Category Archives: police procedural

crime writer, Crime/Mystery, Crime/Thriller, Novels, police procedural

A Fighting Chance DS Jane Renwick Book 2 by Val Penny #AFIGHTINGCHANCE

October 19, 2025 Melanie 2 Comments

Today at Celtic Connexions, I’m welcoming author Val Penny and her second book in her DS Jane Renwick series, A Fighting Chance.

fighting chance

Blurb

In the second Jane Renwick Thriller by Val Penny, drug cartels collide as crime boss Connor O’Grady returns to Scotland to protect his turf from rival Peggy Cheney, newly released from prison.

DS Jane Renwick and DC Brian Harris are sent to Stirling, where Jane discovers two tragic deaths—a young man and a girl—raising suspicions of a single killer.

O’Grady denies involvement, but can a drug lord be trusted?
Set in Stirling and Gartcosh, this tense police procedural thrusts Jane into the heart of a deadly turf war.

fighting chance

Book Links

PAPERBACK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fighting-Chance-Jane-Renwick-Book/dp/1917611161

EBOOK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fighting-Chance-Jane-Renwick-Book-ebook/dp/B0FHQ49SVJ

My Review

I first met DS Jane Renwick in Val Penny’s DI Hunter series. She’s now working at MIT. This assignment takes her and her team to Stirling, where she ends up embroiled in not one, but two murder cases.

I like Jane’s character. She’s smart, feisty, and someone you wouldn’t want to make angry.

It was nice to see some of the characters from the DI Hunter series mentioned as well. The Thompson family from Thompson Top Cars in Edinburgh.

I really hope there will be more DS Jane Renwick books.

fighting chance

This is the Wallace Monument in Stirling, as shown on the cover of Val’s novel. You can tour the monument and climb the 246-step spiral staircase to the very top. The view is spectacular from there. Looking straight up into the open dome also offers a good view. I’ve toured the monument, and you should add it to your bucket list.

About the Author

Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.

Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.

Val’s Links

Website – https://www.valpenny.com

Amazon Author Page – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Val-Penny/e/B07C4725TK

Author Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/valerie.penny.739

Author Twitter Page – @valeriepenny

Author Instagram Page – https://www.instagram.com/valerieepenny/

book review, GB Williams, HanWill Publishing, Novels, police procedural, The Queen of Cups Murders

The Queen of Cups by GB Williams #THEQUEENOFCUPSMURDERS

November 26, 2024 Melanie 2 Comments

Today, the blog features something a little different. I’m reviewing The Queen of Cups by GB Williams.

BLURB

He’s determined to draw a better future. But his morning reading didn’t warn him about the muddy ditch of corpses…

South Wales. Detective Sergeant Madoc Palmer struggles to fit in. Committed to his job, the tarot reader hopes his transfer away from a sabotaging superior is a fresh start. Though he downplays his psychic ability as good instincts, the ploy is tested when two murders trigger strange visions.

As his abilities take an inexplicable leap forward, Palmer navigates the tricky task of guiding the sharp-eyed, evidence-following Detective Inspector Ruth Atkins to the identity of the decayed remains. With his suspicious new DI watching every move, the newcomer fears any slip of the tongue could get him laughed off the force.

Can he reveal his truth without destroying his life or letting a killer slip from their grasp?

Queen of Cups

LINK TO BUY

Queen of Cups

MY REVIEW

Anyone familiar with tarot will know the book’s title is a card in the deck. I can put everything I know about tarot cards in a doll-sized teacup. I know South Wales reasonably well, where the book is set. The book was engaging, and the characters were likable. My lack of tarot knowledge did nothing to spoil my enjoyment of it.

The dynamics between the lead characters, DI Ruth Akins and DS Madoc Palmer, made it enjoyable.

I was lucky to get in on the ground floor with this book since it’s the first in a series of police procedurals.

A 5-star read, and I’ll be watching for more books by this author.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Queen of Cups

GB Williams specialises in complex, fast-paced crime novels. Her works include the recently expanded Locked Trilogy, The Elaine Blake Novels and the stand alone, The Chair. GB was shortlisted for the 2014 CWA Margery Allingham Short Story Competition with the story Last Shakes, now available in Last Cut Casebook. GB is a member of the Crime Writers Association, Crime Cymru, and part of the organising team for Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival, as well as working as a writer and freelance structural editor.

WEBSITE