Saatchi Gallery in Spring 2026. Bare is her first book.

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