Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Ed James

It’s been two weeks since our last visit to the Decades Library and I’d like to apologise for the unexpected interruption – though someone did contact me to say their TBR had breathed a small sigh of relief! What happened? Well I was having a super busy week at the day job and got half way through Thursday when I realised it was actually Friday and that I’d totally lost track of the days.

Rather than cut someone’s week short I decided to hang off for a week before passing Ed James the Library curators hat.

As ever I am mindful that this could be your first visit to the Decades Library so I’ll quickly explain why we are here. I am assembling the Ulitmate Library of books. I want my Decades Library to only house books which are loved by other readers. Each week I am joined by a new guest and I invite them to add more books to my library shelves. I ask that when they make their selections that they follow two rules:

1 – You Can Choose Any Five Books
2 – You Can Only Choose One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades.

Easy! Or so it may seem but I haven’t tried to select my own five choices (yet) so I can’t speak from experience.

This week I am delighted to welcome Ed James to my Decades Library. I reviewed Ed’s new book The Turning of Our Bones earlier this week (it’s almost like I try to plan these things) it’s a real corker – great twist on a serial killer story. You can read my review here: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=7166 Over to Ed now – he’s why you’re here today….

I’m Ed James, the writer of *checks notes* over forty police procedural books over the last eleven years. While I’ve worked with some publishers over that time (Headline, Bookouture and Thomas & Mercer), I’m now focused entirely on being an indie author, which gives me much greater control over what I write and publish.And what I do write and publish is a few series set in different locations. The DI Fenchurch books are set on the gritty streets of East London, and further afield, starring a detective whose own daughter was abducted. Vicky Dodds is a single mother solving crimes in Dundee and Tayside, where I grew up. Recently, I merged the eight-book Scott Cullen, three-book Craig Hunter and six-book Cullen & Bain series into Police Scotland, my attempt at a precinct series with multiple starring cops. And this year sees the launch of the DI Rob Marshall series, with THE TURNING OF OUR BONES on the 1st February marking my first new series in seven(!) years, with another three to come this year.

DECADES

FiftiesCOP HATER by Ed McBainThere’s probably a massive article that could be written about this, but in my opinion this book is where the police procedural started. Sure, there were detective books before this and there were books about cops before this, but the genre – as we know it – roots all its tropes in this series. The 87th Precinct novels are set in Isola, as NYC as Gotham or Metropolis are, and had a huge influence on the TV flavour of police procedurals as well as selling a gazillion novels. The series is a tour de force, running to fifty-five books published between this beauty in 1956 until 2005. If I manage anything like that, I’ll still be publishing books in 2061!COP HATER is a sharp shock. A cop dies and Detective Steve Carella leads the chase to find the killer. As more cops die, McBain weaves in other POV characters, all fully fleshed out, and curiously incorporates genuine police documentation (forms, filled out for the fictional case). One of the ways this book is intriguing is in the way the hero, Carella, doesn’t appear in the second novel – what a way to show that this is an ensemble series. The writing is crisp and feels modern, with a few caveats. Also, the first twenty or so are pretty lean 30-40k jobs, so as easy to read in a sitting or two as a Maigret, say. And I’ve read them all.

SixtiesPOST OFFICE by Charles BukowskiOkay, so this might’ve been published in the 70s but it was written in 1969 so I’m claiming that for this decade. Bukowski’s loosely fictional Henry Chinaski is a low-life. His life is grim and the people he associates with even grimmer. He’s an alcoholic and a womaniser. There is nothing redemptive about his story; he gets worse, if anything, and descends in the sequels. But the writing is so spare and propulsive that you want to revel in the misery of late 60s LA. Chinaski returned for all of Bukowski’s novels, save for the surreal PULP, and each has the same grim beauty as this.

SeventiesLAIDLAW by William McIlvanneyOn this side of the Atlantic, McIlvanney’s LAIDLAW lay the roots for Tartan Noir. (Again, arguably, but let’s not have that argument just now, eh?) It’s all here – a driven detective in a gritty city investigating a brutal murder, but what McIlvanney does, that few others have done, is focus on the effect of the murder on the community. This is character over plot and the ripples of the plot throughout them, each rounded out and human. If you analyse it, you see that the titular hero only appears in a handful of the opening twenty chapters – compare that with the modern model of a victim/killer prologue and everything seen through the eyes of detectives, with some latitude for an additional victim to add a ticking clock. His lyrical flourishes are second to none, sharp and precise in their beauty. He could’ve written one of these a year and been rich, but he only finished another two (in 1983 and 1991 vs this in 1977 with a partial prequel completed during lockdown by Ian Rankin) and the success of Taggart on STV could easily have been his. But he chose another path.

EightiesTHE WASP FACTORY by Iain BanksAn absolutely mind-bending debut from yet another author tragically no longer with us. In its short page count, THE WASP FACTORY creates a tiny world, isolated from the rest of Scotland but beautifully realised. One of the few authors who I read absolutely everything by, this and the CROW ROAD are truly national treasures. His sci-fi novels bend the mind in other ways. Curious and economical, debuts don’t come better than this.

NinetiesBLACK AND BLUE by Ian RankinThis was the first police procedural novel I ever read. I picked up a copy my mum had got out of the library and didn’t set it down until I finished. Legend has it that this is Rankin’s breakthrough and you can see why – it’s got the highest of high concepts; Bible John, a real-life serial killer, comes back to hunt down a copycat. While its pages focus mainly on Rebus, that dour but drily witty detective who investigates while his private life is in tatters, the snatches from Bible John’s POV add a dimension that shows the high concept is met by high execution. I won’t spoil it here (even though it did come out almost 25 years ago…) but the twist ending is incredibly brave for a break-through novel and probably contributed to the success.

I’ve read four of Ed’s five selections and I loved each of them. If ever there was a sign that I need to read Charles Bukowski’s Post Office then this is it! Huge thanks to Ed for taking the time to make his selections, any time I get to feature an 87th Precinct book on the blog is a good day!

DECADES WILL RETURN

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February 23

Paris Requiem – Chris Lloyd

‘You have a choice which way you go in this war…’

Paris, September 1940.

After three months under Nazi Occupation, not much can shock Detective Eddie Giral. That is, until he finds a murder victim who was supposed to be in prison. Eddie knows, because he put him there. The dead man is not the first or the last criminal being let loose onto the streets. But who is pulling the strings, and why?

This question will take Eddie from jazz clubs to opera halls, from old flames to new friends, from the lights of Paris to the darkest countryside – pursued by a most troubling truth: sometimes to do the right thing, you have to join the wrong side…

My thanks to Orion for the opportunity to read an review copy of Paris Requiem

In late 202o I listened to the audiobook of The Unwanted Dead. It introduced Eddie Giral, the police officer who was determined to investigate a crime which nobody else wanted him to investigate. I absolutely loved the story, raved about it A LOT on Twitter and I was delighted to see it win the CWA Gold Crown for best novel of the year.

I have been patiently waiting for Giral’s return (well quite patiently) and when Paris Requiem landed on my doormat it went straight to the front of my reading queue. I know I shouldn’t have favourites but as much as I loved The Unwanted Dead, I think Paris Requiem takes this series to greater heights. Paris Requiem – five stars and if I could give it more I would.

What’s it about then?

Detective Eddie Giral is a member of the Paris police force. It is 1940 and the Germans have occupied the city. The police are still to enforce the law but they must do so working alongside the Germans who have their own control over the city. It’s a fractious dynamic and Eddie is far from happy with the current state of affairs. Although we first met Eddie in the award-winning The Unwanted Dead. You don’t need to read the stories in order to enjoy Paris Requiem but as I adored The Unwanted Dead I would strongly encourage you to seek it out.

We meet Eddie in a closed down Jazz Club. He is a big fan of jazz but not such a big fan of empty clubs which house a dead body. Unfortunately for Eddie the reason he is in a closed down club is because there is a dead body which needs his attention. Bound to a chair and left to be found, the victim has had their mouth sewn shut with twine. A message? But who could it be for? And an even bigger headache for Eddie is that he knows the victim…he arrested him some months earlier and the man should still be in prison – so why is he dead in a club?

Eddie’s boss, Commissionaire Dax, has paired him up with the irritating Boniface. Potentially a decent cop but Eddie feels Boniface spends more time chasing women than he does chasing crooks. Together the pair try to find out why a convicted criminal was walking the streets before he met his untimely and unpleasant death. Worse still it seems he may not be the only criminal no longer serving their sentence – some of the crooks the pair helped capture will hold a grudge too.

Unfortunately for Eddie there are other matters to contend with. His son is trying to escape France, Eddie has not seen him for several months but someone else knows of his flight to freedom and is trying to use this knowledge to get some leverage with Eddie. Will Eddie be able to assist an enemy if it means safe passage for his son? There’s another son to worry about too – not his own but an old friend is looking for Eddie to help find her son. A soldier on the run and hiding from the German army will not have it easy, but when the soldier has black skin it gets even more complicated. Even Eddie’s connections with Major Hochstetter – the German officer who “assists” Eddie and the French police will not use his influential support to track down a missing soldier.

There’s a lot going on in Eddie’s life but Chris Lloyd manages to keep three or four different story threads constantly weaving around the reader. Even when there’s not a crime to occupy his mind Eddie can be found trying to encourage his local butcher to let him have a slightly larger cut of meat or begging his baker to give him a single loaf of bread despite Eddie not having his ration book. Life in occupied Paris still goes on and Lloyd shows the day to day problems all Parisians faced – sourcing fresh meat and bread being one of them.

It’s the wonderful blend of historical fact, crime fiction and sheer reading enjoyment which made me love the time I spent with Paris Requiem. Chris Lloyd breathes life into history and has created a compelling cast of characters. The murders, the escaped criminals, Eddie’s need to appease his boss, appease the Germans and keep himself safe while unknown forces try to kill him – you will be drawn into this story and will not want to stop reading. Especially when you hear about Capeluche – he’s a scary one.

Don’t miss these books. Get to know Eddie Giral. He’s having a rough old time of it but you’ll root for him from first page to last.

Paris Requiem is available now in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/paris-requiem/chris-lloyd/9781409190301

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February 21

The Turning of Our Bones – Ed James (audiobook)

The serial killer he couldn’t catch is dead….

Can DI Rob Marshall save his last victim before she dies too?

Met cop DI Rob Marshall is hot on the trail of the serial killer known as the Chameleon, who has abducted, tortured, and killed a series of young women in Northwest London. As they close in, the Chameleon—who switches identity to get close to his victims—shoots Marshall’s partner and escapes.

But when the Chameleon’s body is found two years later, Marshall must return to his home town of Melrose in the Scottish Borders and face the tragedy that’s haunted him for 20 years and made him leave in the first place.

The Chameleon’s final victim is still missing–can Marshall unpick the Chameleon’s latest identity in time to save her from a lonely death?

I am grateful to Ed James for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of The Turning of our Bones.

The Turning of Our Bones is the first book in a new series for Ed James. A perfect time to discover an author you may not have read in the past and for returning fans it is a chance to get to know some new characters and know this is an author who will put these characters through the emotional turmoil we seem to love to read about.

The story starts in London, a woman returning home late at night after a long shift finds her path is bloked by a large van. As she navigates her way around it she is attacked and becomes the next victim of a serial killer who has, thus far, managed to elude the police.

One of the key investigators is DI Rob Marshall. He has been working on a profile of the killer and believes he may have made a breakthrough but while a surveillance operation is underway the killer confronts Marshall and his partner. He draws a gun on the pair and opens fire. Faced with the choice of saving his partner’s life or chasing down the gunman Marshall has no real time to weigh up the options he makes his choice and has to live with the consequences of his actions.

Spin forward two years and Marshall is no longer working on apprehending killers for the Met Police. He has been moved to a role in traffic collisions and is counting down the days until he leaves the force. But an unexpected development sees Marshall leaving London to head to the Scottish Borders – the killer has been found. Despite escaping capture in London the man who haunted Marshall’s dreams has turned up in Scotland. Dead.

Marshall is heading to the Borders, he is heading home to confirm the body the police recovered is indeed that of the killer he had been hunting. When he arrives Marshall finds himself drawn into the world he thought he had left behind years ago. Old friends and family are all around him and new colleagues, challenging new colleagues, need to be won over if Marshall is to have any involvement in wrapping up the loose ends of his long-running investigation before he heads back to London.

I’d been enjoying the story while it was a London tale but when the action shifted to the Scottish Borders (a much overlooked location in crime fiction) I loved this book even more. Places I have visited but don’t really know came to life as Ed James thrust Marshall into the land of his childhood. Towns I’d considered to be part of a sleepy, rugby country suddenly took on life and a dynamic feel that I’d not associated with the area. Even better there was a frantic race against time predicament for the police to solve and a hidden enemy for the readers to puzzle over.

The crimes which are committed in The Turning of Our Bones are firmly in the dark and gritty side of crime fiction – this is the type of story I enjoy the most so it absolutely ticked all my boxes and I’ve already been recommending it to other readers.

I can’t wrap up the review without first giving the audiobook narrator, Angus King, the plaudits he deserves for his role in my enjoyment of The Turning of Our Bones. I’ve heard a fair few books which Mr King has worked on and he always delivers an enagaging performance. One of the most trusted names in my Audible Library, seeing Angus’s name on an audiobook will help sway me towards buying it. In the case of The Turning of Our Bones he has already shaped the characters for me and given them the life outwith the page, he is a joy to listen to when the action ramps up. And it ramped up to great effect in this book.

As I said at the outset of this review – a great opportunity to get into a brand new series. You can read The Turning of Our Bones and you’ll be ready for more DI Marshall stories as soon as they become available. Fabulous listening and a cracking read.

The Turning of Our Bones is available as an audiobook and also in digital and physical book versions. You can order a copy on your format of choice here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BKR181C3/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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February 10

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Ross MacKay

In January 2021 I threw open the doors to my Decades Library. At that time there were no books in the Library but I knew I wanted to fill those empty shelves with the very best reads for the Library visitors to enjoy. But how to ensure the best books were represented?

Filling the shelves with amazing and unmissable books was not a task I could take on alone, I didn’t have the depth of reading knowledge that I knew would be needed. So I decided to ask for help. Each week I am joined by a new guest (a guest curator) who adds new books to the library shelves and helps me ensure the selection of titles on offer is as good as it can be.

I have been joined by authors, bloggers and publishers – booklovers – and they each bring a fresh perspective on which books I should make available to Library visitors. But when I invite my guests to make their reading recommendations I set two rules which they need to follow (there’s gotta be rules):

1 – Select ANY Five Books
2 – You May Only Select One Book Per Decade from Five Consecutive Decades.

Easy? Have a go at making your own selections and see if you can nail down five books which were published over a fifty year publication span. The oldest book in the Decades Library was first published in the 1860’s – there have been many books released since then so coming up with five should not be too tricky!

But time to introduce Ross MacKay. Ross released his debut novel at the end of last year and is shortly due to appear at the Paisley Book Festival (more on this below). He had an extremely busy end of year at Cumbernauld’s Lantern Theatre as his adaptation of a classic story delighted audiences and he is officially one of the most supportive people I have met in all my years of blogging. He also picks great reading recommendations so this is where I had over to Ross….

Ross was the recipient of the William Soutar Award for Poetry 2020.

His debut novel, Will and The Whisp was published in 2022 to critical acclaim.

His plays have been performed across Scotland and his adaptation of Treasure Island premiered in Cumbernauld over the festive period.

Ross previously worked in theatre as the artistic director of Tortoise in a Nutshell. His productions toured across the world. His shows have received numerous prestigious awards including a Scotsman Fringe First for New Writing and a Critic’s Pick from The New York Times.

On the 19^th Feb, Ross is appearing at Paisley Book Festival with his novel, Will and The Whisp. This unique theatrical event will bring Will and The Whisp to life. Ross will read some of the most dramatic moments of the book while accompanied by an immersive soundscape, especially composed for the event by award winning musician, Jim Harbourne. Tickets can be bought here: https://paisleybookfest.com/programme/will-and-the-whisp/

DECADES

1970- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, John Le Carré

I had known of John or Carré’s books for a long time before I ever picked one up. They seemed quite bulky and serious and frankly a bit too Oxbridge for my tastes. But then I saw the film The Constant Gardener and was amazed to see it was based on a Le Carré novel. I first read it and then found Tinker Tailor. And it is long and dusty and very Oxbridge – my presumptions weren’t wrong but my tastes had changed. I got lost in the world. There is something sort of dangerously charming about a bunch of adults so institutionalised by their private education that they basically extend that worldview into the high stakes of espionage.

1980 – Foucault’s Pendulum, Umberto Eco

For me Umberto Eco is the absolute master. He is one of the few authors I re-read. I take months to read his work. I find it dense, layered and slippery. Just when I think I have it in my grasp I find the heart of the story has shifted while I wasn’t looking. Its like playing whack-a-mole with all the big ideas of the 20th century. And all the while he’s telling a story that is riveting too.

1990 – Northern Lights, Philip Pullman

Ahhh my heart. For a lot of children now my age, Harry Potter was the pinnacle. But for me it was Northern Lights. As a kid who loved bible stories and the idea of going to church (I know I was an odd one), I found Pullman much more exciting, dangerous and though-provoking than Rowling. I still do. And the ending to Northern Lights is still most vividly imaginative thing I’ve ever read.

2000 – Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel

Hilary Mantel does this thing where she sort of plumps someone with 21st century ideals into the past. Here she uses Thomas Cromwell as a sort of promethean figure bearing witness to and shaping British history. So what becomes compelling is how she uses this device to draw you ever closer to her subject. By the end of the trilogy I felt I knew the character inside out and yet was still perplexed by him.

I listened to this on audiobook and I vividly recall rewinding moments to hear them again.

2010- The Lie Tree, Frances Hardringe

So, remember two decades ago when I was waxing lyrical about Pullman. This book is the closest I have come to feeling that again. It is a brilliant book. Imaginative and brilliantly feminist without ever feeling preachy. I have kept this book on my bookshelf but I know as soon as my son is old enough i’m going to move it to his. I can’t wait to read it to him.

I really love the mix of fantasy, espionage and history which Ross has brought to the Decades Library. I am all too often tempted by recommendations and this week it is The Lie Tree which will be added to my future reading lists – it sounds like a dark warning wrapped in a novel.

I shared the link to Ross’s panel at the forthcoming Paisley Book Festival, there’s a really interesting programme from 16th to 19th February so if you’re in the area you may want to check it out: https://paisleybookfest.com/

DECADES WILL RETURN

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February 3

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Anna Mazzola

Welcome back to Decades as a new guest curator joins me to add new books to the shelves of my ultimate library. This is a project which began back in January 2021 and if you look back through the past two years of my blog posts you will find dozens and dozens of amazing book recommendations – as suggested by authors, bloggers and publishers.

This is my Decades Library. There were no books on my library shelves when I first started my mission to compile the ultimate reading library. I only wanted the best books to be found on the library shelves, books other people had read and loved – the books they would recommend to other booklovers. Each week a guest joins me and I ask them to nominate new books to be added to the Decades Library. But they can’t just select books at random, I have set two rules which they must follow…

1: You Can Select Any Five Books
2: You Can Only Select One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades

Easy? Have a go at choosing which five books you would pick. Which fifty year span do you think best reflects your favourite reading?

This week I am delighted to welcome Anna Mazzola to Grab This Book. I finally got to the opporutnity to meet Anna at Bloody Scotland last year – her panel with previous Decades curators, Douglas Skelton and D.V. Bishop, was one of my festival highlights. She was chatting about her latest book (The Clockwork Girl) and there was also lots of distrubing facts about nuns – you really had to be there.

Before I hand over to Anna to share her five Decades selections I shall draw your attention to this handy wee link which lets you browse and buy Anna’s books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anna-Mazzola/e/B01D4XL42M/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Anna is a writer of historical thrillers and Gothic fiction. Her third novel, The Clockwork Girl, set in Paris in 1750, is a Sunday Times Historical Fiction pick for 2022 and reached number 11 in the Sunday Times Bestseller list. Her debut novel, The Unseeing, won an Edgar Allan Poe award. Her fourth novel, The House of Whispers, is a ghost story set in Fascist Italy and will be published in April 2023. Anna also writes legal thrillers under the name Anna Sharpe, the first of which will be published in 2024.

When not writing or tutoring for The Novelry, Anna is a human rights and criminal justice solicitor, working with victims of crime. She lives in Camberwell, South London, with her husband, their two children, a snake and a cat.

DECADES

My Cousin Rachel, Daphne Du Maurier, 1951

I’ve never been able to decide which is my favourite: My Cousin Rachel, or Rebecca. They are both dark and exquisite and explore similar themes. My Cousin Rachel is perhaps the most haunting, however. It was written in 1951 when Du Maurier was at the height of her powers, and while it might on its surface be a romantic novel set amid beautiful Cornish estates, it is in fact a novel about female sexuality, poisoning and power.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson, 1961

The Haunting of Hill House is the more famous novel, but We Have Always Lived is, to my mind, Shirley Jackson’s masterpiece. Jackson wrote the book towards the end of her rather troubled life. The novel’s two female lead characters combine what Jackson’s biographer Judy Oppenheimer calls the ‘yin and yang of Shirley’s own inner self’. Constance embodies the domestic, while Merricat is strange, headstrong, murderous. A devastating and often darkly amusing exploration of everyday evil. One of my favourite books of all time.

Surfacing by Margaret Atwood, 1972

Surfacing was one of Margaret Atwood’s early works and remains one of her most unsettling. It tells the story of a young Canadian woman returning to her childhood wilderness home with her boyfriend and two friends to investigate the disappearance of her father. As the story progresses, we see the island exert an increasing pull on Atwood’s heroine, leading her into ever growing wildness.

Beloved by Toni Morrison, 1987

(Also loved Jazz, 1992). A huge, gripping, searing novel. I first read it when I was eighteen and it has stayed with me ever since. Beloved begins: ‘124 was spiteful.’ 124 is a house in Cincinnati in 1873 and it is spiteful because it is haunted by the fury of a baby whose throat was cut to make her safe from slavery. Not an easy read by any means, but an essential one.

A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel, 1992

Another huge and often bloody masterpiece, but this one is set during the French Revolution. Mantel’s main characters are the leaders of the Revolution – Danton, Robespierre and Camille Desmouslins, but we also see their wives and other lesser known characters. Complex, witty and brilliant. It was the first novel she wrote, though not the first to be published. Thank goodness she didn’t give up.

Huge thanks to Anna for these mighty selections. Some weeks I prepare the Decades list and I recognise for or five of the books as titles I have read and loved. Other weeks (including this week) I am reminded of why I need to invite guests to help me identify the best books to include in the Decades Library – big, powerful stories which I haven’t read but fully appreciate why they are held in such high regard.

I am adding We Have Always Lived in the Castle to my Audible library. Decades grows my TBR once again – the best outcome for me.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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January 31

Two O’Clock Boy – M.K. Hill

One detective. One killer. One shared secret.

Connor Laird frightens people: he’s intense, he’s fearless, and he seems to be willing to do anything to protect himself and those he loves. When he arrives in the Longacre Children’s Home, seemingly from nowhere, he instantly becomes hero and villain to every other child there.

But thirty years later, someone is killing all of those who grew up in the Longacre with Connor. Each of them has secrets, not least investigating cop DI Ray Drake. One by one, the mysteries of the past are revealed, and Drake finds himself in a race against time before the killer gets to him.

Who would kill to hide their secrets?

Two O’Clock Boy isn’t a new release as I have had it on my Kindle for ages. But it was a new read for me and with unbelievable timing I finished reading it in the very week Two O’Clock Boy is being republished by Head of Zeus so I get to be both tardy and timely with a single review.

When you’ve had a book in the TBR for a long time then finally bring it into the light to read the best reaction you can hope for is “Damn, that was a brilliant book – why did I wait so long to read it?” That was certainly my reaction to Two O’Clock Boy – it’s a dark one and the author has created a brilliant (and unpredicable) lead character in DI Ray Drake.

At the start of Two O’Clock Boy Drake and his team can be found celebrating. Promotions have been awarded and Drake is now a DI, his colleague – Flick Crowley – is the DS who will be given the challenge of investigating the gruesome murders which occur at the outset of the story. Note my use of the word “gruesome” only fair to warn you in advance that Two O’Clock Boy is on the darker side. There’s a lot of unpleasant stuff coming down the line and the early murder scene should set your expectations in terms of content.

For Drake the crime scene is going to rock his world. He knows the victims. He connects one of the bodies to Longacre Children’s Home – a place he hasn’t visited for many long years. Through a series of flashback chapters we see Drake as a teen and learn of his connection to Longacre Children’s Home where his cousin was resident at the Home and he tried to spend time in her company. But Drake’s presence wasn’t tolerated by the owner of the home or the couple who helped look after the children. Though to say the children were looked after is misleading – the children lived in terrible conditions, they were used in criminal activity and the Home’s owner would abuse the kids in his care. As a child Drake knew the place was a virtual prison for the children and he tried to highlight the danger they were in to his parents – influential members of the community.

Drake realises he cannot afford to have his connection to Longacre explored by his colleagues but can he stop Crowley getting to the truth? The stakes are raised when it becomes clear there is someone who remembers Drake as a child and that same someone is determined to end the lives of anyone connected to Longacre. Drake is in danger and it seems his daughter may also be at risk but he still can’t let Crowley know what’s really going on. This means the reader follows Crowley’s investigation, Drake’s own attempts to uncover the identity (and location) of the killer and through the flashback chapters we learn more about the plight of the children at Longacre. Those chapters which take in Drake’s teenage years also allow Mark Hill to drip more and more important detail into our awareness and we slowly begin to understand why events from the mid 1980’s are so important thirty years later.

I absolutely loved Two O’Clock Boy – though finding out why the book has this title was another shocking chapter. Having a lead character who was a senior police officer but wasn’t actively investigating the murders was a brilliant hook and I had to know how things were going to turn out. Early buy-in ensures this reader will be captivated to the story. To put it in blunt context…I normally read three or four books at any one time. While I read Two O’Clock Boy no other books got a look-in. That’s a sign of quality.

Two O’Clock Boy is re-releasing through Head of Zeus on 2 February 2022. You can buy a digital copy of the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BN9C26VL/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

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January 27

Decades: Compiling The Ultimate Library with Heather J. Fitt

It was this very week in 2021 that I launched my Decades quest. So before we go any further I’d like to wish the Decades Library a very happy second birthday. Little did I suspect my quest to compile one of the best digital libraries would still be ongoing after all this time. Despite a couple of unplanned breaks in the second half of last year (demands of the day job) I have been honoured to host so many incredible guests here at Grab This Book – each prepared to give up some of their time to talk about the books they love. I am beyond grateful for their kindness and the time they gave to keep the Decades Library growing.

But perhaps this is your first visit to the Decades Library? You are very welcome, please let me explain what’s about to happen. I set myself a challenge two years ago. If I had a brand new library which had no books on any of its empty shelves, which books should I bring to the Library to ensure it only offered the very best books to readers?

I quickly realised that I could not answer that question alone so I enlisted some help. Authors, bloggers, publishers, journalists have joined me over the last two years and nominated their favourite “unmissable” books which they think the very best library should offer. But I don’t just ask them to pick books at random – I made up rules. Two rules to be exact and this is why I refer to my library as the Decades Library.

1 – Pick Any Five Books
2 – You May Only Select One Book Per Decade Over Any Five Consecutive Decades

Easy! Or is it? Have a go at making your five selections and see how quickly you can nail down all five from five consecutive decades. It’s not by accident that after two years I still haven’t managed to make my own five choices.

But enough of my rambling, it is time for me to give way and allow my first guest of 2023 to take the floor. This week sees the publication of Heather J. Fitt’s second novel (The Flight) so what better time to let Heather tell you about five of her favourite books….

Heather was born in Scotland and after moving around Europe with her parents and sister, settled in Hampshire where she met her husband, Stuart.

After leaving the rat-race in 2018, Heather re-trained as an editor and proof-reader and entered the world of publishing. These days she works as a part-time freelancer and a part-time Commissioning Advisor for Bloodhound.

Heather was inspired to start writing her novel by the authors who have become her closest friends. Now the ideas are flowing she has plans to write several more over the coming years.

Her debut novel, Open Your Eyes, was published in 2022 by Bloodhound Books, and her latest, The Flight, was published on 26^th January 2023.

You can get Heather’s books here:

Open Your Eyes geni.us/OpenYourEyes_

The Flight https://geni.us/TheFlightCover

And Heather is online at all these places:

Twitter: @HeatherJFitt

Instagram: @heatherjfitt

Facebook: Heather J. Fitt Author

TikTok: @heatherjfitt

DECADES

1980s – The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

This is a book I borrowed from someone at school, and, despite its length, I devoured. It’s also one of the few books I’ve read several times over.

1990s – 13 More Tales of Horror by Various Authors

This is a bit of a cheat. I was a teenager is the 1990s – well, for most of them – and I LOVED all of the Point Horror books, so this anthology really represents all of them!

2000s – On Writing by Stephen King

I read this one in the last few years. I’m sure many people will have picked it, but it really is an excellent book and it’s not just for writers.

2010s – Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

To me, this is one of the best and most important fiction books that discusses domestic violence. To this day, the character Lee terrifies me.

2020s – Razorblade Tears by SA Cosby

Shawn Cosby is a fairly new author on the block, but when I read this last year I knew I was going to read everything he ever wrote. I would say it’s a book of our time, and don’t forget, “love is love”.

Brilliant! Five great selections to kick off the new season of Decades. I am always delighted to see horror stories added to the Library shelves (and we don’t have many short story collections) so the Point Horror collection made me happy.

My memory is awful but is this the first time a book has made it into the Library which was written by a former Library Curator? Elizabeth Haynes made her five selections last year and now Into The Darkest Corner has found its way onto the Library shelves. I would be greatful if someone with a better memory than mine can tell me if this is indeed the first time this has happened. Then I look at Razorblade Tears and it reminds me that Mr Cosby is very high on my wishlist of future guests – he just doesn’t know it yet. Does anyone want to warn him?

My thanks to Heather for these wonderful reading recommendaitions. Don’t forget to pick up your copy of her brand new book The Flight – published this very week: The Flight https://geni.us/TheFlightCover

DECADES WILL RETURN

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January 25

The Echo Man – Sam Holland

The murders have begun…
Across England, a string of murders is taking place. Each different in method, but each horrifying and brutal.

But the killer is just getting started…
Jess Ambrose is plunged into the investigation when her house is set ablaze. With her husband dead and the police pointing at her, she runs. Her only hope is disgraced detective Nate Griffin, who is convinced Jess is innocent.

And he’s going to shock the world…
Soon, Jess and Griffin discover the unthinkable; this murderer is copying the world’s most notorious serial killers. And now, imitation isn’t enough. The killer dubbed The Echo Man is ready to create his own masterpiece, and it will be more terrifying than anything that has come before…

I received a review copy of The Echo Man through Netgalley.

Do you like stories about serial killers? You do? Then I would suggest The Echo Man is the book for you as the killer in this story is paying homage to all the most infamous murderers from history and the body count is high. Really high. And Sam Holland isn’t messing around as The Echo Man is one of the darker crime thrillers I have read lately.

Not that I found any of those qualities to be a negative factor. I like the darker edgier stories and this book very much ticked all the boxes for me. But if you’re not a fan of the more descriptive crime scenes then I feel it only fair to warn you that this story may bring some uncomfortable reading moments.

Still with me? Good stuff. The Echo Man is tagged as being Major Crimes Book 1. Very pleasing to know as I liked the team of investigating officers and the author has done a great job of balancing their development and spinning a great murder mystery around them (while also throwing lots of dilemmas, murders and moments of terror into the paths of her principle cast).

Early in the story we meet Jess. She isn’t one of the investigative team but her life is about to radically change when a fire rips through her home and leaves her husband dead. Jess is the police’s primary suspect and when she sees the opportunity to take herself away from possible arrest she runs. But Jess doesn’t run too far and she finds a safe port in her personal storm when she meets Nate Griffin. Nate was a police officer but a year ago he had his own personal trauma and now he can’t be part of the Major Crimes Team – in fact Nate can hardly function such was the impact of his traumatic experience.

Nate does still have connections in the Major Crimes Team (family connections at that) so when events start ramping up and the body count rises he finds himself drawn back to the station and back to face his demons. As the pressure builds so too does Nate’s inability to deal with the investigation in a lucid and rational manner. Tension builds and builds under the careful moderation of Sam Holland and you’ll want to keep reading – I certainly did! It got to the point in the night I knew I could not put the book down until I had reached the end, I just had to know how things were to be resolved.

Great introduction to a new series and I’m very much looking forward to seeing where this may go next.

The Echo Man is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-echo-man/sam-holland/9780008461638

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January 24

Rivers of London: Deadly Ever After – Aaronovich, Cartmel and Bronfman

Illustrations from a mysterious book of fairy tales drawn in the late 1800s are coming to life in the 21st Century and causing havoc. The illustrations were originally painted by a Victorian artist called Jeter Day who disappeared one night in an enchanted forest when he was spirited away by tree nymphs never to be seen again…

Now, with the enchantment accidentally broken by Olympia and Chelsea, daughters of the river goddess Mama Thames, Jeter, twisted by his time spent with the nymphs, has returned to our world bitter and resentful. It is a world he neither recognises nor likes. All he wants is his life returned to him and woe betide any man who stands in his way. With Peter and Nightingale busy on another case, it falls to sisters Olympia and Chelsea with the help of the Foxes to stop Jeter and save the day.

My thanks to Titan Books for the review copy of Rivers of London: Deadly Ever After.

Deadly Ever After is the tenth Rivers of London graphic novel and delivers the quirky humour, supernatural dilemmas and the high levels of enjoyment which readers have come to expect from this series. The book collates the four comics which made up the Deadly Ever After story arc and I didn’t feel I needed any prior knowledge of events prior to this (as the introduction covers it well) and there wasn’t any unfinished plot to frustrate me as I wait for the next comics. As I tend not to pick up every graphic novel as soon it releases the completeness of Deadly Ever After is a real bonus. It also makes for a great pick-up book if, perhaps, you haven’t read all the stories which previously released – this contained volume can be instantly enjoyed and will likely encourage readers to seek out more of the books (assuming they enjoy it as much as I did).

As you may have guessed from the “Deadly Ever After” title, events in this story are taking in a fairy tale theme. Over 100 years ago an artist vanished in a London woodland – taken to another realm by the tree nymphs he had been seeking. Spin forward to the 2020’s and the artist, Jeter Day, has found a way to return and he wants to make good on the promise he made to his daugher all those decades ago and deliver a happy ending to the stories.

Unforunately for Chelsea and Olympia this means they have unleashed fairy story chaos into London. A group of friends who had attended a picnic in the woods near where Jeter Day vanished suddenly find their lives are mirroring fairy tales. One guest finds himself attacking Red’s grandmother, another falls into a deep coma after eating an apple brought to her by her stepmother…you can see how this creates problems.

Olympia and Chelsea can’t enlist the help of Peter Grant and Nightingale as they have a bigger problem to contend with in the London Underground so the girls need to find a solution alone. Or maybe with just a little help from a pair of foxes. I will admit to being a little disappointed initially that Peter Grant does not appear more in this story than in a brief cameo role. However, the story does stand well on its own and Grant’s absence gives Chelsea and Olympia a chance to shine and the story benefits from their strong dynamic. It’s the world of Rivers of London not individual characters which I find so appealing so give me a nice mix of horror/fantasy with humour and dark deeds and I am there and turning those pages.

As it is a graphic novel I do need to give a shout to the artwork through the book. It’s bright, detailed and gorgeous to read. Characters are easy to distingush, the panels are crisp, engaging and never feel fussy or overcrowded – it lets the story flow and gives weight to the words without feeling the dialogue is being lost or the action is getting too busy.

Once the story has been spun there is a bonus or two at the end of the book. Writer notes and panel guidance which would have been sent to the artist. It was fascinating to see what the author envisages when they outline each page of the comic and then have it displayed beside the finished page.

I was a Rivers of London fan before I picked up Deadly Ever After – this book just grows my fanboy credentials. Lots of fun was had and it makes me want to catch up on the graphic novels I’ve missed.

Rivers of London: Deadly Ever After is published by Titan Books Ltd and is available as a paperback graphic novel and on Kindle and Comixology. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/rivers-of-london-deadly-ever-after/ben-aaronovitch/andrew-cartmel/9781787738591

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January 16

The Library Suicides – Fflur Dafydd

`You can get in. But you can’t get out. Welcome to the library…

Twins Ana and Nan are lost after the death of their mother. Everyone knows who drove Elena, the renowned novelist, to suicide – her long-term literary critic, Eben. But the twins need proof if they’re going to get revenge.

Desperate to clear his name, Eben requests access to Elena’s diaries at the National Library where the twins work, and they see an opportunity. With careful planning, the twins lock down the labyrinthine building, trapping their colleagues, the public and most importantly Eben inside. But as a rogue security guard starts freeing hostages, the plan unravels. And what began as a single-minded act of revenge blooms into a complex unravelling of loyalties, motives and what it is that makes us who we are.

Hauntingly written, with a fresh, captivating voice, The Library Suicides is an intensely memorable and provocative literary read for fans of high concept thrillers that break the mould, and books about books and the concept of the written word.

I received a review copy of The Library Suicides from the publishers via Netgalley.

The Library Suicides was described on Waterstones website as a “captivating locked-room psychological thriller” those words made me think of a much darker tale than Fflur Dafydd’s excellent story. The description quoted above describes it as “an intensely memorable and provacative literary read” – yes to this. It’s quirky, clever and wonderfully constructed. I tend not to read books which get classed as “literary” as I don’t feel I am their target audience and I don’t have the depth of knowledge to compare these reads to other offerings. In the case of The Library Suicides, I had fun with the story and thought the characters were marvellous – I particularly enjoyed how easily they became real for me.

I didn’t get the gritty darkness I had expected from The Library Suicides and I think that’s taken some of the shine off the story for me which is a real shame as these characters do get the chance to shine under the care of Fflur Dafydd.

Twins Nan and Ana are a complex duo who have a plan. They are going to their place of work, the National Library, they will lock down the building, they will hold their colleagues hostage and – most importantly – they will have literary critic Eben Prytherch trapped inside with them. Exactly where they want him.

Nan and Ana’s mother, Elena, was a famous novelist but Eben was one of her fiercest critics – irrationally so. When Elena took her own life the blame was placed firmly at Eben’s door. Now Eben has been granted access to Elena’s diaries (all stored in an archive in the National Library) and he wants to tell her story, perhaps to absolve himself of some personal guilt? Or perhaps to find a reason to shift the blame on Elena’s death onto someone or something else? Irrespective of his motives it comes as a surprise when the Twins agree to allow Eben to read their late mother’s words. But the reader comes to understand the true reason for their motivation.

Not mentioned in the book description is the backdrop to The Library Suicides. The story is set in a time after a great disease has taken a toll on much of the population. There is a great fuss made when one character touches a stranger. Books and paper are no longer in use. Libraries are digitising and destroying as paper can transmit disease. I found the unexpected dystopian twist to the setting to be a real plus point in my enjoyment of the story.

You can tell I found this tricky to review. Many positive elements, humour and quirky characters which kept my attention long past the point I would have set aside a book which I felt “wasn’t really for me”. I had a real desire to find out how the twins would execute their plan (as it were) and once the stoned, ex-con security guard started to show a bit of initiatve and a desire to do the right thing I was totally onboard for the rest of the journey.

Not my normal read and a very different type of story than I had expected (that’s on me) great characters, moral dilemmas and a fascinating build up to…well to something I hadn’t expected…this book will shine and delight many readers.

The Library Suicides publishes in hardback on 19 January 2023 and you can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-library-suicides/fflur-dafydd/9781399711074

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