The Blurb:
FROM #1 BEST-SELLING AUTHOR IN AMAZON CRIME ACTION & ADVENTURE.
Children are disappearing from London parks. Caught on CCTV, they go in but never come out again…
Days after each disappearance, the distraught parents receive a hand-drawn picture of their child as an angel. A sign they’ll never see them again. The police have no clues or leads. All they have is a nickname for the abductor – the Archangel.
When Savage’s neighbour’s ten-year-old son Callum becomes a victim, he vows to find him, and catch this Archangel. Savage has his headstrong friend Tannaz to help him. This time it’s going to take more than her brilliant computer skills to find the truth. They’ll have to enlist the help of some new friends – and some old enemies.
As more children go missing, Savage realises the Archangel is a formidable adversary. Clever, elusive and terrifying. Savage also has the police on his back, watching his every move. The deeper Savage becomes involved, the more he realises all is not what it seems…
A twisty, chilling, action-packed thriller for fans of Lee Child and David Baldacci.
Savage Children is published today by Adrenalin Books and is available to purchase it from Amazon UK and Amazon US.
My Review:
I loved the first two books in this series, Savage Lies (review here) and Savage Games (review here). They were both stand out reads for me, so I was really excited for this one, and lucky enough to see an early copy.
Although this is the third in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone, as all you need to know is explained. But I heartily recommend you read the first two as they are awesome, and well worth taking the time for. You can also read a fab guest post Peter wrote about the inspiration for John Savage here.
John Savage has reached that point in his life when all he really wants to do is sit in his back garden in his lounge trousers and crocs with a good book and a bucketload of tea. But his young neighbour disappears - he went into the local park and never came out again. Then his desperate parents receive a drawing of Calum as an angel. And it turns out he's not the only missing child.
I am so pleased to see Savage back. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I'm a little bit in love with him. Underneath the tee shirt and elasticated trousers is a very fit man, with a serious set of skills and a heart for justice. He's an unusual protagonist, being older and retired, but that just makes him more interesting. It was also great to see Tannaz back. She and Savage are so different, but they complement each other, and I love their easy, relaxed relationship.
The story line is a disturbing one as it features children, but it's very original and tense, with a twist in the tale. It's quite high tech in places - Peter has clearly researched computer hacking, video analysis and manipulation.
There are some great new characters here, particularly Vikram, Carl Cooper and Sutcliffe. When I say great, I mean colourful, and really well drawn, not necessarily nice. Actually, not at all nice in some cases. Someone I wasn't keen to see again was Jeff Perkins. If you've read the previous books you'll know why but, if you haven't, all is explained. Anyway, he's back big time in Savage Children in a really interesting and creative development - really keen to see where that goes.
Although the story is serious, there is a lot of humour to be found in this book, often in the dialogue from Savage or Tannaz, but also in the writing. I loved Savage's explanation of how to use the word 'literally' properly, whilst disarming a gang member of his knife. It shouldn't work, but it does. There's a very funny description of Waitrose, and a genius name for a misguided group of paedophile hunters. And as with previous books there are a ton of movie references, with one film even suggesting a fighting technique.
Original, exciting and beautifully written, Savage Children is a strong addition to the John Savage series. I am already excited for the next instalment, particularly after reading the very end of this one. Please write faster, Pete!
The Author:
After studying to be an architect, Pete realised he wasn’t very good at it. He liked designing buildings he just couldn’t make them stand up, which is a bit of a handicap in an industry that likes to keep things upright. So he switched to advertising, writing ads for everything from cruise lines to zombie video games.
After becoming disillusioned with working in ad agencies, he switched to writing novels (or was it because he just wanted to work at home in his pyjamas?). He soon realised there’s no magic formula. You just have to put one word in front of the other (and keep doing that for about a year). It also helps if you can resist the lure of surfing, playing Nintendo Switch with your son, watching America’s Next Top Model with your daughter and drinking beer in a garden chair.
Author Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeterBolandWriter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeterBoland19
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7102414.Peter_Boland
Thanks so much for kicking off the blog tour today Suze x
ReplyDeleteIt was such a pleasure. x
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