Son by Johana Gustawsson & Thomas Enger

I was so excited for this book coming out because it's written by two of my favourite people who have come together to write a new series, and this is the first book in that collection. And I wasn't disappointed. Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Son, the first Kari Voss mystery, by Johana Gustawsson and Thomas Enger. Many thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy. I will be buying my own hardback copy.

 

The Blurb

Expert on body language and memory, and consultant to the Oslo BOOKS Police, psychologist Kari Voss sleepwalks through her days, and, by night, continues the devastating search for her young son, who disappeared on his birthday, seven years earlier.

Still grieving for her dead husband, and trying to pull together the pieces of her life, she is thrust into a shocking local investigation, when two teenage girls are violently murdered in a family summer home in the nearby village of Son.

When a friend of the victims is charged with the barbaric killings, it seems the case is closed, but Kari is not convinced. Using her skills and working on instinct, she conducts her own enquiries, leading her to multiple suspects, including people who knew the dead girls well…

With the help of Chief Constable Ramona Norum, she discovers that no one – including the victims – are what they seem. And that there is a dark secret at the heart of Son village that could have implications not just for her own son’s disappearance, but Kari's own life, too…

My Review

When I saw the title I initially thought the book was going to be about a son. But whilst there are a few sons in the book, the title is actually the name of the Norwegian town where a brutal crime takes place. Two young girls are murdered in a horrible way. A young man is arrested for the crime and the case seems to be cut and dried. But Kari Voss, a psychologist who is often consulted by the police, is not convinced, and begins her own investigation. And she finds out more than she bargained for about the people she thought she knew...

I loved Kari. Still grieving her dead husband and carrying the pain of missing her son Vetle, who disappeared seven years ago, aged nine, she has picked up the pieces with the help of her father, the retired police chief, and has a successful career lecturing and consulting on memory and body language. She's warm and kind, but determined when she needs to be, as demonstrated here when she believes differently from the police about the way the case is going. In fact, she risks alienating people she cares about in order to convince people of the truth, at least as she sees it. But we also see her struggling with her decisions and choices, and her own mental health suffering as she looks into what happened. I liked her dad, and the close relationship they have and the support he gives her. We all need someone in our corner and he is definitely in Kari's. Finally, I should mention Ramona Norum, the police superintendent leading the murder investigation and Kari's friend of many years. At different stages in the book we see the two women in harmony and also at loggerheads, to a degree. I loved that the authors portrayed a very real friendship - like with any relationship, it can't be rainbows and sprinkles all the time.

The investigation is satisfyingly twisty and turny. We meet some of the young people in the neighbourhood and their parents too, and almost everyone is carrying a secret about something. I really enjoyed all the technical sciencey stuff about body language and memory - it was super interesting and presented in a very accessible way, slotting neatly into the story, and not once does it feel clunky or out of place. The denouement is tense and bloody, and ultimately very sad. But it all fits.

I'm always amazed when two different writers, with potentially different styles, collaborate. Here there is the added layer of two different nationalities and languages, Norwegian and French. And I don't see the name of a translator, which, I think, means the authors translated their own work, or wrote in English in the first place. Either way, I am in awe. I don't know what their writing process was but if there are joining seams, I can't find them - the whole book runs smoothly, and feels like it was one voice. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised - they are both brilliant authors in their own right, so why wouldn't they be brilliant together?

Son is a well written story of secrets and lies, and murder, with an engaging central character. I don't think I've read anything before featuring someone with the skills Kari has, so that was great. I know this is the first book in a planned series, which I was super thrilled about anyway because I'm keen to read more. But I really can't wait now, having read the last few lines of the book! Highly recommend.


The Authors

Known as the Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson is one of France's most highly regarded, award-winning crime writers, recipient of the prestigious Cultura Ligue de
l`Imaginaire Award for her gothic mystery Yule Island. Number-one bestselling books include Block 46, Keeper, Blood Song and her historical thriller, The Bleeding. Johana lives in Sweden with her family. A former journalist, Thomas Enger is the number-one bestselling author of the Henning Juul series and, with co-author Jørn Lier Horst, the international bestselling Blix & Ramm series, and one of the biggest proponents of the Nordic Noir genre. He lives in Oslo. Rights to Johana and Thomas’s books have been sold to a combined fifty countries and, for the first time, two crime writers, from two different countries, writing in two different languages, have joined forces to create an original series together.

The Weekenders by David F Ross

I've been unwell this week and had to miss a few things. Unfortunately, one of them was my blog tour stop in Tuesday for The Weekenders by David F Ross. Sincere apologies to David, Danielle and every one at Orenda for the delay, but I'm now recovering and pleased to share my review today. My thanks to Danielle Price for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy. 

The Blurb

Glasgow, 1966: Stevie 'Minto' Milloy, former star footballer-turned-rookie reporter, finds himself trailing the story of a young Eastern European student whose body has been found on remote moorland outside the city. How did she get there from her hostel at the Sovereign Grace Mission, and why does Stevie find obstacles at every turn?

Italy, 1943: As the Allies fight Mussolini's troops, a group of young soldiers are separated from their platoon, and Glaswegian Jamesie Campbell, his newfound friend Michael McTavish at his side, finds himself free to make his own rules…

Glasgow, 1969: Courtroom sketch artist Donald 'Doodle' Malpas is shocked to discover that his new case involves the murder of a teenage Lithuanian girl he knows from the Sovereign Grace Mission. Why hasn't the girl's death been reported? And why is a young police constable suddenly so keen to join the mission?

No one seems willing to join the dots between the two cases, and how they link to Raskine House, the stately home in the Scottish countryside with a dark history and even darker present – the venue for the debauched parties held there by the rich and powerful of the city who call themselves 'The Weekenders'.

Painting a picture of a 1960s Glasgow in the throes of a permissive society, pulled apart by religion, corruption, and a murderous Bible John stalking the streets, The Weekenders is a snapshot of an era of turmoil – and a terrifying insight into the mind of a ruthless criminal…

My Review

The Weekenders is gritty, not afraid to get down and dirty. It centred on three men - ex footballer turned sports reporter Stevie, court sketch artist Doodle, and local businessman Jamesie Campbell. Stevie and Doodle are fully fleshed out characters,and we see them at their best and their worst : it's very real. We learn a lot about Jamesie's background, some of which is quite tough to read, but whilst we see him with his public facing face on, the rest of his current life is somewhat shrouded in mystery - deliberately. But we do know he married into money and is now the owner of Raskine House, home to the fabled Weekenders parties.

Stevie Millroy was a footballer on his way to stardom until his career was ended by a deliberate injury. He's just beginning a new job as a sports reporter for the Star, but is inexplicably paired up with veteran crime reporter Jock Meikle to learn how it's done. At his first press conference he learns about The murder of a young girl, and he just can't get the crime out of his head...

A few years later, Douglas 'Doodle' Malpas is illustrating a court case when he realises the victim is someone he knew at the Christian mission he attends, run by a local minister.

Featuring in both of these segments, and with some of his own back story in the middle, is local businessman Jamesie Campbell. In public, Jamesie is full of bonhommie, but we learn much more about what he's really like. It's fair, I think, to say he's not a very nice man. His back story is a hard read in places - the author has not shied away from giving raw, gritty details. And we get a real sense of the man.

The three segments all tie in together perfectly and it's well written - I had to consult a dictionary several times and learned loads of great new words! 😀 But, being serious, The Weekenders is about crime and corruption in Glasgow in the 1960s, and the links between criminals, businessmen, the church, sport and the police. It's a messy business and it's laid bare here. I look forward to reading the forthcoming books that will make up The trilogy, and learning more about the secrets of Raskine House.


The Author

David F. Ross was born in Glasgow in 1964 and now lives in Kilmarnock. In 1992, he graduated from the Mackintosh School of Architecture in Glasgow and is now Design Director of one of Scotland's largest, oldest and most successful practices.

His critically acclaimed debut novel, The Last Days of Disco, was long-listed for the Best First Novel Award by the Author’s Club of London. National Theatre Scotland acquired dramatic rights for the book in 2015.

He completed a trilogy of Ayrshire-based books with The Rise & Fall of the Miraculous Vespas and The Man Who Loved Islands. All three novels have been translated into German, published by Heyne Hardcore (Random House). Welcome to The Heady Heights - his fourth for Orenda Books – was published in March 2019.

There's Only One Danny Garvey was shortlisted for Scottish Fiction Book of the Year 2021. It has been called 'a brilliant, bittersweet story that captures the rawness of strained relationships.'

David F. Ross is a regular contributor to Nutmeg and Razur Cuts magazines, and in December 2018 was chosen to contribute a poem commemorating the 16th anniversary of the death of Joe Strummer for the publication Ashes to Activists. In 2020 he wrote the screenplay for the film ‘Miraculous’, based on his own novel.

The Weekenders is David's seventh novel and the first in the Raskine House Trilogy.

The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter #blogathon

We've arrived at the first stop of our epic thirteen month blogathon celebrating the Robert Hunter series by Chris Carter. And as you would expect we're starting at the beginning with the first book in the series, The Crucifix Killer. Many thanks to Teach Fenton for the invitation to be involved. I read from my own Kindle copy of the book.

 

The Blurb

When the body of a young woman is discovered in a derelict cottage in Los Angeles, Robert Hunter is thrown into a nightmare case. The victim suffered a terrible death, and on the nape of her neck has been carved a strange double-cross: the signature of a psychopath known as the Crucifix Killer.

But that's impossible. Because two years ago, the Crucifix Killer was caught and executed. Could this therefore be a copycat killer? Or could the unthinkable be true? Is the real killer still out there, ready to embark once again on a vicious and violent killing spree, selecting his victims seemingly at random, taunting Robert Hunter with his inability to catch him?

Hunter and his rookie partner, Garcia, need to solve this case, and fast.

My Review

I've had the first eight Robert Hunter books on my Kindle, unread, for an embarrassingly long time - this blogathon was the perfect excuse for me to finally get into them. I went into The Crucifix Killer expecting dark, but what I got was DARK! Chris Carter has got some imagination! Fortunately, I like my crime on the dark side (not sure what that says about me!) - this certainly fits that brief! 

Hunter and Garcia are called to a murder scene in the wee small hours of night. The deserted house is creepy enough, but the body they find is...well, in a horrific state. But what's really terrifying is that the dead woman bears the mark of a killer who is no longer around. Or so everybody thought... A new nightmare begins for Hunter, Garcia and their colleagues. 

The Crucifix Killer opens with one heck of a bang! It sets you up and draws you in and certainly gives you a feel of what's to come. Then it's time to draw a (very quick) breath before you'll be back in the thick of the action. There is a sense of urgency throughout the book, certainly from the point of view of the police. And the reader, I think - there certainly was for me. From the killer's point of view, the urgency is less pronounced but they clearly have an agenda. Similarly, there's a sense of dread throughout. And it is quite chilling - I might have left the landing light on for a couple of nights when I was reading this...

Robert Hunter is a really interesting character. Youthful, attractive and fiercely intelligent. A child prodigy, he whizzed through education, and read all he could lay his hands on, it would seem. But he doesn't seem to have a big head, which I liked, and he is an honest cop, with a loyalty to his partner and the wider team. His department deal with the nastiest murder cases and we do see the toll that takes on both him and Garcia. The police work in this book is not glamorised in any way. And I loved the facts that are provided as part of the narrative but presented seamlessly - I found them really interesting. The only thing I didn't particularly like was that descriptions of people tended to be almost a list of their features, outfits, etc, all in a sentence of two. I don't know, it just felt like too much tell, not enough show. But this was a teeny niggle. 

The storyline is tense throughout, and the author doesn't hold back on the graphic details of the murders. It's not for the fainthearted. As a result, this book, and series, won't be for everyone. But it certainly got my heart racing and kept me hooked. I did guess the killer just before it was revealed, but hadn't worked out the reasons why. 

The Crucifix Thriller is a cat and mouse thriller, a  heart thumping race against time, a far cry from the usual police procedural. Robert Hunter is an engaging central character, (although I also loved Garcia) and it's great to see the author's own background in criminal psychology come through the writing. A really exciting read, I'm stealing must ahead of the next one!

The Author

Born in Brazil of Italian origin, Chris Carter studied psychology and rriminal behaviour in the USA. As a member of the District Attorney's Criminal Psychology team, and working together with the Police Department in numerous cases, he interviewed and studied many criminals, including serial and multiple homicide offenders with life imprisonment convictions. He now lives in London, UK.