August 2

Zero Days – Ruth Ware

Her husband has been murdered and she’s the only suspect. What should she do?

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband Gabe are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. It soon becomes clear that the police have only one suspect in mind – her.

Jack must go on the run to try and clear her name and to find her husband’s real killer. But who can she trust when everyone she knows could be a suspect? And with the police and the killer after her, can Jack get to the truth before her time runs out?

 

I received a review copy from the publishers. My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the tour for Zero Days

 

I’ve never met a Ruth Ware book I didn’t like. These are books I actively seek out as I know the likely outcome is that I am going to be gripped for a few hours while wrapped in a a world created by a wonderful storyteller. Zero Days did exactly what I had expected – great story with a lead character I was fully invested in and rooting for them to overcome all the challenges she was facing.

Because I knew I’d be reading Zero Days I purposefully did not read the blurb and went in “cold”. The story opens with Jack Cross breaking into an office. It’s straight into the action as Jack is finding her way through the fence, over a wall or any seeking any possible route which will take her to the building she needs to enter. Guiding Jack’s progress and offering “helpful” advice is her husband – Gabe. He is at home and communicating with Jack waiting for her to infiltrate the target building and access their computer systems, that’s when his skills come to the fore as Gabe is a computer expert.

Despite their illegal endeavours the couple are breaking and entering with a valid reason. They are penetration specialists, routinely engaged by firms who challenge them to break into offices and stress-test their secuity protocols. Ideally their customers are hoping Gabe and Jack will fail but Jack seems to love the excitement of sneaking into buildings and snooping where she knows she’s not meant to be.

Jack’s having a good deal of success and manages to evade security guards and slip past doors which are meant to be secure but when she reaches the computer servers her good fortune wavers and Jack’s evening and her life will slide into chaotic dispair. While trying to access the server room Jack makes a mistake and alerts secuity to her presence. She flees the scene (Gabe on comms tying to help her) but she is caught and finds herself being escorted to the local police station. While this is not a new experience for Jack, her bad luck continues as their client is not contactable at 1am and she finds it hard to get someone to clarify to the police she is legitimately entitled to break into the building she was fleeing from.

Finally released from custody Jack returns home to the ultimate nightmare. She finds Gabe dead at his computer…murdered. Stunned into a shocked stupor Jack finally manages to pull herself together enough to call the police. However it soon becomes clear to Jack that SHE is the primary suspect in her husband’s murder. When it becomes clear to Jack the police are not listening to her claims of innocence she seizes the opportunity to escape from the police station where she’s being questioned and goes on the run.

But Jack can’t run forever. She needs to know what happened to Gabe. Why did his killer take some of his computer equipment? And, most importantly, how can she convince the police she isn’t a murderer?

Those questions are not going to be answered here – this is a spoiler-free zone and Ruth Ware has provided all the answers and much more besides in Zero Days. Best you grab a copy and find out more about Jack’s story for yourself.

What I can promise is that this is a pacy action thriller that will keep you turning the pages long into the night. Jack has few people she can turn to and the police know this so her options are severely limited. Her skills at infiltrating places she’s not meant to be will undoubtedly come in handy but how can she know where she needs to be? Ruth Ware skilfully takes Jack and her readers on a journey of discovery and shock revelations and it’s fabulous reading.

Another fantastic thriller from an author you really shouldn’t miss.

 

Zero Days is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. It is published by and you can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/zero-days/ruth-ware/9781398508392

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August 15

The IT Girl – Ruth Ware

Everyone wanted her life
Someone wanted her dead

It was Hannah who found April’s body ten years ago.
It was Hannah who didn’t question what she saw that day.
Did her testimony put an innocent man in prison?

She needs to know the truth.

Even if it means questioning her own friends.
Even if it means putting her own life at risk.

Because if the killer wasn’t a stranger, it’s someone she knows…

 

 

Ruth Ware always delivers! The IT Girl is another clever, twisty thriller which takes the reader deep into the lives of the characters and has you wondering which of the players in this drama can be considered trustworthy as the moving finger of accusation slides around seeking the rotten apple in the barrel.

This is Hannah’s story – the “then” and the “now” – events take place in present day where Hannah the bookseller in Edinburgh is expecting her first child and has just received some shocking news. But it is also Hannah’s story of “then” when, ten years ago, she was a new student at Oxford and finds herself sharing rooms with April.

April who died.

April who was murdered by the man that Hannah’s testimony helped put into prison.

The man who has died in prison.

The man that a journalist now suggests may have been innocent.

Hannah is tormented with the possibility she may have been instrumental in sending an innocent man to prison and she begins to reevaluate everything she saw on the fateful night April died. However we know from the “then” timeline that the man charged with April’s murder wasn’t quite so innocent and Hannah had some concerns over his behaviour. Watching the history of Hannah’s time at a Oxford play out while also reading of the consequences of everyone’s actions is fascinating and makes for an intense read.

The chapters flip between past and present and Ruth Ware’s control over the flow of facts and information is spectacular. You can’t know what will be important, misleading or character defining for Hannah and her friends so, as a reader, my opinion of characters and their level of guilt would wildly fluctuate on a regular basis.

If you want a book which will spirit you into the seemingly incomprehensible traditions and lifestyles of  students Oxford Uni then The IT Girl will show you how a gaggle of students cope (or don’t) with the death of one of their own. You may like or loathe some of the people but you will absolutely want to know what happens to them and that keeps the pages turning.

You can’t go wrong with a Ruth Ware thriller!

 

The IT Girl is published by Simon & Schuster and is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-it-girl/ruth-ware/9781398508354

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June 14

Falling – T.J. Newman

  • You just boarded a flight to New York.

There are one hundred and forty-three other passengers onboard.

What you don’t know is that thirty minutes before the flight your pilot’s family was kidnapped.

For his family to live, everyone on your plane must die.

The only way the family will survive is if the pilot follows his orders and crashes the plane.

Enjoy the flight.

 

I received a review copy from the publisher.  My thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to host this leg of the tour.

 

Starting this review with a trip to dictionary.com –

RELENTLESS

adjective

not easing or slackening; maintaining speed, vigor, etc.:a relentless barrage of bad news.
See also: Falling by T.J. Newman

 

This is a book with a lot of action to cover and the pace is…well it’s relentless.  From the opening paragraphs the reader is caught up in the fast evolving rush of danger and trauma and it’s not until you reach the end of the book you feel you can pause and take it all in.

Over the last few days I have seen several people sharing their thoughts on Twitter and more than one person has noted they read Falling in one sitting.  It’s very much that kind of story…you don’t want to stop and the story doesn’t offer many places where you feel you CAN stop.  Have I just described a page-turner?

If you read the blurb at the top of this page then you know a pilot is faced with the choice of crashing his plane and saving his family from kidnappers or landing the plane to save the strangers on board but this will result in the death of his wife and children.  The reader follows the pilot (Bill) and his family on the ground so we know exactly how their respective stories unfold.  We see the tension, the anger, the terror and their frustration. We also get to see the bad guys of the piece too and can understand why they have taken this course of action.

I don’t plan to get into the detail of how the story unfolds, to hint at some of the twists and turns of this drama would be veering into spoiler territory which is a no-fly-zone here.  Suffice to say a plane being held to ransom isn’t something which can be kept under wraps for too long and the story opens up from more than just a really intense family drama.

A June release for Falling is very appropriate as this book feels like a Hollywood summer blockbuster movie.  Take it all with a pinch of salt, engage popcorn mode and sit back to enjoy the thrill-fest.

This is the holiday beach read for this summer and for several summers to come. Pure escapism entertainment.

 

Falling is published by Simon & Schuster and is available in Hardback, audiobook and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/falling/t-j-newman/9781398507241

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October 20

Some Lockdown Reviews

Without being too subtle about 2020 – it has been a really crap year.  I have found my reading has really suffered and my reviews more so. Working from home has been a great relief but at the end of my working day I have felt little urge to shut down the work laptop only to remain sitting in the same spot and crank open my own laptop to draft a few reviews.

But that’s selfish behaviour – I have used stories to lift my blue moods and give me the escapism I needed. Maybe someone else would benefit from knowing about the great stories which brought me some respite and the authors and teams behind the stories worked so hard to get their books out there that I cannot simply pass them over without comment.   So here are some catch up reviews for books I have read “in lockdown”

 

Knife Edge – Simon Mayo

You never know where danger may come from…

6.45am. A sweltering London rush hour. And in the last 29 minutes, seven people have been murdered.

In a series of coordinated attacks, seven men and women across London have been targeted. For journalist Famie Madden, the horror unfolds as she arrives for the morning shift.

The victims have one thing in common: they make up the investigations team at the news agency where Famie works. The question everyone’s asking: what were they working on that could prompt such brutal devastation?

As Famie starts to receive mysterious messages, she must find out whether she is being warned of the next attack, or being told that she will be the next victim…

 

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley

 

I know that Simon Mayo has had a number of successful books which are aimed at younger readers so I was keen to see how the transition to the adult market would be recieved.  If Knife Edge is reflection on the excitement and tension he brought to his earlier books then I can see why his previous titles are held in such high regard.  This was a highly enjoyable thriller.

Focus is on Famie Madden, she works for one of the top media outlets in the country and on the day we join her story she is in the hot-seat for co-ordinating all the stories which are going to air.  However, Famie is soon to find the news is coming far too close to home – a series of murders in London all take place during the start of the morning rush hour. The attacks are clearly linked and must have been conducted by different people as they are spread around the city.  As more information starts to come through to Famie and her team they realise that all the victims are their colleagues.

It is a shocking opening to the story and Famie is impacted more than most as she had been in a secret relationship with one of the victims.  Naturally Famie wants answers so she begins to look into what story her colleagues may have been working on that brought about their terrible fate.

Knife Edge has all the thrills you need from a high stakes thriller.  After a dynamic start the pace does slow a touch but it’s a steady build up back to a corking finale.  While there haven’t been many opportunities to post recommendations for a summer beach read – Knife Edge falls into that category.  The paperback is out in March 2021 so keep this one in mind when the good weather returns and you are planning some relaxing downtime.    If you can’t wait that long then hardback, digital and audio copies are all available now!

 

Knife Edge is published by Doubleday and is available in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook format:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07WFS252B/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

 

The Photographer – Craig Robertson

 

The sergeant took some from each box and spread them around the floor so they could all see. Dozens upon dozens of them. DI Rachel Narey’s guess was that there were a few hundred in all. 

Photographs.

Many of them were in crowd scenes, some just sitting on a park bench or walking a dog or waiting for a bus or working in shops. They seemed to have no idea they’d been photographed.

A dawn raid on the home of a suspected rapist leads to a chilling discovery, a disturbing collection hidden under floorboards. Narey is terrified at the potential scale of what they’ve found and of what brutalities it may signal.
When the photographs are ruled inadmissible as evidence and the man walks free from court, Narey knows she’s let down the victim she’d promised to protect and a monster is back on the streets.
Tony Winter’s young family is under threat from internet trolls and he is determined to protect them whatever the cost. He and Narey are in a race against time to find the unknown victims of the photographer’s lens – before he strikes again.

 

I was at the launch of The Photographer and Craig Robertson gave a very powerful demonstration of the inherent creepiness behind an element of this story. It made me uncomfortable but made me really want to read The Photographer to see how the author addressed the issue in the book.

I was horrified to realise that a good many months (far, far too many) have passed since that launch event and that a review I thought I had written remained outstanding.  The good thing about a good book is that it doesn’t go away and on a recent trip to my local bookshop I saw copies of The Photographer on the shelves waiting to find new readers.  Go find it – this is a powerful and brilliantly told story.

Photographs – taken without the consent of the subject, or without the subject even knowing they were being photographed, have been found by DI Rachel Narey while she searched the home of a suspected rapist.  What was already a harrowing case has taken an even more sinister turn.  Narey is convinced her suspect is guilty of the rape she is investigating but now she wonders what other crimes he may have committed.  She will throw herself at this case in the pursit of justice and in doing so will bring danger to her home.

This is an incredibly tense read and it’s another cracking addition to what is already a brilliant series. Craig Robertson knows how to hold his readers attention and I found I lost huge chunks of time engrossed in The Photographer.  The scenes of tension and peril are nicely balanced out with lighter moments between Narey and Winter as their relationship further develops and they juggle their time between work and caring for their young daughter.

It is always a reading treat to spend time with one of Craig Robertson’s books – if you haven’t read any of his books before now then there is no time like the present to start!

 

The Photographer is published by Simon & Schuster and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06XKH76MX/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4

 

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May 6

Hunting Evil – Chris Carter

‘Every story one day comes to an end.’
As roommates, they met for the first time in college. Two of the brightest minds ever to graduate from Stamford Psychology University.
As adversaries, they met again in Quantico, Virginia. Robert Hunter had become the head of the LAPD’s Ultra Violent Crimes Unit. Lucien Folter had become the most prolific and dangerous serial killer the FBI had ever encountered.

Now, after spending three and a half years locked in solitary confinement, Lucien has finally managed to break free. And he’s angry.

For the past three and a half years, Lucien has thought of nothing else but vengeance.
The person responsible for locking him away has to pay, he has to suffer.
That person … is Robert Hunter.
And now it is finally time to execute the plan.

 

 

The Robert Hunter series by Chris Carter has become a firm favourite of mine over the last year or two.  I was typically late to discover this series so have been enjoying catching up on the earlier novels (whilst picking up the newer titles when they release).  All the books have stood up well as stand-alone thrillers but Hunting Evil is a sequel to an earlier title and even Chris Carter himself (in the intro) advocated reading An Evil Mind before picking up Hunting Evil.

Just for the record – I had not read An Evil Mind before I read Hunting Evil and while there are clearly spoilers for the earlier title I still had a blast with Hunting Evil so it can be enjoyed on its own.

For the new reader to this series – Robert Hunter is introduced and described in detail early in the book.  He is a Detective with LAPD’s Ultra Violent Crimes Unit and he deals with some of the most horrific murders I have read about during my blogging years.  These stories are not for the faint of heart!

Hunting Evil begins with a prison breakout.  Lucian Folter has managed to escape from a high security prison and is on the run.  His first priority is to get to safety, his next is to get Robert Hunter.  A dangerous game of cat and mouse is about to commence as Folter will stop at nothing to destroy Hunter and harm the people around him. A

Both Folter and Hunter have known each other for a long time and Hunting Evil sees each trying to outsmart/out-think the other. Folter leaves clues and messages for Hunter to decipher.  If Hunter can unravel the puzzle Folter leaves for him then he will save innocent lives.  If he fails then the price will be high and Hunter’s conscience may not cope the burden of responsibility.  It makes for hugely engaging reading.

The whole story has a high octane, fast paced feel.  The reader is caught up in the chase to bring Folter down.  Hunter cannot take on the challenge alone and along with LAPD, other agencies will get involved – a large taskforce but with Hunter at the helm steering the investigations towards the clues he is left by his old friend.

Throughout the book it seems inevitable there will be a coming together of the two forces. Hunter vs Folter.  With Folter holding all the aces it is hard to see how this can end well for the good guys.

This is a weighty tome – over 100 chapters and approaching the 500 page mark, yet I flew through the story as it was incredibly readable.  These are the types of book I enjoy the most.  A strong lead, great supporting characters, a deadly enemy and some extremely dark twists. The Robert Hunter books represent a high point in the release schedules, Hunting Evil delivered on every level.

 

 

Hunting Evil is published by Simon & Schuster and is available in Hardback, audio and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hunting-Evil-Chris-Carter/dp/1471179524/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RJF60C1BULIG&keywords=chris+carter&qid=1557077419&s=books&sprefix=c%2Cinstant-video%2C261&sr=1-1

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February 11

Gallery of the Dead – Chris Carter

Thirty-seven years in the force, and if I was allowed to choose just one thing to erase from my mind, what’s inside that room would be it.

That’s what a LAPD Lieutenant tells Detectives Hunter and Garcia of the Ultra Violent Crimes Unit as they arrive at one of the most shocking crime scenes they have ever attended.

In a completely unexpected turn of events, the detectives find themselves joining forces with the FBI to track down a serial killer whose hunting ground sees no borders; a psychopath who loves what he does because to him murder is much more than just killing – it’s an art form.

Welcome to The Gallery of the Dead.

 

My thanks to Rhiannon at Simon & Schuster for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

 

I can only say good things about Gallery of the Dead as I absolutely loved it. It’s a dark but totally gripping read in which Robert Hunter finds himself attending a murder scene and believing that the killer has been too efficient for this to have been his first kill.

From the opening chapter I was hooked – a woman arrives home, she potters through the rooms whilst chatting to her cat. It seemed all too normal, too domesticated and so I expected something nasty was about to happen.  Reading on my mind was whirring with possibilities over what Chris Carter could have in store…would she find something horrible? Is there someone in her house?  Will she receive a terrifying phone call?  From the very first paragraphs you are drawn in and you want to keep reading as you are sure something bad (really bad) is about to happen.

And it does.

Boom – he got me. And for the next few hundred pages Chris Carter was not letting me go – Gallery of the Dead is one of those rare gems where you don’t want to stop reading and the action and twists and shocks just keep coming. “One more chapter?” Hell no…I can give it another hour – at least.

Hunter is back in top form too (this is book 9 in the series).  Gallery of the Dead can be read entirely on its own, wholly self contained and easy to enjoy without knowing the back story.  His analytical mind and sharp eye quickly identifies “marks” left on the body of the victim (no spoilers here) and using the police database to search for similar occurrences he alerts the FBI to the murder he is investigating.

The FBI have already been aware of the killer (this is not his first murder) and they propose a liaison with the police.  The agent heading up the FBI taskforce is aware of Hunter’s skills and is keen to have him on board – but if you get Hunter you get his partner too and with that comes a wisecracking cop who will rub up the FBI agents in the wrong way. I loved the friction and rivalry between police and FBI and it was only made better by Hunter’s reaction to the sniping around him!

If you like a serial killer story, one which will not hold back on the grim detail and the sadistic nature of a murderous mind then you need to seek out Chris Carter’s books.  Gallery of the Dead is a brilliant read – entertainment to the max.

 

Gallery of the Dead is published by Simon & Schuster and is available now in hardback, audiobook and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gallery-Dead-Robert-Hunter-9/dp/1471156346/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1518307286&sr=8-1

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December 2

2016: My Top 5 Scottish Books

As a Scottish blogger I am always keen to read crime/thriller books set in my native land or tales written by fellow Scots. I love to read stories which are set in the towns and cities I know so well. I like when the characters talk like me and I enjoy knowing that I am being entertained by someone who knows what is meant by “getting the messages.”

Before I share my choices for my Top Ten Reads of 2016 I am taking this chance to highlight my Top 5 Scottish Books for 2016.

 

The Dead Don't Boogie5. The Dead Don’t Boogie – Douglas Skelton

A missing teenage girl should be an easy job for Dominic Queste – after all, finding lost souls is what he does best. But sometimes it’s better if those souls stay lost. Jenny Deavers is trouble, especially for an ex-cokehead like Queste. Some truly nasty characters are very keen indeed to get to Jenny, and will stop at nothing…including murder. As the bodies pile up, Queste has to use all his street smarts both to protect Jenny and to find out just who wants her dead. The trail leads him to a vicious world of brutal gangsters, merciless hitmen, dark family secrets and an insatiable lust for power in the highest echelons of politics.

There are not many authors that can inject massive doses of humour into a thriller and get the balance of laughs and thrills right. Douglas Skelton manages to hit that combination perfectly as he introduces us to Dominic Queste in The Dead Don’t Boogie.

Order a copy here.

 

 

Willow Walk4.  Willow Walk – SJI Holliday

When the past catches up, do you run and hide or stand and fight?

When a woman is brutally attacked on a lonely country road by an escaped inmate from a nearby psychiatric hospital, Sergeant Davie Gray must track him down before he strikes again. But Gray is already facing a series of deaths connected to legal highs and a local fairground, as well as dealing with his girlfriend Marie’s bizarre behaviour. As Gray investigates the crimes, he suspects a horrifying link between Marie and the man on the run but how can he confront her when she’s pushing him away?

 

SJI Holliday returns to Banktoun in the follow-up novel to 2015’s Black Wood.  I loved this story as it was deliciously dark and creepy with some nasty twists thrown in for good measure.  As an added bonus we get Susi Holliday’s fantastic characterisation – she creates the most believable people in her books, I swear that I have actually met half the people she writes about.

Order a copy here.

 

 

In Place of Death3. In Place of Death – Craig Robertson

A young man enters the culverted remains of an ancient Glasgow stream, looking for thrills. Deep below the city, it is decaying and claustrophobic and gets more so with every step. As the ceiling lowers to no more than a couple of feet above the ground, the man finds his path blocked by another person. Someone with his throat cut.

As DS Rachel Narey leads the official investigation, photographer Tony Winter follows a lead of his own, through the shadowy world of urbexers, people who pursue a dangerous and illegal hobby, a world that Winter knows more about than he lets on. And it soon becomes clear that the murderer has killed before, and has no qualms about doing so again.

 

A brilliant murder mystery which makes the most incredible use of Glasgow and its landscape.  Craig Robertson brings back Narey and Winter and introduces us to urbexing. In Place of Death was a fabulous read but it also got me looking at Glasgow in a whole new light too. When a book educates as well as entertains then I am never going to be unhappy.

Order a copy here.

 

 

Killer Instincts2. Killer Instincts – Linden Chase

There’s darkness in the heart of Tranquility. Society has developed reliable tests to detect psychopathy in individuals. Those with the disorder are re-classified as victims rather than monsters. The question remains though, how does a liberal society deal with the inherently violent impulses of human predators who live among us. In response a government think tank is launching an experiment, Tranquility; an island where psychopaths will be isolated and left to form their own community.

Zane King, an investigative journalist, has been given a tip-off by a high-level government source that something big is happening on a remote island. After a heart-stopping journey Zane manages to infiltrate Tranquility by persuading the citizens that he’s a psychopath just like them. It doesn’t take Zane long to realise that something has gone very wrong with the experiment but by the time he fully understands what the island is really all about the community is already imploding in a wave of monstrous violence. “Not for the faint hearted…

 

If Lord of the Flies were a slasher movie then you have Killer Instincts.  Loved the idea of a sinister, shadowy agency that controlled Tranquility. Loved the idea of the Hunt. Loved the unpredictable characters.  It is dark read. Very, very dark. But it’s really, really good.

Order a copy here.

 

 

a-suitable-lie1 A Suitable Lie – Michael J Malone

Andy Boyd thinks he is the luckiest man alive. Widowed with a young child, after his wife dies in childbirth, he is certain that he will never again experience true love. Then he meets Anna. Feisty, fun and beautiful, she’s his perfect match… And she loves his son, too. When Andy ends up in the hospital on his wedding night, he receives his first clue that Anna is not all that she seems. He ignores it; a dangerous mistake that could cost him everything.

 

A “wow” book. Michael J Malone tells a harrowing story of domestic violence in a book which is chilling, memorable and incredibly important. I don’t think I could claim to have “enjoyed” reading A Suitable Lie but I couldn’t put it down, I HAD to find out what was going to happen next.

This is a book which will stick with me for a long time to come. It was frequently too realistic for this reader and it tackled a significantly under-reported subject in a sensitive yet compelling voice.

One of the stand-out books of 2016.

Order a copy here.

 

 

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January 17

In Place Of Death – Craig Robertson

In Place of Death

A young man enters the culverted remains of an ancient Glasgow stream, looking for thrills. Deep below the city, it is decaying and claustrophobic and gets more so with every step. As the ceiling lowers to no more than a couple of feet above the ground, the man finds his path blocked by another person. Someone with his throat cut.

As DS Rachel Narey leads the official investigation, photographer Tony Winter follows a lead of his own, through the shadowy world of urbexers, people who pursue a dangerous and illegal hobby, a world that Winter knows more about than he lets on. And it soon becomes clear that the murderer has killed before, and has no qualms about doing so again.

 

My thanks to Craig and Simon & Schuster for providing a review copy.

 

I have been having a slow return to updating my blog since the turn of the year.  I HAVE been reading and the reviews of the books I have read will appear in due course. However I wanted to have a wee run of reviews of books that I loved to start the year – step forward In Place of Death: a wonderful crime thriller, based in Glasgow and a book which introduced me to the concept of urbexing.

Urbexing is the name given to the exploration of abandoned urban buildings or places. Places closed off to the public while waiting demolition, potential refurbishment or just falling to ruin. But to some these forgotten buildings represent a challenge – a place to explore while knowing your presence is forbidden. Individuals that enjoy urbexing do not seek to damage or loot the buildings they visit – just enter, have a look around and get back out again. Some take pictures, others share their experiences through specialist chat forums. But in In Place of Death one adventurer found a little more than he expected on his explorations- a very dead body.

Craig Robertson’s brilliant duo, DI Rachel Narey and photographer Tony Winter, are back in In Place of Death and are called in as part of the investigation. They find themselves pitted against a stone cold killer, butting heads with Glasgow’s criminal underworld and questioning the lost souls that have fallen through the cracks in the system and are riding out their days in hovels to keep them from the streets. It frequently made for tense or harrowing reading and Robertson handles these scenes brilliantly. He puts his characters through an emotional wringer and you cannot help but keep reading to see how they cope with the traumas that are being piled upon them.

Through brilliant narrative we are guided on a tour of some of Glasgow’s famous landmarks and the darker corners. If you are in any way familiar with the city there is an extra level of enjoyment to be had when familiar buildings and structures are introduced. It made me look at some parts of the city in a whole new light and now when I travel into work each day I am looking around Glasgow to see other potential sites where the Urbexers may have tried to explore. It should be noted that you do not have to know Glasgow to enjoy this side of In Place of Death, as the locations (and their historical significance) are deftly woven into the narrative.

Narey and Winter will each have to face their personal demons during the course of the story. The scenes set away from the actual investigation further developed the back-story of the characters and this will be a real treat for returning readers. Winter and Narey are characters I want to read about, I love where Craig Robertson is taking this duo and I hope it is not too long before we meet them again.

I read too many books each year which entertain without ever really capturing my imagination.  Not so with In Place of Death which had me hooked from the outset and had just the right blend of intrigue, humour, darkness and sheer nail-biting tension. A 5 star thriller from an author I strongly urge you to read.

 

In Place of Death is published by Simon & Schuster and is available in Paperback and Digital format:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Place-Death-Craig-Robertson-ebook-x/dp/B00MK376TI/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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