July 2

One Way Out – A. A. Dhand

A bomb detonates in Bradford’s City Park.

When the alert sounds, DCI Harry Virdee has just enough time to get his son and his mother to safety before the bomb blows. But this is merely a stunt.

The worst is yet to come.

A new and aggressive nationalist group, the Patriots, have hidden a second device under one of the city’s mosques. In exchange for the safe release of those at Friday prayers, the Patriots want custody of the leaders of radical Islamist group Almukhtaroon – the chosen ones.

The government does not negotiate with terrorists. Even when thousands of lives are at risk.

There is only one way out.

But Harry’s wife is in one of those mosques. Left with no choice, Harry must find the Almukhtaroon, to offer the Patriots his own deal.

Because sometimes the only way to save lives, is to take them.

 

I received a review copy from the publisher. My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the chance to host this leg of the One Way Out Blog Tour.

 

Book four in the Harry Virdee series and the stakes are raised to the highest level.

Bradford is under attack, a devastating bomb blast causes carnage in a city park. Harry, his mother and his young son managed to flee the park and get to safety just moments before the explosion. Had it not been for the warning delivered by the terrorists this may have been a very short Harry Virdee story!

Once he ensured his mother and son would be safe Harry is immediately drawn back into the action. However not all his family are safe as Harry’s wife is trapped inside one of the city mosques. The terrorists have placed bombs inside a mosque but won’t reveal which one – if any of the visitors to any of the city mosques try to leave then the mosque with the bomb will be destroyed – hundreds will die.

The dilemma for the authorities is straightforward…turn over the leaders of a radical Islamist group to a Nationalist group or face the consequences of the mosque being destroyed. Four lives for a thousand. With the world watching who can make that decision?

It would be crass to use the phrase “blown away” when discussing One Way Out, however, this book delivers high drama and is a gripping read. I have raced through One Way Out over the last couple of days.

Harry’s family relationships have caused him significant conflict over the first three books. Matters take interesting turns in book four. This is great for returning readers and new readers will understand what is happening – but having books 1-3 under your belt will mean you get more punch from certain scenes.

As ever A. A. Dhand puts his characters through the wringer. Harry will rush in and place himself in danger as he battles to save his wife and the city he loves. The action comes thick and fast and the ticking clock which counts down on the fate of the trapped worshippers in the mosques means I kept reading to see how the predicaments could be resolved.

The Harry Virdee books should be on your reading wishlists. A. A. Dhand is not just putting Bradford on the crime fiction map, he is ripping up your old maps and crafting new landscapes with Bradford at the heart of everything. Don’t miss this one.

 

One Way Out is published by Bantam Press and is available in Hardback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PLNK6KY/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0

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February 5

Two Nights – Kathy Reichs

Meet Sunnie Night a woman with physical and psychological scars, and a killer instinct . . .

Sunnie has spent years running from her past, burying secrets and building a life in which she needs no one and feels nothing.

But a girl has gone missing, lost in the chaos of a bomb explosion, and the family needs Sunnie’s help.

Is the girl dead?

Did someone take her?

If she is out there, why doesn’t she want to be found?

It’s time for Sunnie to face her own demons – because they might just lead her to the truth about what really happened all those years ago.

 

My thanks to Random House, Cornerstone for my review copy which I received through Netgalley

A stand alone thriller from Kathy Reichs, a break from the Tempe Brennan thrillers which I have enjoyed for many years now. As a fan of recurring characters and getting caught up in an ongoing series, I should be vexed when an author breaks from the familiar to introduce new heroes to follow. However, there is always that fascination to find out what they may come up with when “unshackled” and able to cause havoc on new characters with no responsibility to keep them all alive so they can appear in the next book.

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised with Two Nights, it felt totally different from from a Brennan thriller (which I guess was the point). Sunnie Night is a complex character who is living a reclusive lifestyle until she is sought out and her services requested by a well-to-do client for whom money is no real object when it comes to tracing a missing member of her family.

A bomb explosion has robbed a family of precious lives, however, there remains some doubt that a teenage girl (related to Sunnie’s client) actually died in the blast.  Sunnie is engaged to find out if the girl may still be alive.  If she is to be successful Sunnie will need to understand why the girl may not have made herself known to her remaining family after surviving such an ordeal.

But Sunnie’s investigations will mean looking into why the bomb was placed and at those responsible. These are not people who will welcome snooping and Sunnie has put herself in the firing line – good job she is more than adept at outfoxing the tw0-bit thugs.

Something very different from Kathy Reichs but she knows how tell a good story and Two Nights is well worth hunting down.

 

Two Nights is currently available in Hardback and digital format with the paperback released scheduled for April 2018. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Two-Nights-Kathy-Reichs-ebook/dp/B019CGXMCK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1517871460&sr=1-1

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