Blog Tour | Book Review: That One May Smile by Valerie Keogh

Happy Monday bookworms! I’m delighted to be kicking of the blog tour for That One May Smile, the first book in the Garda West Crime series.

Book Description:

When Kelly Johnson’s husband disappears, her perfect world in the Foxrock suburb of Dublin falls apart. Then she stumbles on a dead body in the graveyard behind her house.
A coincidence? Garda Sergeant Mike West thinks so until he finds a link between the dead body and Kelly’s missing husband.
And then to add to the problem, Kelly disappears.
The investigation takes West first to Cornwall and then to Cork, on the trail of a tangled case involving identity theft, blackmail and illegal drugs. And as if the complications of the case weren’t enough there is the constant, irritating – and definitely unsuitable – attraction, to the beautiful Kelly, who will keep disappearing!

My Thoughts:

I hope you’ve got room for one more crime series as this book is the perfect summer read, a solid mystery with some great characters. The themes don’t run too dark or sinister, this is more of a light-hearted read.

I enjoyed the mystery, it was well thought-out and came together nicely; I loved that Kelly kept disappearing, the first time she disappeared I was not her biggest fan, and I thought she wasn’t the most likeable character but as events unfolded I came around to her way of thinking. By 35% I was Team Kelly, that’s also the point where this novel really picked up for me. So you could say it took a little while for me to get into this one, the start was slow-going but once I was invested in the plot, it became a one-sitting read.

Garda Sergeant Mike West, well, he was likeable from the get go. What’s interesting about this novel is, while the investigation was ongoing it was clear West was a little smitten with Kelly and this built up a level of suspense as I wasn’t sure what she was hiding and I was worried West would cross the line by abusing his position to help her. This unspoken chemistry between West and Kelly would normally annoy me but it wasn’t done in a cheesy way at all, maybe because West was so likeable – a down-to-earth, good guy. It kind of had me hoping they’d get together AFTER the case IF Kelly wasn’t hiding anything too despicable. I guess you could say it was the characters more than the mystery that drew me into this one.

With its bitter sweet ending, I look forward to West’s return in book two. This wasn’t a fast-paced novel with tons of action, not even the most well-developed novel I’ve read in terms of plot and characters but I just enjoyed it. I liked the characters, I was invested in them, certain parts of the novel had me smiling along, I couldn’t connect the dots and solve the mystery before it was revealed so that was a major plus. That One May Smile is a fun, light-heart police procedural that I have no reservations recommending. I look forward to reading more from Keogh.

This book is available to buy from: Amazon UK

*My thanks to Thick As Thieves Book Publicity & Promo Services for providing me with a digital copy of this book and inviting me to take part in this blog tour*

About the Author:

Valerie Keogh is from Dublin but currently lives with her husband and two cats ten miles from Bath, U.K. She works two to three days a week as a nurse and spends the other days writing. That One May Smile is the first of her crime series, the Garda West series, based in  Ireland. She also writes a series based in the U. K, the Hudson and Connolly series, about a female serial killer who works with the police. There is also a stand-alone psychological thriller, Exit Five from Charing Cross. When not working or writing she likes to walk along the Kennet and Avon canal, daydreaming and working out plots. She also loves to travel and usually comes home with a new story to write. She is partial to lemon drizzle cake, crusty bread with hummus, and wine.

Facebook: Valerie Keogh

Twitter: @ValerieKeogh1

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