Saturday 16 February 2019

Russian Roulette by Keith Nixon

It will come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog that I'm a big fan of author Keith Nixon. So today I'm delighted to be revisiting my review of his book Russian Roulette for the blog tour, and also to be sharing the updated blurb. The book features one of my favourite protagonists, Konstantin.

Huge thanks to Sarah Hardy of Book On The Bright Side Publicity for inviting me to join the tour.


The Blurb:

A reluctant investigator, a sordid English seaside town, a criminal underbelly.

Trouble has a habit of seeking out Konstantin, whether he wants it or not. Starting from the moment he arrives in the seedy seaside town of Margate where he’s supposed to be in hiding from his ex-employers. All Konstantin wants is to keep his head down and be left alone. But it’s not to be. People have their problems and Konstantin can't help but get involved.

Konstantin has to overcome the drug dealer, the loan shark and a Liverpudlian gangster. Then there’s the so-called good guys, the councillors and lawyers who are worse than the criminals. Enter Fidelity Brown, aka Plastic Fantastic, a dominatrix who has her own mélange of secrets and lies, and nightclub owner Ken who’s connected to all the wrong people. Both help Konstantin solve the cases dropped on his doorstep.

Cue deception, murder, mayhem as the Russian settles into his new life. Margate will never be the same again. And neither will Konstantin…

Meet the enigmatic Konstantin, a man with a dark history and darker future in the start of a unique crime thriller series laced with a healthy dose of black humour. Pick up Russian Roulette to find out what all the fuss is about.


You can buy Russian Roulette from Amazon.

My Review:

This was the fourth of Keith's books I'd read (more since), and  differed from the others with its injection of black humour. It features the enigmatic Russian, Konstantin, a support cast of colourful characters and the less glamorous side of Margate. And I loved it! It's a brilliant book.

I adored Konstantin, although I'm not sure I was supposed to! He was so brilliantly described, I have a very clear picture of him in my mind. And I'm a complete sucker for a man who speaks in accented broken English.

There is a huge range of lesser characters featured throughout the book, but my favourite of them was definitely Fidelity - great name, feisty and ballsy, but with a sad story. I loved the moments when they were together - their love hate relationship. I was also intrigued by the mysterious Mr Lamb.

The chapter headings are genius. Such gems as 'Super Tramp' (you need to be a certain age), 'Morning Glory', 'Glory, Glory Man United ', 'Strap It On', 'Out on a Lamb' and my absolute favourite 'And Bob Wanted to Puke'. There are so many more, but I don't want to spoil your fun.

This is a brilliant, fun book. Violent, yes. Dark, yes. But it has black humour running all the way through it. And it made me want to visit Margate.

I loved it and was delighted to see there are other books featuring Konstantin which I can't wait to get into.  I would urge you all to do the same, once you have finished this one!

You can find my review of the third Konstantin book, I'm Dead Again here.

Keith is also the author of the fabulous Solomon Gray series. You can read my reviews of the books by clicking on the title.
Dig Two Graves
Burn The Evidence
Beg For Mercy
Bury The Bodies

And finally, my review of Keith's standalone novel, The Corpse Role is here.

The Author:


Keith Nixon is a British born writer of crime and historical fiction novels. Originally, he trained as a chemist, but Keith is now in a senior sales role for a high-tech business. Keith currently lives with his family in the North West of England.

Readers can connect with Keith on various social media platforms:
Web: http://www.keithnixon.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/knntom
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/keithnixonauthor/
Blog: https://www.keithnixon.co.uk/blog


2 comments:

  1. Thank so much for being part of the blog tour and for the great review x

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Sarah, it was my pleasure! Love this book! x

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