Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Book Review for The Cove by L.J. Ross

 

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 fiancé, 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.

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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’.

 

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