The Eye Collector by Sebastian Fitzek

Alexander Zorbach used to be a police negotiator.  After a traumatic situation when he shot a woman to save a kidnapped baby he left the police force and became an investigative journalist.  He has been reporting on the crimes of 'The Eye Collector'.  This is a serial killer who kills the mother and leaves a stopwatch in her hand.  The father than has 45 hours in which to find his kidnapped child before s/he will be dead with their left eye removed.  

At the site of the next body found with a stopwatch in her hand, police also find the wallet of Alex Zorbach.  He becomes the police's only suspect.  Alex meets Alina Gregoriev.  She is a blind physiotherapist who claims to have laid hands on the eye collector and seen visions of his actions.  They work together to try to find the identity of the eye collector and the location of the kidnapped children before the police arrest Alex for a crime he has not committed.  

This is a gripping story which races against the clock to save both Alex and the kidnapped children.  The story is set in Germany.  The original text was in German and has been translated into English.  

The Hitchcock Murders by Gavin Collinson

Josa Jilani has just been promoted to the rank of Detective Chief Inspector.  The first case she is asked to become involved in is that of a serial killer who is killing one woman a week and always on a Tuesday evening.  Immediately she becomes involved in the case her own life is threatened by the killer.  

The previous DCI on the case had enlisted the help of Daniel Blake, a criminologist who seems to have no background and who has helped in many past cases but has always done so quietly and not taken any credit for cases he has helped to crack.  

Daniel analyses the murders and realises that they resemble murders from different Alfred Hitchcock films.  The police wish to keep this bit of information out of the press but it is not to be.  Together Daniel and Josa visit Professor Paul Salinger who lectures on Hitchcock at Capital College to try to find out more.  

The killer knows all there is to know about Alfred Hitchcock, his films and his obsessions with some of his leading ladies.  As another Tuesday approaches the police need to work out who the killer is and stop him before he murders again. 

This is a really gripping story.  I already know some Hitchcock films and am now inspired to re-watch these and try some others I have not seen before.  There is a filmography at the end of the book.  

Gut Feeling by Victoria Browne

Ashleigh Lands had the opportunity to move to America with her family but chose to stay in London with her boyfriend Lee.  After a while she realises that Lee has been cheating with other women and she ends their relationship.  A few months later she meets Dave when he comes to mend a window at the dental practice where Ashleigh works.  They immediately get along and start to see each other regularly.  Dave seems much more open and honest than Lee.  

When Ashleigh returns from a week away in the sun with her friends she overhears some information about Dave which sounds as if he was been cheating on her too.  Ashleigh has to decide if she trusts Dave and wants to continue the relationship, if she wants to go back to Lee who has started contacting and hassling her again, or if she wants to get away from both of them and join her family in America to start a new life. 

This was a free Kindle download.  

Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Scheinmann

This books skips between two timelines.  There is Leo Deakin in 1992 and Moritz Daniecki in 1917. 

Leo wakes up in a hospital in South America following a bus crash in which his girlfriend Eleni has died.  They had been travelling through South America and climbing mountains.  Leo has to deal with her death on his own and arrange for her body to be flown to Greece to her mother for the funeral.  Leo then returns to his own family and studies in London but struggles with his grief. 

Moritz Daniecki sets off from his home in Ulanow as a soldier to fight in the great war.  The conditions are very poor and many of the troops are killed in action.  The one thing that keeps Moritz going is that he is determined to return home to Lotte with whom he has shared one kiss before leaving.  To get home he has to walk through Russia and Siberia avoiding many towns and villages to evade capture. Will Lotte still be there waiting for him when he gets home after this mammoth journey?  

The Girl I Was Before: 'A Fun Feel Good Read' (Lily McDermott Series Book 1) by Izzy Bayliss

Three months after her marriage to Marc, Lily arrives home early planning to cook them a celebratory meal and finds Marc in bed with actress Nadia Williams.  She turns to her lifelong friend Frankie for support.  It soon becomes clear that Marc has no plans to return and Lily has to endure the shame of Marc and Nadia's relationship being splashed across the front of a celebrity magazine.  

Whilst trying to sort out her life and meet mortgage payments she can not afford on her own Lily then loses her job as a supervisor in a call centre.  As the one thing that Lily is really good at is baking, Frankie suggests that she sets up her own business making cakes for other people.  With Frankie's help and connections she soon starts to get orders coming in.  Whilst setting up cakes for a corporate event Lily meets Sam who helps her when she has a disaster with the arrangement.  

After she has seen Sam a few times Marc suddenly makes contact again. Is she ready to start another relationship or should she go back to her marriage?