Summer
Suspense Mysteries #1
The Cove by L.J. Ross
Published: May 5,
2026 by Poisoned Pen Press
Genre: Mystery, Crime
Taken from Goodreads:
THE PERFECT ESCAPE...
Gabrielle Adams has it all – brains, beauty, a handsome fiancĂ©, and a dream job
in publishing. Until, one day, everything changes.
The ‘Underground Killer’ takes his victims when they least expect it: standing
on the edge of a busy Tube platform, as they wait for a train to arrive through
the murky underground tunnels of London.
Gabrielle soon learns that being a survivor is harder than being a victim, and
she struggles to return to her old life. Desperate to break free from the
endless nightmares, she snatches up an opportunity to run a tiny bookshop in a
picturesque cove in rural Cornwall.
She thinks she’s found the perfect escape, but has she swapped one nightmare
for another?
Suspense and mystery are peppered with romance and humour in this fast-paced
thriller, set amidst the spectacular Cornish landscape.
My Thoughts:
The first half of The Cove I thought I was reading a romance book. The second half I was reading a lightweight
crime mystery book. I enjoyed the book,
it was easy to read, I read it in just a few hours, but it was not a mystery
thriller book as I expected.
The characters were fun but did not have a lot of
depth. They are what they are, doing
what they do, but I was not surprised by any of it. Even the who-dun-it part was given away too
easily. I wish for more of a buildup,
more of a guessing game for the reader.
If you are looking for a quick and easy read, this is a book
for you. It is not a long book and the
story moves exactly as expected.
Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for a copy of the book in
exchange for my honest review.
Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads
Purchase your own copy on Amazon
Meet the Author (taken fromher website): LJ Ross is
an international bestselling author, whose books have sold more than ten
million copies worldwide.
Her debut, Holy Island, was released in 2015 and
became an instant, international bestseller. Since then, more than thirty of
her novels have gone on to take the coveted #1 spot, some even before general
release and whilst only available to ‘pre-order’. The Bookseller magazine has
reported on Louise having topped the ‘Most Read’ and ‘Most Sold’ fiction
charts, and she has garnered an army of loyal fans who love her atmospheric and
addictive storytelling.
Her eleventh novel, The Infirmary, is a prequel
story to the DCI Ryan series and is available as a major Audible Originals
audio-drama starring Tom Bateman, Kevin Whately, Bertie Carvel, Hermione Norris
and Alun Armstrong.
The first novel in her Alexander Gregory Thrillers
series, Impostor, was shortlisted in the British Book Awards 2020:
Crime & Thriller Book of the Year. The audiobook of Impostor,
narrated by Hugh Dancy, was also selected as a finalist in the New York
Festivals Radio Awards, Best Fiction Audiobook of the Year Category. Louise was
shortlisted again in 2023 for the nineteenth novel in her DCI Ryan
series, Bamburgh.
In May 2021, Louise was shortlisted for the prestigious
Crime Writers’ Association ‘Dagger in the Library’ award, which recognises an
author’s entire body of work having been consistently enjoyed by library
borrowers around the United Kingdom, and an author’s longstanding support of
libraries. She was shortlisted again in 2024.
Louise was born in Northumberland. She studied undergraduate
and postgraduate Law at King’s College, University of London and then abroad in
Paris and Florence. She spent much of her working life in London, where she was
a lawyer for a number of years until taking the decision to change career. Now,
she writes full time and lives with her husband and two children in
Northumberland.
To find out more about the many philanthropic ventures
Louise has founded and sponsored through her publishing imprint, Dark Skies
Publishing, please visit ‘Philanthropy’.