The Snake by Philip Gladwin

Today is my stop on the blog tour for The Snake by Philip Miller, which takes place in the world of SO19, a police armed response unit in London. Many thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the author for my paperback review copy. 

The Blurb

What kind of person knows they may kill before the day is out?

Kate Arden must soon find out.

It's London, 1999. A family tragedy breaks her heart and forces her into a new job with an elite police unit called SO19.

SO19 is all speed, power and adrenaline. There are fast cars, serious weaponry, unpredictable threats. It's disciplined, aggressive, and highly addictive, a very long way from regular policing.

Kate is one of a tight team of firearms specialists. Their job is to protect the people from those who would steal, kill and destroy.

Including one ex-marine sniper with a grudge ...

My Review

Kate suffers a terrible family tragedy and wants revenge. She's in the police but doesn't feel she has the skills she might need so she applies for SO19, a police armed response unit, where she'll be trained in the use of weapons. It also gives her a focus, as she had been struggling mentally since the tragedy. It saves her, to a point, because she finds a degree of comfort in her role. she also finds a familiar face on her team, but not one she particularly wants to see... 

The story is told from two points of view. It's mostly Kate's story, but we also see things from Gretten's point of view, and the reader knows that, at some point, the two main characters will meet.  

I really felt for Kate. The author portrayed her feeling well as she struggles with guilt and grief and further family upset. It's a lot.  She throws herself into her work, her new role as an armed officer, the only woman in a team of men. I was rooting for her from the start. Of course, I know nothing about armed response units but this feels very real and appears to be well researched. Gretton has had a hard time with his own trauma and initially I was sympathetic towards him. But, and I'm sure this happens often in real life, he doesn't get the support he needs for his mental health. And as the story moves on it's harder to feel sympathetic. 

Mental health features a lot in this book, which is not surprising given the job these officers do, and the different traumas that Kate and Gretton have been through, and I think the struggle to cope is something many readers will connect with and may perhaps have experienced (with different triggers, of course).

I enjoyed Kate finding her feet in the team, and the relationships and banter between the members of that team. I liked, too, that we went with them on their callouts. The boy in the horse made me sad, Mog left me conflicted. The tension increased towards the end which was great but the ending was a bit of a let down for me. But I see there is a follow up to The Snake planned, and it would be good to see Kate back in action. An interesting read. 

The Author

Philip Gladwin is a novelist, screenwriter, development executive and educator, with long experience of many different genres across TV, film and radio. Philip has over 60 TV broadcast credits in both primetime and children’s drama. He has developed for many long running TV series, and has been commissioned to write scripts by people like Lynda La Plante, Russell T. Davies and Tony Garnett. He is also strong at series construction, having worked on many bibles and series story documents, and has helped to create seasons of some of the UK's most loved shows, including Casualty, New Tricks, Grange Hill, Holby City and The Bill. The series of The Dumping Ground on which he was series script editor received two BAFTA nominations, including best Childrens’ Drama, and won a Writers Guild Award.

What We Were Hiding by Jonas Saul

We're back into the world of crime today with my stop on the blog tour for What We Were Hiding by Jonas Saul. As you can see below, Jonas has written many books but this is the first of his I have read. Many thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my paperback review copy. 

The Blurb

Ben Redfield built a life he refuses to lose—his business, his marriage, his name. 

So when a rival begins quietly dismantling everything he’s built, Ben doesn’t call the police. He doesn’t call a lawyer. 

He calls his estranged brother—with one instruction: make the problem go away. Clean. Quiet. Untraceable.

Instead, the wrong people start dying.  

Now Ben is exposed. The police are closing in. And someone is always watching.

He wanted one man gone. Now he’s the one being hunted.

Because once you step into a world built on silence, you don’t get to choose who pays the price.

My Review

Ben and his wife Eliza own The Stillwater House, a successful hotel in Savannah. Marcus Vale owns the Nocturne Savannah Hotel. The problem is that Marcus wants The Stillwater House for himself and Ben and Eliza are unwilling to sell it. And that's where the trouble starts. Ben is attacked, there is a fire in part of the hotel. Ben just wants it all to stop, so takes drastic action, which begins a whole new chain of events, far more serious...

The book is told from several points of view. Mainly Ben's and Eliza's but there are also some chapters from Marcus's point of view, and some from Ben's brother, Jason. Everyone has secrets. From each other, and some from the reader, to be discovered along the way. I found I didn't fully engage with the characters but the fast moving story kept me invested. There's a feeling of threat throughout all the  action, and I couldn't figure out how things would end, which was great. 

What We Were Hiding is a quick read, with a story full of action and peril that will keep you hooked. It's a great holiday read to pop in your suitcase. 

The Author

Jonas Saul is the bestselling author of the Sarah Roberts Series - more than two million sold - and has written and published over sixty thrillers. After acquiring an agent, he signed several deals in Los Angeles, with MadRiver Pictures optioning (currently in development) his Sarah Roberts Series -over forty books!

Jonas is regularly invited to be a guest speaker, teacher, or workshop presenter at international writing conferences and film festivals worldwide. He hosts an annual writer’s retreat in Greece, where he currently lives. He focuses his teaching on how to build tension and emotion in every scene and on every page, how he made it as a creator/writer, the path to success in this business, and the pitfalls to avoid. He also hosts a reading retreat in Greece, as well as yoga and hiking retreats with guest authors.

Author Social Media Links:
https://www.facebook.com/jonassaul/

https://www.instagram.com/jonassaul/

The Cutting by Michael J Malone

I have loved all the previous instalments in the eerie, atmospheric Annie Jackson Mysteries by Michael J Malone (search under his name for my previous reviews) so was really looking forward to The Cutting. Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me to take part and to the publisher for my review copy. 

The Blurb

The most dangerous voices are the ones no one else can hear…

Evie Cartwright first speaks to the dead as a child. When she leaves home for university, her gift takes a terrifying turn after she witnesses a brutal murder. By morning, she is haunted by a dead serial killer who refuses to leave her alone, and marked by a cut across her neck that never heals.

For the next ten years, Evie is driven from place to place, searching for a way to rid herself of the voice that torments her day and night. When desperation leaves her with nowhere else to turn, she arrives at the remote Highland home of Annie Jackson, hoping she will finally find answers.

As Annie and her brother Lewis begin to investigate, helped by an old friend with specialist knowledge of the occult, they are drawn into a dark and dangerous search that reaches deep into Scotland’s history. And some ghosts are not content to remain in the shadows…

My Review

Well, this was a creepy one! On her first night in a new city, before her university course has even begun, she witnessed a brutal attack, and sees something lurking in the shadows. That same something takes hold of her and refuses to let her go. Using her ability to speak to the dead,  she earns money across the world as a medium, constantly searching for people who might be able to help with her unique situation, before coming back to Scotland. She ends up near Annie's home and after overhearing people talking about Annie and doing her own research, Evie is convinced Annie is the right person to help her. 

Told from three different viewpoints, that of Evie, Annie and Annie's brother Lewis, and we also have flashbacks to a series of events towards the end of the 1700s. Annie knows she can't help Evie directly herself but the two women seek advice and help from Ina Hetherington, who has appeared in the series before. I love Ina. She's warm, welcoming and wise, and nothing much gets past her. She also has a huge knowledge, and a huge library, of the occult. And it's hard not to feel for Evie, having spent so long living with her own personal torment, not able to find peace, although she does make some dubious decisions. Meanwhile, alongside his work, Lewis is continuing his own investigation following events in The Howling, before everything dovetails together.

I love Annie. On one hand, she just wants to be left alone to live in peace, just a few shifts in the local cafe, but otherwise safe in her wee house. But she's also compassionate, and finds it hard to turn away those people who seek her out, looking for help. Like Evie. But,  goodness me, it leads her, and Lewis, into some difficult situations! And at the heart of the mystery there are often legends, voices and ghosts, and the atmosphere is tense, often eerie. As in previous books, the rugged Scottish countryside, plays such an important role it's a character in itself, and adds to the overall feeling of the book. 

The Cutting is another beautifully written entry in the Annie Jackson Mysteries series, telling of an awful crime centuries ago and its reverberations in the modern day. But also a very current mystery with a violent denouement makes up a huge part of the story. I don't know how Annie has the strength to carry on after all that she's been through, Lewis too, but I am very glad they keep at it because we get excellent books like this one. 

The Author

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines
throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. His dark psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number one bestseller, and is currently in production for the screen, and five powerful standalone thrillers followed suit. The Murmurs, The Torments and The Howling, the first three books in the Annie Jackson Mysteries series, were published to critical acclaim. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber), he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr, where he also works as a hypnotherapist.

Girls Girls Girls: One Woman's Experience as a Sex Worker in the 1990s by Shelley Stoehr

Extending my little break from crime fiction, I had the opportunity to read my first memoir in a long while. This one stood out for me because it gives an insider view of an industry that attracts much negativity. Big thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me on the tour and to the author for my review copy. 

The Blurb

In the recession-scarred landscape of 1990s New York City, a young writer and dancer faces a brutal economic reality: no one will hire her, not even to bus tables. When she impulsively takes a job as a topless dancer, Stoehr begins a nine-year journey through the misunderstood world of sex work, a journey that runs parallel to her struggles for artistic recognition and personal autonomy.

From the neon-lit stages of New York City to the debauched clubs of San Francisco, Stoehr chronicles the dualities of creating art while being objectified and of finding camaraderie among fellow dancers while enduring an increasingly abusive marriage. With unflinching honesty, she dismantles the stereotypes and stigma surrounding sex workers, revealing the humanity, resilience, and sisterhood that flourishes behind the curtain of societal judgment.

My Review

This memoir covers a period of about ten years, I think, when the author was a young woman, a trained dancer and already a published author, working on her second book when this one begins. She and her boyfriend, Frank, a photographer, are trying to establish a life together, but soon discover that pursuing their artistic dreams does not make it easy to pay bills. Even with Frank taking a day job and Shelley doing some dance teaching, there is still not enough. So Shelley begins to explore other options. 

Whilst topless dancing might not have been the author's ideal job, she settles into it. She becomes comfortable with exposing her skin and the job at least means she gets to dance, albeit in a different way from how she is used to, and she can earn more money doing that for a few shifts than she does teaching. Whilst Shelley is comfortable with it quite quickly, the same cannot be said for Frank. He already belittles Shelley, and this becomes worse, but, as for so many women, Shelley believes it to be her fault, that it's what she deserves. 

Over time, Shelley moves on to full strip dances, and some private and lap dances. She forms friendships with the other girls at all the clubs she works at, many of them close ones. That's one of the biggest things that stood out for me - the camaraderie and support amongst the dancers (in the main), and oftentimes, the fun they had. They weren't ashamed of what they did to make money, they owned it, but only to a degree, as many of them, the author, included, hid what they did from their families and other people in their regular lives. Another thing that stood out to me was it was the emotional cost of the work that was more wearing than the physical one, although that was heavy too. But listening to men unburden themselves, and performing an emotional role for them took its toll. And for Shelley it was coupled with a worsening situation at home with Frank, now her husband, leading to alcohol abuse, obsession and panic attacks. 

Girls Girls Girls: One Woman's Experience as a Sex Worker in the 1990s is exactly that - one woman's lived experience. And not all women in the sex industry then or now will have been through the same things. What struck me about Shelley's story was, as previously mentioned, the friendships and camaraderie between the dancers, but also that for Shelley herself, the clubs essentially became her safe spaces, away from the troubles of home. And she was a real grafter. The stripping was only ever a means to an end, to enable her to do what she really wanted to do, and she never have up. Her strength and perseverance are to be admired. 

The Author 

Shelley Stoehr is a prize-winning author, with awards from the De Groot Foundation, ALA, New York Public Library, North American Review, and more. She is the author of Crosses (1991)—the first YA novel about self-injury, published in five languages by Bantam Doubleday Dell (now Penguin Random House). Her website is www.shelleystoehrauthor.com where you can find a free reader’s guide and discussion questions for this book.