Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds by John Everson.

I have a friend, author M.R. MacKenzie, who is a huge fan of the cult Italian gialli films of the 70s. I've still to watch one (cos I'm a bit of a scaredy cat 😂) but I've heard a lot about them from him and it was that which led me to today's book. Welcome to my blog tour stop for Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds by John Everson. With big thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy.
 

The Blurb

Somebody is murdering the Songbirds…

A modern Giallo, Everson's homage to the stylish Italian mystery thrillers. Somebody is murdering the Songbirds. When Eve Springer arrives in Belgium to study with the world famous Prof. Ernest Von Klein at The Eyrie, an exclusive music conservatory, it’s the fulfilment of a lifelong dream. But that dream is soon to become a nightmare.

When the star of the school’s piano program is strangled with a piano wire, the only clue to the killer is a grainy picture of the victim during her final moments, mouth wide and screaming, posted on the girl’s own Facebook account, alongside a classic music video. What does it mean? Eve soon finds herself taking the girl’s place as the enclave’s star pupil, in line for a coveted scholarship and a new member of the famed jazz combo, the Songbirds.

When Eve is drugged and another Songbird murdered at a campus party, she suddenly finds herself on the list of suspects. Another picture is posted online of the victim in her final moments, and this time, Eve is sure the hands around the girl’s throat… are hers! Could she have killed the girl while under the influence of whatever someone had slipped in her drink? The police and others at the Eyrie are suspicious; the murders began when she arrived. Her new boyfriend Richard insists that she could not be the killer. But who would want the Songbirds dead? One of the other Songbirds, like Gianna, the snarky sax player who seems to hate everyone? Or Philip, the creepy building caretaker and occasional night watchman? Or could it be Prof. Von Klein himself, who seems very handy with a camera and has a secret locked room behind his office where the light always seems to be on after dark?

Whoever it is, Eve knows she needs to figure it out. Because when a dead canary is left as a bloody message on the keys of her piano, she knows her own life may be in deadly danger.

Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds was published last month by Flame Tree Press. 

My Review

Before I start, can we just give some love to this cover? Very 70s, very cool, very giallo. 

This is one of those stories where pretty much everyone is a suspect, including our protagonist Eve, who at one point becomes a very unreliable narrator. After all, the murders don't start until she arrives from the US. The Eyrie is a dream come true for Eve, especially when she's picked to play as part of jazz group The Songbirds. Jazz is her passion, as Professor Von Klein discovers at their first meeting. But on joining the group, Eve discovers she is replacing a just murdered girl. And then she opens the piano to discover a dead canary on the keys... As more Songbirds begin to die, Eve takes matters into her own hands and decides to investigate. But so many suspects...

The majority of action takes place within The Eyrie itself, with occasional visits to the local coffee house where the band regularly perform) so there is a claustrophobic feel throughout. And we meet the black clad figure roaming the corridors early on, so there is always a degree of threat. There is quite a large cast of characters but some aren’t around long enough for us to really get to know them.  Eve is terrified, but determined to get to the bottom of things, often finding herself in the wrong place at the right time as far as the police are considered. I must also mention Professor Von Klein. Outwardly upstanding and well respected, but there are definitely some shady goings on privately. He was actually one of my favourite characters, not because I particularly liked him but because he is well drawn, fully fleshed out, and I was invested as to his whole story. 

And then there are the murders. The reason I haven't watched a giallo yet is because I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to jump scares on screen. Here there weren't really jumps because of the fulsome narrative but the killings sure are creative! And related to music in some way. For female readers, there is one particularly that might make you wince. But all hugely inventive, and entertaining, if you see what I mean. 

Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds is full on. The action starts in the first few pages and doesn't let up until the exciting, and actually quite sad, denouement. There is a colourful cast of characters and I loved the nod to jazz. I would love to have listened to one of The Songbirds shows. I wonder if the audio book, if there is one, contains any pieces of music - would be really cool if it did. And, as mentioned above, there are some clever crime scenes. My only slight gripe was that was perhaps too much narrative, too much information given and not enough opportunity for the reader's imagination to really spark up. But is Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds a modern day giallo, as the author aimed for it to be? It certainly feels that way to me and it's a worthy tribute to those films of the past. 

The Author

John Everson is a former newspaper reporter, a staunch advocate for the culinary joys of the jalapeno and an unabashed fan of 1970s European horror, giallo and poliziotteschi cinema. He is also the Bram Stoker Award winning author of twelve novels, including his latest New Orleans occult thriller, Voodoo Heart and The House by The Cemetery, a novel that takes place at a real haunted cemetery Bachelor's Grove – John Everson is a former newspaper reporter, a staunch advocate for the culinary joys of the jalapeno and an unabashed fan of 1970s European horror, giallo and poliziotteschi cinema. He is also the Bram Stoker Award winning author of twelve novels, including his latest New Orleans occult thriller, Voodoo Heart and The House by The Cemetery, a novel that takes place at a real haunted cemetery Bachelor's Grove – near where he grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago. His first novel, Covenant, was a winner of the prestigious Bram Stoker Award, and his sixth, NightWhere, was a finalist for the award. Both dealt with demonic and erotic horror themes.

 

His novels have been translated into Polish, German, Czech, Turkish and French. Praised by Booklist, Cemetery Dance and Helnotes;  Kirkus Reviews called his work ‘hard to put  down’, while author Edward Lee said, ‘Everson is a MASTER of the hardcore; he's the rare kind of writer who's so good  you can't proceed with your day until the book is finished.’ 

Over the past 25 years, Everson has also published four collections of horror fiction; his short stories have appeared in more than seventy-five magazines and anthologies. He has  written licensed tie-in stories for The Green Hornet and Kolchak The Night Stalker and novelettes for The Vampire Diaries and Jonathan Maberry's V-Wars universe. V-Wars was turned into a 10-episode NetFlix series in 2019 that included two  of  Everson's  characters, Danika and Mila Dubov. For more on his obsession with jalapenos and cult cinema, as well as on his fiction, art and music, visit www.johneverson.com. 

Badlands by Gary Kruse

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Badlands by Gary Kruse. Thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb

Surf. Sand. Smugglers. Murder.

Willow has run as far as she can.

From her home.

From the friends she betrayed.

From the family who betrayed her.

From her own name.

But a cry for help will bring her back.

Back to face her family.

Back to face the sins of her past.

Back to face the darkness at the heart of Cornwall.

In the search for her sister, Willow will face deception and betrayal, before she’ll find love – and herself. But will she uncover how close the enemy is, or will she become another victim of the Badlands?

Badlands was published through Darkstroke on 21st January 2022.

Purchase Link

http://mybook.to/badlandsdarkstroke

My Review

Anyone who has ever been to Cornwall will know it's beautiful, and not somewhere you'd naturally expect to find darkness and crime. But in Badlands it's against that beautiful backdrop that the action happens, and believe me, none of it is beautiful. 

Willow ran from home years ago, fled to the other side of the world, changed her look, changed her name and didn't look back. Until a mysterious, unsigned text arrives that Willow is certain is from her sister Ellie and that Ellie is in trouble. So she comes back to St Agnes in Cornwall to find her. In doing so, she must face the family and friends she left and confront  old wounds.

This is a book you need to pay attention to as various characters are don't use their given names. Also, there is a dual timeline aspect with details of events before Willow left teased throughout the book. But the author jumps between the two timelines without warning, so you need to keep your wits about you. Once I'd got used to it, I enjoyed that element as I feel it helps keep the reader's interest. 

The plot is generally fast moving and tense and there is an overriding sense of darkness. As Willow, and the reader, discovers more about Ellie's life she learns more about that darkness and in an exciting denouement finally confronts the source of it. I really like Willow. She's unapologetic, all tattoos and dreadlocks, and absolutely determined to discover the truth, not letting herself be put off by uncomfortable reunions. It's not a happy book but there is one lighter thread running through which is very welcome. 

There is a character in this book that will make your skin crawl. Outwardly decent and upstanding, he's actually evil and controlling. And yet, he feels he can justify everything he does. He elicited some very strong emotions in me. 

I was delighted to see that Kruse makes use of that beautiful Cornish coastline and brings it into the story. It's a character in it's own right. 

Badlands is a tense story of a broken family, damaged friendships, betrayal, deception, control, violence and murder. It's fast moving and keeps the reader turning the page. Full of action and heart, with a brilliant protagonist, I enjoyed it.

The Author

Gary Kruse is a multi-genre writer of flash fiction, short stories and novels. He lives with his family in Hornchurch on the Essex/London border.

He began writing as a teenager after seeing The Craft in the cinema and wondering what would happen if the coven of witches from The Craft came face to face with the Lost Boys (the vampires, not Peter Pan's crew!).

His work has appeared online and in print anthologies and his short story Mirror Mirror was shortlisted in the WriteHive 2021 Horror competition, and subsequently featured in the Duplicitous anthology.

His short story Hope in the Dark won first place in the November 2021 edition of the Writers' Forum Short Story competition.

Badlands is his debut novel.


Author Social Media Links

Twitter 
Instagram 
Facebook 
Website 

Darker Days To Come by Tony J Forder

I'm really pleased to be taking part in the blog tour for Darker Days To Come after being introduced to DI Jimmy Bliss last year. Big thanks to Donna Morfett for inviting me and to the author for my review copy.

  

The Blurb

Darker Days to Come, by Tony J Forder, is the the ninth full-length novel in his widely acclaimed UK crime series, based in Peterborough and featuring DI Jimmy Bliss. 

DI Bliss and his team absorb two new cases which don’t initially present as major crimes.

But who is the man who stepped in front of an express train? Did he willingly commit suicide or was he coerced? And what, if any, connection is there to an abandoned vehicle whose owner cannot be traced?

As Bliss and his team dig deeper they soon realise there are three people now missing – a journalist, a mother, and her young daughter. But as the investigations continue, the team struggle with too many unanswered questions. What they do know is that lives are at risk, and the chances of finding all three still alive decrease with each passing hour...

Darker Days To Come was published on 14th March 2022.


Buy Link

Darker Days to Come: getbook.at/DDtC

My Review

This is only my second Jimmy Bliss novel after The Autumn Tree because I (still) haven't had chance to catch up with the earlier ones. But I loved The Huntsmen, the first in the new Chase and Laney series and standalone Fifteen Coffins was one of my favourite reads of 2020. But back with Bliss, although there is still some back story I want to catch up with, everything I needed to know was in this book meaning that, whilst it's part of an established series, it works well as a standalone. 

Darker Days To Come is a slow burner, and focuses more on the police procedural side of things. Which means we see more of Jimmy's team as each of them brings their own skills to the team and the investigation. Tony Forder has created a very real, varied, and for the most part likeable, bunch of characters and it was fun getting to know them all a bit better. 

At the outset, nobody is sure that the two crimes featured in the story are serious enough for the Major Crimes Team or if they are even crimes. An abandoned car with minute traces of blood on the floor and a man who committed suicide on a railway track. But Jimmy can't let them go, his gut tells him there is more to it. And when the team can't trace the owner of the car and it looks like the family of the dead man might be missing, it looks Jimmy's instincts were right. But still no one is sure. 

I really like Jimmy. He's a stand up guy, firm but fair, with a lot of respect from, and for, his team. He sometimes suffers from a health issue but takes that in his stride, as do his team. He's more mellow in this book than the last and there is a conversation Jimmy has with partner Penny that made me cry - you'll know The one when you read it. Talking about Penny, Jimmy's relationship with her is one of my favourite things about these books. Tony Forder has written a fabulous platonic relationship between a man and woman who clearly have a lot of love and respect for each other - don't tend to see that much in books so I find it really refreshing. And I adore their mickey taking of each other, they are vicious (in a fun way)! I met Molly for the first time in this book although I know she's featured in previous books. Her relationship with Jimmy is refreshing and helps us see a different side of him. One of their conversations fair warmed my heart. 

But, of course, Darker Days To Come is a crime novel and things do get complicated, dark and threatening. Two seemingly unrelated stories slowly weave together until we reach a tense conclusion but there is plenty of jeopardy along the way. This is a slow burn of a story which allows us to focus on the team, on the characters within it, and above it, and Jimmy himself. And I think characterisation is one of Tony Forder's biggest strengths - he has created a protagonist and team of supporting players that the reader cares about, is invested in. The addition of a good storyline is the cherry on the cake. Really enjoyable.

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, were joined in December 2020 by a prequel novella, Bliss Uncovered. The series continued with The Autumn Tree in May 2021.

Tony’s other early series – two action-adventure novels featuring Mike Lynch – comprises both Scream Blue Murder and Cold Winter Sun. These books were republished in April 2021, and will be joined in 2022 by The Dark Division.

In addition, Tony has written two standalone novels: a dark, psychological crime thriller, Degrees of Darkness, and a suspense thriller set in California, Fifteen Coffins.

The Huntsmen, released on 4 October 2022, was the first book in a new crime series, set in Wiltshire. It featured DS Royston Chase, DC Claire Laney, and PCSO Alison May.

Tony is in the process of moving to Sussex with his wife and is a full-time author. He is currently working on DI Bliss #10 and the second DS Chase novel.

All of Tony’s links can be found on Linktree: https://linktr.ee/TonyJForder

Faceless by Vanda Symon

I'm so pleased to be taking part in the blog tour for Faceless, the new standalone thriller from Vanda Symon. Taut and tense, this was a great read. Big thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy.

Publication coincides with International Women’s Month and Homeless Women’s Day, with a percentage of profits to SHELTER.

The Blurb

Worn down by a job he hates, and a stressful family life, middle-aged, middle-class Bradley picks up a teenage escort and commits an unspeakable crime. Now she’s tied up in his warehouse, and he doesn’t know what to do.

Max is homeless, eating from rubbish bins, sleeping rough and barely existing – known for cadging a cigarette from anyone passing, and occasionally even the footpath. Nobody really sees Max, but he has one friend, and she’s gone missing.

In order to find her, Max is going to have to call on some people from his past, and reopen wounds that have remained unhealed for a very long time - and the clock is ticking…

 

My Review

I've read three of Vanda Symon's Sam Shephard series (Overkill, The Ringmaster and Containment) and really enjoyed them all so was excited to read this standalone. And I wasn't disappointed. 

Billy is a young Polynesian woman who has found herself living in the streets of Auckland. She is a talented artist and spends much of what little money she has on spray paint to create beautiful pictures on empty walls. But to make that money she has to turn tricks. She has one friend on the streets, Max, an older man she met in the early days and the two of them look out for each other. Max hates it when Billy works and when she disappears he is convinced something bad has happened and knows he must help her. But to do that, he must confront some of his own demons...

The story is told from four perspectives, that of Billy, Max, office worker Bradley and police officer Meredith. Bradley Fordyce is a put upon man - his wife seems to view him as pretty useless, he doesn't see enough of his daughters and although he works long hours in a thankless job, his bosses show no appreciation. But after things go awry with a young prostitute, he discovers what it's like to have a bit of power and control. And he likes it. A lot. We meet Meredith later in the story, a stand up kind of woman who knows how to do the right thing. Four wildly different characters but Symon has weaved some magic by throwing them together into an awful situation. 

The chapters are short and fast paced, with the perspective changing each time, so the reader never gets bored. The chapters with Bradley are often hard to read - he is awful, toxic and the pleasure he takes from what he's doing is abhorrent. I loved learning Billy's back story and admired her quiet inner strength. But it was Max I felt for most. What a beautiful, heartbreaking character Vanda Symon has created - and there were times he brought tears to my eyes. He is so well written (as are all the characters) and, whilst it could be argued that he's not the character that suffers the most but, for me, his journey is the most powerful one. He's a character that will stay with me. 

Faceless is a dark, tense and fast moving thriller full of menace and threat. It shines a light on the plight of the homeless, how they are rejected, abused or simply ignored. It's full of toxic masculinity, power and violence but also friendship, love and redemption. Vanda Symon has created characters and story that you will really care about. It's a powerful book that has really touched me. 

The Author

Vanda Symon is a crime writer, TV presenter and radio host from Dunedin, New Zealand, and the chair of the Otago Southland branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors. The Sam Shephard series, which includes Overkill, The Ringmaster, Containment and Bound, hit number one on the New Zealand bestseller list, and has also been shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award. Overkill was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger.


Author Social Media Links

Twitter: @vandasymon
Instagram: @vanda-symon
Facebook: @vandasymonauthor
Website: www.vandasymon.com

The Crux by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

I'm stepping right out of my comfort zone today, talking about women in the early 1900s with The Crux by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. My thanks to Kelly Lacey at Love Books Tours for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb

"In place of happy love, lonely pain. In place of motherhood, disease. Misery and shame, child. Medicine and surgery, and never any possibility of any child for me."

First published in her magazine The Forerunner, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Crux is an emotive tale on the nuances of female independence, social expectation and love in early 20th century America.

Following an all-female group who move west to open a boarding house for men, The Crux focuses on the experience of Vivian ― and her desire for the undesirable. Deeply in love with Morton, a charismatic young man infected with both syphilis and gonorrhoea, Vivian’s expected journey through her ‘marriage’ years is abruptly turned upside down.

Torn by her personal intuition, the advice provided by her female companions and the knowledge that Morton will never give her healthy children, Vivian is faced with a permanent choice ― to forfeit love for the benefit of future generations.

Balancing female and male perspectives on illness, personal preservation and nationalism, The Crux tracks Vivian’s path through heart break, emotional development and female camaraderie.

As an allegory for Gilman’s own branch of utopian feminism, The Crux is a story of sacrifice and partnership deliberation within the framework of 20th century disease hysteria, eugenic ideology and developing modernism.

Often omitted from her writing canon, The Crux is an integral aspect to understanding not only Gilman’s own writing ― but the history of feminism as a whole.

"The Crux is essentially a seminar in biological, feminine and social correctness. As stated in the original Forerunner publication, the novel was intended for a specific set of people - young and impressionable women primarily, followed by men and anyone else willing to listen. The Crux, in its barebones, is a nationalist parable for all of America to heed."
from Ambrose Kelly's new introduction to The Crux.

My Review

I wasn't aware of Charlotte Perkins Gilman before starting The Crux and thus was grateful for the detailed introduction from Ambrose Parry which not only sets the scene and context for the story but also gives an insight into Gilman's own life, passions and other works. One of those passions was to educate young women through her literature, particularly about sexual health, and The Crux was written primarily for that purpose. For young men too but mainly women. 

The story follows Vivian Lane, a young woman who wants to achieve things in life, make a difference, but who also feels the heavy expectation of duty - to get married, have children, stay home and look after the house, care for her parents. At seventeen years of age she falls madly in love with Morton, shortly before he leaves town, and their paths don't cross again for eight or nine years. By then, she has moved away with a mixed group of women and set up a boarding house for men. She is mixing with a variety of men, talking and dancing with them, experiencing a very different life from the stuffy one she'd had living at home with her parents. But Morton's reappearance in her life awakens buried feelings and forces her to make a very difficult decision. 

It was important for me when reading this to keep in mind when it was first published. Written and set in the early 1900s, attitudes towards women and understanding of sexual health have changed significantly (some may argue not enough, particularly for the former) since. It was great for me to familiarise myself with life at that time - attitudes, fashions, architecture and travel - really interesting. And whilst women were expected to adhere to certain expectations, those in the book who broke the mould were generally treated respectively by men, perhaps even admired? Whilst I liked Vivian, I found it difficult to warm to her but had a fondness for the older women her little group who had given up everything they knew to embark on an adventure. Loved that. 

Whilst the writing style in The Crux is somewhat old fashioned today and occasionally a little stilted the ideas discussed are anything but - female strength, empowerment and choice, employment, love, duty, sexual health and child bearing. An important piece of work. 

The Author

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860 – 1935) was an American humanist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry and nonfiction, and a lecturer for social reform. She was a utopian feminist and served as a role model for future generations of feminists because of her unorthodox concepts and lifestyle.