Kill A Stranger by Simon Kernick

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Kill a Stranger by Simon Kernick. Whilst not a new author to me it's been a while since I read any of Kernick's work so it's been great to reacquaint myself. My thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb:

WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO SAVE YOUR LOVED ONE?
AND DO YOU KNOW WHO SHE REALLY IS?

'Simon Kernick writes with his foot pressed hard on the pedal' Harlan Coben

They took your fiancée.
They framed you for murder.

You're given one chance to save her. To clear your name.
You must kill someone for them.

They give you the time and place.
The weapon. The target.

You have less than 24 hours.
You only know that no-one can be trusted...and nothing is what it seems.

'That thud you hear is Kernick whipping the rug from under your feet again.' The Times Best thrillers of the month

'An absolute master of the adrenaline-fuelled ride' Peter James

Kill A Stranger was published on 26th November 2020 by Headline as an ebook, audio book and in hardback. You can purchase it from Bookshop, Hive, Waterstones, Amazon or your usual bookseller. The paperback will be released in June next year. 

My Review:

Matt and Kate have recently returned to the UK for a few months from Sri Lanka, where they run a boutique hotel. They've rented a wee out of the way cottage and Matt is returning late after a night out in London with old friends. Not wanting to wake Kate he creeps into bed without turning any lights on, but is worried that, although he can feel her lying next to him, he can't hear his fiancée breathing. Turning on the light he is horrified to find the woman in his bed is not Kate. And she's dead. So begins Matt's nightmare... And Kate's not having the best night either...

The story is told in the first person from the points of view of the four main characters, so that kept me in my toes. The chapters are short, which I like (perfect for late at night 'just one more chapter' reading), and they keep things moving apace. And there's a wee hook at the end of each of them which just pulls you into the next chapters. The story moves backwards and forwards between events following on from Matt turning on his bedroom light and those at the police station a couple of days later with a couple of throwbacks to older events.

The storyline is tense and exciting, picking us up and tossing us around like a whirlwind as it moves between characters and timeframe. Each chapter reveals a little bit more about our main characters and most of it is not good - there are a lot of secrets in this group! I had an issue in that I didn't really like, or dislike, the main players enough to care about what happened to them. DCI Doyle would be the exception to this, as he seems to be a straight up guy, although we don't learn too much about him. From the others, I had the most sympathy for Matt, although that waned a little as time went on. I liked one or two of the supporting characters, Geeta especially, who provided me with a heart stopping moment later in the book. But the story, whilst a little outrageous, compensated for the lack of love I felt for the characters, as it fair licks along and easily kept me turning the pages. And I really wasn't expecting the reveals at the end. 

All in all, this is a face paced, tense and excting thriller with secrets revealed on almost every page. A fun way to spend a few hours. 

The Author:

'Well where do I start? I wanted to be a writer ever since I was old enough to pick up a pen. I started with one page stories that I illustrated myself (badly) and, as I grew older, the stories got longer. For a long time I just wrote for myself, enjoying the process of disappearing off to new, imaginative worlds, but eventually, while working as a salesman in London I experienced this desperate desire to get published.

'I've always been a huge crime fiction and thriller fan so I wrote a crime novel that, unfortunately, pretty much every literary agent and publisher in the land rejected. So I wrote another one with exactly the same result. I have enough rejection letters to decorate a whole house- three hundred in all-but finally I struck gold with my first novel, The Business of Dying, about a cop who moonlights as a hit man named Dennis Milne. It was released in 2002 (seven years after I first tried to get published!) and was described as 'the crime debut of the year' by The Independent, which was a very nice compliment.

'Since then I've written a book a year (fifteen in all now) as well as a total of three novellas. I specialise in very fast-paced thrillers set over a short space of time which I like to think grab the reader from the very first page and don't let go. My fifth novel, Relentless, was a Richard and Judy summer read, and the ninth and tenth, The Last Ten Seconds and The Payback, both reached number 1 in the UK book charts, so they're good, I promise!

'I don't have a series as such and most of the books can be read as standalones, but I do have recurring characters. Dennis Milne, my vigilante cop, returns in A Good Day to Die and The Payback, and my female detective, Tina Boyd - a woman who finds herself in dangerous situations seemingly at every turn - appears in the vast majority of the recent books.'

Sins of the Father by Sharon Bairden

Oh, I have been looking forward to this day for so long! Sins of the Father, the debut novel by crime fiction fanatic, blogger extraordinaire and all round lovely person Sharon Bairden was published yesterday and today I get to share my thoughts on it with you all. Huge thanks to Meggy at Red Dog Press for inviting me onto the tour and for sending my review copy. I've  since bought my own paperback copy. 
 

The Blurb:

Lucas Findlay thinks he has struck gold when he marries Rebecca, but she married him for one reason only - to destroy him.

Trauma runs deep

When her past comes back to haunt her, Rebecca begins to disconnect from herself and the world around her. As secrets are unearthed, she begins to fear for her sanity ... and her life.

Truth will out

With her world unravelling around her, Rebecca clings to her determination to make Lucas pay, whatever the cost.

Forgive his sins

But someone must pay for the sins of the father...

Sins of the Father was published yesterday as an ebook and in paperback by Red Dog Press and is available to buy from Red Dog, Bookshop, Hive, Waterstones and Amazon. 

My Review: 

Now I knew Sharon liked her crime fiction dark. And I heard her read the prologue of Sins of the Father at Bute Noir last year (remember real life book festivals... missing them hugely) and it was... dark. But that didn't prepare me for just how dark things were going to get. Please don't be put off by this - Sins of the Father is an amazing book which I absolutely loved, but it's not an easy read and covers some difficult issues. 

At the centre of the story is Rebecca who we meet at various different ages, starting when she is ten years old. Her father is absent and in recent years her mother's care of her has declined to the point of neglect as she brings a trail of unsavoury 'uncles' into their now filthy home. During this time Rebecca can turn to no one except the voices emerging in her head, particularly the loudest of these, Samantha. After a particularly awful incident Rebecca enters the care system but life doesn't get much easier for her. 

But we meet Rebecca some years later, grown up and successful, working in a charity for victims of abuse in the East end of Glasgow and married to Lucas who works elsewhere in the third sector. On the outside they appear to have a perfect marriage but all is definitely not as it seems. Rebecca has plans but can't shake the feeling that someone is watching her...

I mentioned the prologue above. We're in Rebecca's head and it's a wild, vivid and terrifying ride. The descriptive writing grabs you and pull you right in and it ends with a total OMG moment. 

The early part of the book is written entirely from Rebecca's point of view and it's utterly heartbreaking. The storytelling is detailed and descriptive and it was easy to imagine the terrible conditions in which Rebecca finds herself, the things she has to do and the damage they cause her. 

The second part of the book is told from several points of view, mainly Rebecca's but also from husband Lucas's and one or two others, and it seems all of them have secrets. We learn more about all the central characters as the story moves on and, to be honest, none of them are terribly likeable, but they are all wonderfully drawn. I could picture them all. And there is a vulnerability, about Rebecca that makes it impossible for the reader not to care about her. The tension rises as the story progresses and things start to unravel with a couple of big surprises along the way. 

As I may have already mentioned Sins of the Father is very dark and touches on some difficult subjects which might mean this isn't for everyone. But I would encourage you to try it as it's also descriptive, vivid, heartbreaking, haunting and beautifully written. A bold, confident and stunning debut. 

The Author:

Sharon Bairden is the Services Manager in a small, local independent advocacy service and has a passion for human rights; by night she has a passion for all things criminal. She blogs about books at Chapterinmylife and is delighted to be crossing over to the other side of the fence to become a writer. Sharon lives on the outskirts of Glasgow, has two grown up children, a grandson, a Golden Labrador and a cat. She spends most of her spare time doing all things bookish, from reading to attending as many book festivals and launches as she can. She has been known to step out of her comfort zone on the odd occasion and has walked over burning coals and broken glass – but not at the same time!

Whispers in the Dark by Chris McDonald

Good morning all and happy Saturday! Excited to be on my first blog tour for Red Dog Press with the fab Whispers in the Dark by Chris McDonald. Huge thanks to the lovely Meggy at Red Dog for inviting me and for my review copy. 

The Blurb:

Who will heed the call when Death comes whispering? 

Small time drug dealer, Marcus Stone and DCI Clive Burston had never met until one night in August. By the end of that night, both had been shot dead in a small bedroom in the heart of gang territory. DI Erika Piper is called to the scene but is at a loss to explain what's happened. How did these two even meet, let alone end up dead in what appears to be a strange murder-suicide? 

As Erika leads the investigation, another two bodies are found, killed in a similar fashion. One murder, one suicide. But who is controlling this macabre puppet show? As Erika delves deeper into the lives of the dead, the pieces begin to fit together and a number of nefarious characters crawl out of the woodwork - one of whom is almost certainly pulling the strings. 

A catastrophic event and a personal miracle threaten to derail the investigation. Erika must find the strength to continue, before the whispers catch up with her too...

Whispers in the Dark was published by Red Dog Press and is available to purchase from Red Dog or Amazon. 

My Review:

In preparation for today's tour stop I also read the first DI Erika Piper novel, A Wash of Black, to get to know the main characters etc. I really enjoyed it and my review will be up on Amazon and Goodreads shortly. You don't need to have read that before coming to Whispers in the Dark, which works perfectly as a standalone, but you may have a richer reading experience if you do. 

Erika's home life is settling down with Tom, a security guard, but her work life is as busy as ever. She is baffled by a strange double death which looks very much like a murder-suicide, except that it involves two people who shouldn't be anywhere near each other in a million years. Whilst she and the team try to get to grips with the mystery, another odd-matched pair of bodies turn up and things take a turn which is both confusing and sinister....

Erika is a cracking character. She's been through a couple of fairly traumatic events in the past but remains a very dedicated police officer. She works long hours and never really switches off. But she is ably supported by the men in her life - boyfriend Tom, boss Bob, partner Liam and new team member Andy. I got to know her a bit in a Wash of Black but this further cemented her in my mind - she's someone I'd like to share a bottle of wine with! McDonald writes very descriptively so the reader is given a good idea of what every character looks like  but it is never cumbersome. Likewise the scene setting is also very vivid. Again McDonald's descriptions are perfect and he manages to convey the whole scene in a few short sentences, sometimes just a few words, so it never knocks the story off kilter, never interferes with the flow. Sorry, I'm not doing a very good job at explaining what I mean! Basically, Chris writes well, and I loved meeting the wide variety of characters from police officers to grieving family members, from vicars to gang members - all have an air of authenticity which I appreciated. 

The story itself is original. And dark. I hate to imagine where the idea sprang up from! The author deals with a difficult, perhaps controversial, idea, as he himself notes in the acknowledgements, but I feel he handles it well and from a fresh angle. He seems to have done his research, notably in respect to the dark web, which enriches the story. It moves along at a good pace and there are some very tense moments, including the denouement. McDonald doesn't shy away from describing fear and violence.  There are some happier moments although even these are tinged with sadness. I might have had a tear in my eye at the very end...

Whispers in the Dark is a robust, original and well written police procedural with an engaging protagonist, a colourful cast off supporting characters and an unexpected antagonist. I really enjoyed McDonald's writing and look forward to seeing what he comes up with next. It's hard to know whether that will be more Erika, but I'd love to see more of her. A quick and very entertaining read.

The Author:

Originally hailing from the north coast of Northern Ireland and now residing in South Manchester, Chris McDonald has always been a reader. At primary school, The Hardy Boys inspired his love of adventure before his reading world was opened up by Chuck Palahniuk and the gritty world of crime. A Wash of Black was his first attempt at writing a book. He came up with the initial idea whilst feeding his baby in the middle of the night, which may not be the best thing to admit, considering the content. He is a fan of 5-a-side football, heavy metal and dogs. Whispers in the Dark is the second installment in the DI Erika Piper series, and Chris is currently working on his latest series, The Stonebridge Mysteries, to be published by Red Dog Press in 2021. 

The Heat by Sean O'Leary

Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Heat, a novella by Australian author Sean O'Leary. My thanks to Emma Welton at damppebbles.com for the invitation and to the author and publisher for my review copy. 

The Blurb:

Jake is a loner who works nights in a Darwin motel and lives at the YMCA. He’s in love with Angel, a Thai prostitute who works out of the low-rent Shark Motel.

A vicious murder turns Jake’s life into a nightmare. He must fight for his life on the heat-soaked streets of Darwin and Bangkok in the wet season to get revenge, and to get his life back

The Heat was published by Busybird Publishing in paperback and digital formats on 15th August 2019


Purchase Links:

Australian Bookseller 
Amazon AU 
Amazon UK 
Amazon US 

My Review: 

The Heat is certainly hot. The weather plays a huge part in this story - you can feel the heat and damp oozing through the pages. It's a short, relatively quick and easy read. But there is a lot going on in these pages. 

It was a surprise to find the book is written in the present tense and in the first person, narrated by our protagonist Jake. Jake's a complicated young guy. Now living in Darwin after troubles in his previous home of Alice Springs he works as a night porter in a motel. He's on medication for schizophrenia but also self medicates with dope and booze. And he gambles too much. His relationship with prostitute Angel is hard to categorise - more than a punter, but not quite a boyfriend. But he is in love with her and says 'my life is stagnant when Angel isn't in it' and she clearly has feelings for him. When she is brutally murdered his world is turned upside down and he decides to head to Bangkok to find Angel's family and to seek out the man he believes murdered her. 

I couldn't decide whether I liked Jake or not. He certainly frustrated me wasting his days smoking pot and wasting his money on bad bets. But he's a reader, so he has that going for him. And he reads our very own Ian Rankin, no less. O'Leary says, via Jake 'Great books, great films and all kinds of art, they can make the troubles of the world seem less harsh, sometimes they disappear altogether.' Couldn't agree more. Whilst Angel's death devastates Jake, his search for revenge begins a journey of growth for him. A turning point. 

This is a character driven story, and whilst Jake is the main player there are plenty of colourful supporting characters, and the police don't come out very favourably. Cooper is particularly vile. It's not a pretty read - O'Leary doesn't waste words and we see Jake's despair, fear and anger. And his sweat There's plenty of violence and bad language. It's raw.  But I enjoyed his journey. Because, for me, The Heat, as well as being a crime thriller, is also a story of a young man finding himself. A thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.

The Author:

Sean O’Leary has published two short story collections, ‘My Town’ and ‘Walking’. His novella ‘Drifting’ was the winner of the ‘Great Novella Search 2016’ and published in September 2017. He has published over thirty individual short stories and is a regular contributor of short fiction to Quadrant, FourW, Sudo, Close to the Bone (UK) and other literary and crime magazines. His crime novella ‘The Heat’, set in Darwin and Bangkok, was published in August 2019. Drifting and The Heat are both available on Amazon. His interviews with crime writers appear online in Crime Time magazine.

He has worked in a variety of jobs including motel receptionist, rubbish removalist/tree lopper, farm hand, short-order cook and night manager in various hotels in Sydney’s notorious, Kings Cross. He has lived in: Melbourne; Naracoorte; Sydney; Adelaide; Perth; Fremantle; Norseman; Geraldton; Carnarvon; Broome; Yulara; Alice Springs; Kakadu; Darwin and on Elcho Island-Galiwinku. He now lives in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, thinks that test cricket is the greatest game of all and supports Melbourne Football Club (a life sentence). He writes every day, likes travelling and tries to walk everywhere.


Author Social Media Links:

Website
Facebook 
Instagram  

The Boy Between by Amanda Prowse & Josiah Hartley

I am delighted to share my review of The Boy Between for my stop on the blog tour. Huge thanks to Kelly Lacey at Love Books Tours for the invitation and to the authors for my review copy. I have tried to put my thoughts down but I'm worried they've come out as one huge nonsensical jumble! I certainly haven't done the book justice, but I've tried.  This is a powerful, personal book with touched me and moved me to tears more than once. I would encourage everyone to read it. 

The Blurb: 

Bestselling novelist Amanda Prowse knew how to resolve a fictional family crisis. But then her son came to her with a real one… 

Josiah was nineteen with the world at his feet when things changed. Without warning, the new university student’s mental health deteriorated to the point that he planned his own death. His mother, bestselling author Amanda Prowse, found herself grappling for ways to help him, with no clear sense of where that could be found. This is the book they wish had been there for them during those dark times. 

Josiah’s situation is not unusual: the statistics on student mental health are terrifying. And he was not the only one suffering; his family was also hijacked by his illness, watching him struggle and fearing the day he might succeed in taking his life. 

In this book, Josiah and Amanda hope to give a voice to those who suffer, and to show them that help can be found. It is Josiah’s raw, at times bleak, sometimes humorous, but always honest account of what it is like to live with depression. It is Amanda’s heart-rending account of her pain at watching him suffer, speaking from the heart about a mother’s love for her child. 

For anyone with depression and anyone who loves someone with depression, Amanda and Josiah have a clear message—you are not alone, and there is hope. 

The Boy Between was published by Little A on 1st November 2020. You can purchase it from Bookshop (supporting indie bookshops) Hive (supporting indie bookshops), Waterstones and Amazon or your usual bookseller. 

My Review: 

Oh my word, my emotions went right through the wringer with this book - it has all the feels! 

Josh is a young man from a close, loving family, achieving well at school, predicted great grades with conditional offers from brilliant universities when he is suddenly hit by depression. Depression which gets so bad he makes plans to escape it. Permanently. This is his story, and the story of his mum Amanda as she comes to terms with Josh's depression,  tries to under it and work out how she can best support her son. There are some tough times for her, husband Simeon and other son Ben, but Josh has the hardest time of all. 

I was keen to read this book for two reasons. I live with anxiety based depression. I am fortunate never to have felt as low as Josh (there but by the grace...) but I know what it's like to feel empty, or to cry at everything. Or nothing. Secondly, I am the mother of two boys in their late teens who've both had their struggles (not depression). And I have often lay awake wondering if their dad and I had done the best we could for them, made the right choices, consulted the right people, etc. So I could relate in some small way to the words of both Josh and Amanda. 

The opening sentence of the prologue is 'The decision to end my life was one that came easily.' This book is very open,  honest and raw. Josh is unflinching about his moods, his frustration, his shame and his use of alcohol for self medication. He is also clear about why he felt that suicide was the way out. I can only imagine how hard it was for him to revisit that time for the writing of this book, it was difficult to read in places. For Amanda, to see her child deteriorating in front of her, and not knowing how to reach him must have been heartbreaking for her. Especially knowing that he wanted to end his life. It was certainly heartbreaking to read. There is a moment in the book when Amanda is trying to make Christmas jolly and fun in the hope it will lift Josh's mood. The extended family are hugely supportive but the joy doesn't get through to Josh. She writes 'Their words slid from his sadness and pooled on the floor for us to slip in.' I found that sentence both beautiful and heartbreaking. 

But there are two other people deeply affected by Josh's illness. Theirs is a blended family - Josh's friend Ben becomes his brother when Simeon marries Amanda. Simeon is incredibly supportive of Josh. And Amanda, of course. Arguably, he takes on more than most stepdads but he never once shirks his responsibility. Josh clearly appreciates Simeon and the way he speaks about him in an early chapter is just lovely. I had tears in my eyes. In a later chapter the stress of it all hits Simeon and it proves to be a turning point for the family. I was in tears reading it but so pleased they all opened up to each other. 

There were so, so many moments that touched me. It shows the power of an inspiring teacher and the damage caused by bad ones. When Josh takes part, very successfully, in a public speaking event, the head teacher says to him something like 'Well I never, who knew you could do that?' and Josh replies 'I did, Sir, I knew.' I cried that Josh had to say it but was so proud of him for doing it! 

This is a very personal story which Josh and Amanda been brave enough to share, and I know it will touch many people. Whilst more people are talking openly about depression, it's still not enough, and I really hope this will encourage more people to open up. Particularly young men. The suicide rate of men under  is very high and part of that is because men feel unable to open up. Josh was brave enough to open up to his family and then to the world via this book, so I hope any struggling young man who reads his story will reach out to someone close.  

Josh, thank you for sharing your story. I hope that you are very proud about how far you've come and how well you're doing. I'm so happy you're hopeful about the future. Thank you for your honesty. Amanda, I felt your pain. Thank you for being so open. The Boy Between is heartbreaking, heartfelt, honest, raw, beautiful and hopeful and will stay with me for a long time. Please read it. 

The Authors: 

Josiah (Josh) Hartley lives in an isolated farmhouse in the West Country, but close enough to Bristol to enjoy its music scene. He is an animal lover and servant to two French Bulldogs. Equally happy at a music festival or watching rugby with his mates, he likes the outdoor life and with Devon only a short drive away often heads to the sea to surf and sit on the beach watching the sun go down. After a stint at the University of Southampton and another at the University of Bristol and one unsuccessful suicide attempt, Josh decided to write about his descent into mental illness and the depression that has held him in its grip for the past few years. The Boy Between carries the overriding message that things can and often do get better. It’s a book of reflection, raw, honest and full of hope: the proof being that Josh is still here and now excited about what comes next. He is ready to catch any opportunities that life throws his way, quite a thing for someone who only three years ago was living in a world gone grey, ready to disappear from the face of the earth… 

Amanda Prowse likens her own life story to those she writes about in her books. After self-publishing her debut novel, Poppy Day, in 2011, she has gone on to author twenty-five novels and six novellas. Her books have been translated into a dozen languages and she regularly tops bestseller charts all over the world. Remaining true to her ethos, Amanda writes stories of ordinary women and their families who find their strength, courage and love tested in ways they never imagined. The most prolific female contemporary fiction writer in the UK, with a legion of loyal readers, she goes from strength to strength. Being crowned ‘queen of domestic drama’ by the Daily Mail was one of her finest moments. Amanda is a regular contributor on TV and radio but her first love is, and will always be, writing. This is her first work of non-fiction. 

You can find her online at www.amandaprowse.com, on Twitter or Instagram @MrsAmandaProwse, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/amandaprowsenogreaterlove.

The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly

A new book by Michael Connelly is always a cause for celebration, so I was delighted to be invited onto the blog tour for his latest, the seventh novel featuring lawyer Mickey Haller, which is out in the UK tomorrow. Many thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy.

 

The Blurb:

THE MOST IMPORTANT CASE OF HIS LIFE.

ONLY THIS TIME THE DEFENDANT IS HIMSELF

"The law of innocence is unwritten. It will not be found in a leather-bound code book. It will never be argued in a courtroom. In nature, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the law of innocence, for every man not guilty of a crime there is a man out there who is. And to prove true innocence the guilty man must be found and exposed to the world."

* * * * * 

Heading home after winning his latest case, defense attorney Mickey Haller - The Lincoln Lawyer - is pulled over by the police. They open the trunk of his car to find the body of a former client.

Haller knows the law inside out. He will be charged with murder. He will have to build his case from behind bars. And the trial will be the trial of his life.

Because Mickey Haller will defend himself in court.

With watertight evidence stacked against him, Haller will need every trick in the book to prove he was framed. But a not-guilty verdict isn't enough. In order to truly walk free, Haller knows he must find the real killer - that is the law of innocence... 

* * * * *

CRIME DOESN'T COME BETTER THAN CONNELLY.

The Law of Innocence is published tomorrow by Orion. You can purchase it from Bookshop.org, Hive, Waterstones, Amazon or your usual bookseller. 

My Review: 

I love Connelly's Bosch books but I'm a little behind with those featuring Bosch's half brother, lawyer Mickey Haller, so it's been brilliant catching up with him. And what a book to pick to do that as Haller has the fight of his life on his hands. And it was easy to jump back in as The Law of Innocence can easily be read as a standalone.

On the way back from celebrating a court win Mickey Haller is pulled over by a cop for a seemingly routine traffic stop until a dead body is found in his car boot. Mickey is charged with murder and remanded to jail whilst the State builds its case. And of course, Haller needs to build his own defence case, with the help of his team including his ex wife Maggie. And he has to do it from jail. 

You know what you're getting with a Connelly book. Fully formed, three dimensional characters and a cracking storyline which takes you to the wire. The Law of Innocence is no different, despite being set mainly in prison and the court house. The plot is tight as Haller seeks not only to clear his name but also to identify the real killer. The story, played out mainly in the court, is detailed and well thought out, with plenty of dead ends before reaching its denouement. 

I love Haller. It's hard not to see him as Matthew McConnechy, who played him in film of The Lincoln Lawyer, but I'm not sure that's quite how I see him. We certainly see him go through it in this book, and we see it through his eyes as it's written in the first person. Mickey's determination is not lessened by prison - after all, his life is on the line. But I loved that we see him falter and fret, see his fragility as well. His team are all fab, but I have a thing especially for investigator Cisco. I reckon he's my mind of man! It was great to see Bosch in the mix too. It w would be fair to say I didn't like Dana Berg - you'll see why when you read it. 

I found the courtroom scenes fascinating and loved the wee glimpse of prison life and how grim it was. The storyline took in corporate crime,  corruption, murder and lies. It was totally absorbing and a fab read from beginning to end. Will appeal to Connelly fans and new readers alike. 

The Author:

A former police reporter for the Los Angeles Times, Michael Connelly is the internationally bestselling author of the Harry Bosch series, and several other bestsellers including the highly acclaimed legal thriller, The Lincoln Lawyer. The TV series - Bosch - is one of the most watched original series on Amazon Prime and is now in its third season. He has been President of the Mystery Writers of America, and his books have been translated into thirty-nine languages and have won awards all over the world, including the Edgar and Anthony Awards. He spends his time in California and Florida.

To find out more, visit Michael's website or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.


Be sure to check out all the stops on the blog tour! 

The Ice Killer by Ross Greenwood

Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Ice Killer, the third book featuring DI John Barton, from Ross Greenwood. You can read my reviews of the previous books in the series, The Snow Killer and The Soul Killer, but today I'm sharing an exclusive extract from The Ice Killer.. Many thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation and to the author and publisher for providing the extract.

The Blurb:

Once, her heart was empty. Now it's filled with ice…

Ellen's therapist told her to forget the past, but the life she’s left with is boring. All she wants is to be happy and normal, but the approaching long bleak nights of winter loom heavy before her, especially as she'll be alone.

But when the secrets her mother put in place to protect her are exposed, Ellen learns the frightening truth. Her history is darker than she imagined. She's not who she thinks she is, and the real her is a very different person to the one that others have mistreated and exploited.

If there's hope of a future, Ellen must find answers about the past, and the new Ellen is less forgiving. This winter, there will be more than just discontent, and DI Barton will struggle in his hardest case to date.

How can he find the truth when all the victims and witnesses are dead?

The Ice Killer was published by Boldwood Books on 5th November 2020 and you can buy it here.

Extract:

I am not ugly, but neither am I beautiful. If someone described me, the word they would probably use is tall, even though I’m only five feet nine. It’s because I have slim, toned arms and legs but no bottom or breasts to speak of. Quantrill once said I had the arse of an old man, which I’ve tried hard to forget. Strong teeth and thick hair can’t make up for my normal aloof expression, which Scarlett calls my resting witch face.

I park outside Scarlett’s house in the lovely, peaceful village of Stilton and wait for the electronic gates to open. It must be nice to live here. Imagine being able to come and go as you please without speaking to anyone if you don’t want to. Although Scarlett says the isolation drives her mad.

It’s hard to say if we’re friends. If you looked the word up in a dictionary, it wouldn’t be a close match to what we have. That said, we attended the same senior school as well, and she was never outwardly unfriendly like some of her group. I never really fitted into any specific clique, and certainly not hers. I preferred the company of a rag-tag bunch who stayed together because we didn’t suit anyone else. I’m notin touch with any of them now. It’s as if, when school finished, we fled from each other in the hope of something better.

Scarlett and I flitted in and out of each other’s lives over the years. We bumped into each other in a nightclub a few years after sixth form finished and occasionally went out together or met for coffee. The acquaintance would gradually peter out, then we’d pick up months down the line. I suspect we don’t particularly like each other, but I have few other options.

I used to keep a diary for events such as tonight. I began doing this after my first Valentine’s date twenty years ago. I recall filling it in and thinking how we’d be able to look back at it and smile when we were married and retired. It was date four when I realised how crazy that was. This evening will be my twelfth Valentine’s date. I hope he doesn’t bring twelve red roses, although that might be a sign.

The Author:

Ross Greenwood is the bestselling author of eight crime thrillers. Before becoming a full-time writer he was most recently a prison officer and so worked every day with murderers, rapists and thieves for four years. He lives in Peterborough.


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Be sure to check out the other stops on the tour! 

Fifteen Coffins by Tony J Forder

So thrilled to be taking part in the tour for Fifteen Coffins. It was my first book by Tony J Forder but damn sure it won't be my last! Huge thanks to Sarah Hardy at Book on the Bright Side for the invitation and to Tony for my review copy.

The Blurb:

From the bestselling author of the DI Bliss series comes an enthralling mystery thriller.

The truth can set you free – or bury you.

When FBI Agent Sydney Merlot returns to her home town in northern California to wind down her late father’s PI business, she soon finds herself on the wrong side of the aftermath of a high school shooting.

Sydney’s childhood friend – who is now county sheriff – plus the local PD, the mayor’s office, and most of the town’s inhabitants, are convinced the horror ended when the gunman was killed. Now they just want to be left alone to mourn. But Sydney has other ideas – and she is not alone.

While having to work through her own personal grief, Sydney is openly intimidated and receives anonymous threats. After discovering she is under surveillance, she begins to fear for her life. During her investigation she gains several allies, but as the days pass, Sydney doesn’t know who to trust, and which new friends might actually turn out to be foes...

Fifteen Coffins was published yesterday and you can buy it here. 

My Review:

As I mentioned above this is my first read by Forder and I totally loved it. If it had been possible to read it in one sitting I would have done but unfortunately life and work got in the way. This is a fantastic story from beginning to end. 

The fabulously named Sydney Merlot (but imagine my disappointment when I discovered she drinks white wine?!) is on a leave of absence from the FBI to close up her late father's PI business in her home town of Moon Falls - finish any outstanding cases, chase invoices, tidy up the accounts and hopefully sell it as a going concern. She also intends to sell the house she grew up in as her life is now in San Diego. 

As she is sorting through things in her father's office she is visited by Dexter Muller, a sad, broken man, who came looking to hire the late Mr Merlot to investigate a local school shooting some months earlier. Fourteen students were killed and the perpetrator shot dead by the police. However, Mr Muller does not believe it was so clear cut. Sydney has no plans to take on any cases, just close existing ones. However, once she hears what Muller has to say, she believes his claims should, at the very least, be investigated and agrees to take on his case. By doing so she knows she will be opening a can of worms but she has no idea just how big that can is. Because Muller is the father of the fifteenth student to die that day - the young man that law enforcement believe carried out the attack. 

I adored Sydney. She's determined to give a grieving man a fair hearing and willing to lose friends over it, if that's what it takes. She's feisty and fierce but also vulnerable. She is so well written, completely authentic. There's a tiny moment early on with a bra which made me smile and shows that Forder knows his women! But not long after that, there is a scene where Sydney is thinking about her father and how there were times she pushed him away before coming 'back to where he waited with his arms, mind and heart wide open' (loved that line) before breaking down in tears of grief. So we see her at her worst as well as in happier moments - completely rounded. Dexter Muller really touched me. Although we don't see too much of him, he's a key character. And I could see the grief etched in his face, the fire which has gone from his eyes. Forder paints this broken man very well. There is a large, diverse cast of supporting characters who are all equally well drawn. 

The scene setting is detailed and beautiful. Small town America, the woods, the mountains, Sydney's father's cabin, the tiny Sheriff's office at the back of the library and Bob's Diner. Very atmospheric. I could picture all of them in my mind and want to go to Bob's for coffee and pie. In fact, I'd like to go with Sydney!

The story itself is twisty and never simple, and there is a sub plot about the car accident in which Sydney's father dies. This is not an action packed, all guns blazing kind of novel, it's more character driven than that, but it is tense throughout. Sydney's enquiries put the wind up pretty much everybody so there is a threatening undertone throughout. So many times I realised I was holding my breath. The hairs on my arms were up as Sydney felt as if her every move is being watched. The denouement is exciting, scary and, ultimately, heartbreaking. 

Fifteen Coffins tackles a difficult topic from a fresh point of view. It's never sensationalist and is respectful of its subject. I was totally absorbed from beginning to end. It's a beautifully written crime mystery with exquisite characterisation, striking descriptions and a detailed, intelligent and original storyline. It's easily one of my books of this year. I know it was written as a standalone but I have already petitioned Tony for more Sydney, and will continue to do so! 

The Author: 

Tony J Forder is the author of the bestselling DI Bliss crime thriller series. The first seven books, Bad to the Bone, The Scent of Guilt, If Fear Wins, The Reach of Shadows, The Death of Justice, Endless Silent Scream, and Slow Slicing, will be joined in December 2020 by a prequel novella, Bliss Uncovered. Tony’s other series – two action-adventure novels featuring Mike Lynch – comprises both Scream Blue Murder, and Cold Winter Sun. In addition, Tony has written two standalone novels: a dark, psychological crime thriller, Degrees of Darkness, and a suspense thriller set in California, called Fifteen Coffins which is released this month.

Tony lives with his wife in Peterborough, UK, and is now a full-time author. He is currently working on Bliss #8, The Autumn Tree.


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