Book Reviews: Short Reads for the commute- stimulate your mind on the way to work

For the spring summer commutes I've got a few goodies lined up in the form of short stories.
  I've included a couple of the Broadchurch shorts (linked to series two) a couple of PD Viner's short stories , a Tony Parsons, a Karin Slaughter and a Peter James short story collection.

After series two of Broadchurch I thought I'd include a couple of Erin kelly's shorts, designed to be read in conjunction with the series, each one relating to a particular key character.  There are 8 Broadchurch shorts in total.
The End Is Where It Begins Erin Kellly & Chris Chibnell
This is a poignant insight into Ellie's life prior to Joe's plea trial.  Her life in pieces Ellie has opted to move back into uniform in the Exmoor police where she hopes Joe's plea will reunite her with her eldest son Tom.  Gut wrenching and very true to the character Olivia Coleman so beatifully portrays on the screen.
Available on Kindle £0.98
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Broadchurch-Where-Begins-Story-Original-ebook/dp/B00QVN1IK6/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426865975&sr=1-3&keywords=broadchurch
Thirteen Hours Erin Kelly & Chris Chibnell

Alec Hardy's sullen, unfriendly taciturn character is evident from the get go. Thirteen Hours deals with the lead up to Danny Latimer's death and introduces us to the enigmatic Claire Ripley (from the Sandbrook case) It fills in the gaps in  Alec's health problems and his motives in moving to Broadchurch in the first place.
Available on Kindle £0.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Broadchurch-Thirteen-Hours-Story-Original-ebook/dp/B00T7ZS2L8/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426865975&sr=1-4&keywords=broadchurch
The Sad Man  by PD Viner 

The Sad Man is a Dani Lancing short story and is chronologically prior to The Last winter of Dani Lancing.  It shows Tom Bevan's route from Family Liaison Officer to head of Ares (the group dedicated to closingmissing and murdered girls cases).  As I've become used to in P.D. Viner's work The Sad Man is filled with beautifully poignantly descriptive writing.  When a girl is brutally murdered in what appears to be a ritualistic manner newly acting DI Bevan notices links to previous cases that take him to Europe and back before a tragic incident from the past proves pivotal in catching the killer.  Well written and a great read!
Available on Kindle for £0.00
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sad-Man-Short-Story-Lancing-ebook/dp/B00DVW8W6S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430648722&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sad+man

Dead Time  by Tony Parsons
This is a DC Max Wolfe short story from the author of Murder Bag. A fascinating story of a drug lord being decapitated by an exotic bladed weapon.  Lovely insight into Japanese and Chinese samurai type weaponry. I loved Wolfe's character; a single dad with a young child and DC to boot.  When Wolfe sees three men dragging another man into an old meat factory on Christmas Night right outside his home, Max follows only to discover a beheaded body..  Despite the case being beyond his remit Wolfe can't let it go; after all the crime was committed in his manor.
An enjoyable read with a realistic balance between Wolfe's official work and his role as a parent.  Definitely recommended  if you like a good police procedural.
Available on Kindle for £0.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Time-Wolfe-Short-Story-ebook/dp/B00PXD8KCO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430648315&sr=8-1&keywords=dead+time+tony+parsons

Three Twisted Stories by Karin Saughter
Three for the price of one in this one by Queen of the crime thriller.  In Go Deep, set in the 1970's, Charlie Lomas's dirty dealings go wrong when a hobo dies.  He feels his life spiralling out of control.  This short story is filled with sardonic humour and Lomas has an 'Ebenezer Scrooge' type feel to him.
In Necessary Women a 14 year old girl witnesses her mother's death which leaves her suddenly the woman of the house in more ways than a 14 year old girl should have to be.  Poignant and provocative.
Remmy Rothstein Toes The Line is full of exotic characters from a bearded woman to an albino, African American Jew. Funny, endearing and witty.
A trio of good reads to set you up for the day!
Available for £1.99 on kindle or £16.12 on audio book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Twisted-Stories-Karin-Slaughter-ebook/dp/B00SXPC4JO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430648417&sr=8-1&keywords=three+twisted+stories
A Twist of The knife by Peter James

 What a great title for this book of 30 knife twisting short stories from Peter James. In this you get a little bit of everything from the first ever outing of James's iconic character Roy Grace to a haunting Christmas tale in Christmas is For The Kids  (as previously recommended on the Crime Warp Advent 2014).  Character driven and unexpected in it's variety and content.  A great clutch of crime for a daily dip into the world of crime told by a master of the genre!
Available Now on Kindle £6.59, HB £7.95 and PB £5.99 (PB available 4th June)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Twist-Knife-Peter-James/dp/0230764371/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430648520&sr=8-1&keywords=a+twist+of+the+knife
One By One : Before(a thriller in 3 parts) by Simon Kernick
A remote island, six old friends and a huge secret - the active ingredients in this thriller by Simon Kernick.  Twenty- one years after their friend is brutally murdered and the 'killer' acquitted, the friends meet up to consolidate the huge secret they've kept all these years... then one of them is murdered!
In During the pace increases as the friends begin to panic and start accusing each other... then another murder occurs and no one is safe in a chilling Christie-esque And Then There Were None style story.  After  see them terrified and awaiting the final denouement.  A surprising twist and a lot of gore later and we heave a relieved sigh.  A usual Simon Kernick delivers a fast paced, action packed, adrenalin rushed thriller that can be read in short snippets. Will definately keep you awake on the commute, though I can't guarantee you'll not be so involved you miss your stop.  At only 49p each you can't go wrong
Here's the link http://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Before-Part-ebook/dp/B00SM31NTE/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1431514077&sr=1-2&keywords=Amazon%27s+simon+kernick