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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June 17

The Desire Card – Lee Matthew Goldberg

Any wish fulfilled for the right price. That’s the promise the organization behind The Desire Card gives to its elite clients – but sometimes the price may be more menacing than anyone could ever imagine.

Harrison Stockton has lived an adult life of privilege and excess: a high-powered job on Wall Street fuels his fondness for alcohol and pills at the expense of a family he has no time for. Quite suddenly all of this comes crashing to a halt when he loses his job and at the same time discovers he almost certainly has only months left to live.

Desperate, and with seemingly nowhere else left to turn, Harrison activates his Desire Card. What follows is a gritty and gripping quest that takes him from New York City to the slums of Mumbai and forces him to take chances, and make decisions, he never thought he’d ever have to face. When his moral descent threatens his wife and children, Harrison must decide whether to save himself at any cost, or do what’s right and break his bargain with the mysterious group behind The Desire Card.

The Desire Card is a taut, fast-based thriller, from internationally acclaimed author Lee Matthew Goldberg, that explores what a man will do to survive when money isn’t always enough to get everything he desires.

 

My thanks to Emma at Damppebbles for the chance to join the blog tour.  I received a copy of The Desire Card from the publishers, Fahrenheit Press, so I could participate in the tour.

 

Harrison Stockton has given everything he has to his employer.  His family hardly see him, he works long unforgiving days, skips his medicals and lives life to an excess which has led to a deterioration in his physical appearance and his health is suffering.  But that is coming to an end as Harrison is about to be fired.  He hasn’t made the grade and his ruthless employer has decided he doesn’t get any more chances.

Naturally Harrison is devastated and tries to persuade his employers they should keep him. But the damage is done and Harrison is gone. However in a small chink of humanity there is a special addition to his severance – a card which offers the bearer the chance to have their desire fulfilled. Naturally there is a price to pay.

Harrison struggles to get his family to accept him now that he is jobless. They are so used to his absence they cannot adjust to him being around – naturally Harrison has no idea what his family do from day to day.

Harrison’s employment woes are not his only concern. A terminal liver condition leaves him facing an early death and rhe chance of finding a donor is slim.

Reaching out to an old friend in India Harrison travels to Mumbai. His friend has located a liver donor and can operate at his private clinic if Harrison can pay his way. The trip will change Harrison’s life but perhaps not how he expected.

When facing impossible choices can Harrison resist the lure of The Desire Card? One call to the mysterious people who operate the card and his problems could be solved. However the costs are high – how desperate does a man have to be?

The Desire Card is a terrific thriller – consequences and dilemmas, truth and many, many lies made this an engrossing read. Harrison is not the most likeable of characters but there is a compulsion to keep reading about him. Master of his own downfall or a weak man who will do what he can to survive?  Pages flew by as I followed his story and I have no doubt you would experience the same pull to this tale.

 

The Desire Card is published by Fahrenheit Press and is available in paperback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_the_desire_card.html

If you order a paperback copy of the novel, Fahrenheit Press also give you a digital copy – cool stuff!

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June 4

The Suffering of Strangers – Caro Ramsay

DI Costello faces a disturbing child abduction case; a six-week-old has been stolen and replaced with another baby. The swap took cold and meticulous planning, so Costello treads the seedy, Glaswegian backstreets for answers. She’s convinced that more than one young life is at stake.

Promoted into the Cold Case Unit, Colin Anderson reviews the unsolved rape of a young mother, whose attacker is still out there. Each case pulls Anderson and Costello in the same direction and, as their paths keep crossing, they begin to suspect their separate cases are dangerously entwined.

 

My thanks to Amber at Black Thorn for the chance to join the blog tour for The Suffering of Strangers.

 

An Anderson and Costello thriller from Caro Ramsay always brings the promise of a gripping story and unsettling themes.  This is the 9th book in the series, it can be read and enjoyed without reading the earlier titles (though returning readers will likely get more satisfaction/reward from the character developments).

The Suffering of Strangers has two main investigations for the reader to follow. Colin Anderson is investigating cold case crimes and turns his attention to an unsolved rape case.  Anderson knows the victim and also knows the long-lasting consequences of the attack.

DI Costello also has a harrowing case to contend with.  A baby has been taken. Left unattended in his mother’s car for just a few short minutes, baby Shoto is gone – in his place is another baby. A swap. An exchange. A nightmare for Shoto’s parents. Costello will need to work with child services to try to track down new mothers who may now be caring for a child that is not their own.

Two extremely emotive crimes and Caro Ramsay tackles them brilliantly to ensure the horror and consequence of each is forefront in the narrative.  This is a well crafted police procedural where the investigations are diligently pursued by the lead characters and the reader gets the real feeling of being included in their quest for the truth.

On a personal note, I love reading books where the location can play a key role in the development of the plot.  Glasgow shines in The Suffering of Strangers and while no spoilers are permitted in my reviews, the city and its history has a fascinating contribution to make and this delivered a very unexpected twist in proceedings.

Both investigations will bring surprises and by the end of the book there will be significant changes to the lives of Costello and Anderson.  This story will shape things to come.

Hugely enjoyable reading.  If Caro’s books are not on your radar yet then I urge you to grab a copy of The Suffering of Strangers and start catching up on this terrific series.

 

 

The Suffering of Strangers is published by Black Thorn and is available in paperback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L6GKVYH/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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May 30

Killer Impact – Linden Chase

As Tranquility comes to terms with the bloody repercussions of the events documented in Killer Intent, Zane King reluctantly sets off on a mission to finally find out the truth about the island.

Accompanied by self-acknowledged psychopath Travis and amoral mercenary Blaine, it’s fair to say Zane doesn’t rate his chances of success very highly.

And as expected, things don’t go smoothly, anything but.

Will Zane finally confront the shadowy forces behind the Tranquility Experiment?

Will he find the answers he needs?

Will anyone live to tell the tale?

In this thrilling conclusion nothing is as it seems, and nothing can be taken for granted as The Tranquility Trilogy stabs, shoots, strangles and gouges its’ way to a bloody and wholly satisfying conclusion.

 

My thanks to Fahrenheit Press for an early review copy.

 

All good things must come to an end and Killer Intent brings Linden Chase’s Tranquility Trilogy to its conclusion.  But before the final curtain is drawn Zane King has one more adventure to survive (possibly).

I have been eagerly awaiting Killer Impact as I was a huge fan of the first two books in the trilogy (Killer Instincts and Killer Intent).  The story began in Instincts with main protagonist, Zane, arriving on Tranquility Island to investigate what was taking place on the secretive island.  It was a bloody, violent and captivating story – Lord of the Flies with added brutality.

Then came Intent, Zane out of the frying pan and into the fire with another desperate fight for survival.  Tranquility island is perhaps the most inappropriately named location on the map!

Now Killer Impact will give the readers some answers.  The battlegrounds of Tranquility are left behind as Zane and his psychotic companions Travis and Blaine will meet the people behind the Tranquility Project.  There are answers to be found but it is clear there are also questions still to be asked and answered about the Project.  Those behind Tranquility need to consider if their venture was successful, has the Project got scope to continue or should it be shut down?

The people behind Tranquility are not in agreement as to how to proceed.  Unfortunately for Zane, Travis and Blaine this means they are pawns in a new game.  Political powerplays using psychopaths as test subjects leaves all parties at risk of making fatal mistakes. Some will find this out the hard way and Zane cannot know who to trust – worse still is the prospect of trying to help the wrong side and being caught up in the fallout.

Linden Chase rounds off the Tranquility Trilogy in the only way I wanted.  More blood gets shed. Alliances are shattered and the body count is high.  Throw in lots of sex, cussing and destruction of property and all the ingredients are there for a roller-coaster of a read.

 

 

Killer Impact is published in paperback and digital format by Fahrenheit Press.  You can order a copy on the link below – if you buy the paperback then you get a digital copy to own too.

http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_killer_impact.html

 

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May 26

The Warehouse – Rob Hart

Gun violence, climate change and unemployment have ravaged the United States beyond recognition.

Amidst the wreckage, an online retail giant named Cloud reigns supreme. Cloud brands itself not just as an online storefront, but as a global saviour. Yet, beneath the sunny exterior, lurks something far more sinister.

Paxton never thought he’d be working Security for the company that ruined his life, much less that he’d be moving into one of their sprawling live-work facilities. But compared to what’s left outside, perhaps Cloud isn’t so bad. Better still, through his work he meets Zinnia, who fills him with hope for their shared future.

Except that Zinnia is not what she seems. And Paxton, with his all-access security credentials, might just be her meal ticket.
As Paxton and Zinnia’s agendas place them on a collision course, they’re about to learn just how far the Cloud will go to make the world a better place.
To beat the system, you have to be inside it.

 

I received an early review copy from the publishers, Bantam Press, through Netgalley.

 

I don’t often do pre-publication reviews but I finished The Warehouse last week and really, really enjoyed it so wanted to start cheerleading early.

We are in a future where society is coping with a harsh reality, society’s tolerance has all but vanished and people are reliant upon the global retail giant: Cloud.  Cloud provides hundreds of thousands around with world with jobs, residential places at their vast warehouses, consumers can want for nothing as Cloud offer it all.

Stepping into the Cloud Warehouse in Rob Hart’s novel is Paxton. He ran his own business, a firm with a product which people found useful and which allowed him to be moderately successful.  When Cloud noticed his small success they approached Paxton to work with him, a deal was reached but margins were squeezed and trading got tougher and tougher.  Eventually Cloud forced Paxton’s firm out of business and we meet him as he approaches Cloud with a view to getting a job with them.

During the selection process Paxton meets Zinnia. Zinnia is not keen to strike up a conversation with Paxton as she is applying for a job with Cloud for a very different reason.  Security and employment is not Zinnia’s primary motivation – she is working undercover to infiltrate the Cloud building with a view to uncovering some of the secrets of the firm’s operation.

Both Paxton and Zinnia enter The Warehouse with very different agenda but both are trying to keep a secret.  Over the course of the story we see how they will become indoctrinated to the way of life of Cloud. Compliant to the unique rules which Cloud operate. Conscious of the need to fit in and to meet the expectation of their employer or face the consequence of being Cut.

Rob Hart has created a fascinating micro-world in which to set his story.  The clever use of chapters where mundane tasks are completed show just how hard Zinnia has to work to keep her cover in place and shows the routine Cloud expect from their employees.  I loved the idea of a corporate giant taking over our lives (but it is also rather chilling as you ponder if this could actually become prophetic).

The Warehouse will release later this summer and is a title which is worth looking out for.  I enjoy reading a book which feels different and gets me thinking about consequences of our actions.  If our commercial urges are not tempered could a firm like Cloud become a dominant force in our society?

Great read  – get your orders in now.

 

 

The Warehouse is published on 13 August 2019 and will be available in hardback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Warehouse-Rob-Hart/dp/1787631249/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3QBJ6CPMZGX6T&keywords=the+warehouse+rob+hart&qid=1558905600&s=gateway&sprefix=the+warehouse+rob%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-1

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May 24

The Never Game – Jeffery Deaver

Escape or die trying…

No.1 international bestseller Jeffery Deaver returns with a stunning new thriller – the first in an exciting series featuring enigmatic investigator Colter Shaw.

A student kidnapped from the park.
Nineteen-year-old Sophie disappears one summer afternoon. She wakes up to find herself locked inside a derelict warehouse, surrounded by five objects. If she uses them wisely, she will escape her prison. Otherwise she will die.

An investigator running out of time.
Sophie’s distraught father calls in the one man who can help find his daughter: unique investigator Colter Shaw. Raised in the wilderness by survivalist parents, he is an expert tracker with a forensic mind trained to solve the most challenging cases. But this will be a test even for him.

A killer playing a dangerous game.
Soon a blogger called Henry is abducted – left to die in the dark heart of a remote forest – and the whole case gets turned on its head. Because this killer isn’t following the rules; he’s changing them. One murder at a time…

 

My thanks to Rebecca at Harper Collins for my review copy and for inviting me to host a leg of the blog tour.

 

An action packed thriller from Jeffery Deaver and a plot closely lined to videogames and puzzle solving.  This book is just a coffee and a danish away from filling my “favourite things” bingo card.

Readers are pitched straight into the action “Level 3: The Sinking Ship”

Wait…what?  Where is the prologue?  What’s happening?  *reads a few pages* Gosh this is exciting.

Level 1: The Abandoned Factory.  Oh two days earlier.  Cool how did we get to the sinking ship?  Will Colter Shaw manage to rescue….oh wait, there can be no SPOILERS.

The Never Game starts at 100mph and then takes the reader back to introduce the hero of the piece (Colter Shaw) and bring us back to a point where he is not diving into the water to try to save a life.  We know Shaw is one of the good guys from the very first page but as we learn more about him we also discover he is a bit of a loner, doesn’t smile much, is one of the best in the business at tracking (wilderness tracking) and he earns money by collecting rewards.  Not a cop, not an investigator, not a PI but a man who uses his skills to claim rewards. In the first instance he his working to find a young woman who has gone missing, her father has offered $10,000 if someone can find her.

Shaw is an engaging character, his reasoning and logical deductions are shared with the reader so we can keep up with his thought process and understand how he ticks.  Early in the story Shaw will have a run in with the police who don’t warm to his solo endeavours. If justice is to be found then Shaw and the police need to establish a working relationship so the bad guys can be brought down.

Action in The Never Game takes place in Silicone Valley.  Computing firms and videogame manufacturers are very much involved in the story.  Shaw is not comfortable in the world of gaming but fortunately he finds an expert to help him out in the form of the mysterious and secretive Maddie Poole. The relationship and interactions between Shaw and Poole are slick and entertaining. Each is trying to outsmart the other and there is a clear attraction between them but the author makes sure you never quite know Maddie’s motivations and cannot fully trust what she is saying.  That really hooked me in.

The Never Game was an enjoyable read.  Deaver knows how to deliver the thrills and the twists and as it appears Colter Shaw may well return in future I was pleased to get to the end of the book and find I wanted to read more about him. I had a couple of niggles about the gaming side of things which I blame on 30+ years of playing computer games. Non gaming readers will not spot the niggle points and need not worry about the book being too geeky (it is most certainly not).

There is a reason Jeffery Deaver is a household name – he writes great stories which readers love.  The Never Game delivers the thrills his readers are seeking.

 

The Never Game is published by Harper Collins and is available in Hardback, Digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Never-Game-Jeffery-Deaver/dp/000830372X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1558642377&sr=1-1

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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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April 29

The Innocent Ones – Neil White

Three lives cut short. Two decades of silence. One evil secret.

By day, the park rings with the sound of children’s excited laughter. But in the early hours of the morning, the isolated playground is cloaked in shadows – the perfect hiding place to conceal a brutal murder.

When London journalist, Mark Roberts, is found battered to death, the police quickly arrest petty thief, Nick Connor. Criminal defence lawyer, Dan Grant, along with investigator Jayne Brett, are called to represent him – but with bloody footprints and a stolen wallet linking him to the scene, this is one case they’re unlikely to win.

Until help comes from an unlikely source…when the murder victim’s mother says that Connor is innocent, begging Dan and Jayne to find the real perpetrator.

Unravelling the complex case means finding the connection between Mark’s death and a series of child murders in Yorkshire over twenty years ago. Father of two, Rodney Walker, has spent years in prison after being convicted of killing of 6-year-old William and 7-year-old Ruby back in 1997.

But when Mark Roberts gets on the trail of the story, convinced that Walker is innocent, he exposed secrets that have long been buried. Secrets so dark, someone will kill to keep them hidden.

Dan and Jayne are in a race against time to uncover the truth – before a killer silences them forever.

 

Started and finished in a single day – The Innocent Ones completely drew me in and kept me reading.  Stories like this (the ones you just get absorbed in) are the reason I keep reading and are the books I want to shout loudest about.

Dan is due to go to court to defend a man accused of murder. Before the trial starts the victim’s mother approaches Dan and suggests his client is innocent. For a grieving mother to make such a significant intervention is a real eye opener and Dan starts to do some digging.

He enlists his former colleague, Jayne Brett, to do his investigative work. Dan and Jayne have appeared together in two previous novels and The Innocent Ones is the last part in a trilogy. Confession time – I have not read the first two books so I can honestly say this book stands well on its own. At no time did I feel I was playing catch-up on the backstory.

Back to The Innocent Ones…Dan and Jayne are asking questions and soon draw attention to themselves. However someone doesn’t like their questions and our heroes will find themselves in real danger. The last person who asked the questions they are seeking to answer was the victim at Dan’s court case. If the pair continue to seek the truth there may be a high price to pay.

Events in The Innocent Ones link back to the deaths of two young children in the late 1990’s. A little flashback action and we have some characters who will live to tell the tale and bring the reader a compelling murder tale.  Lives were broken and long shadows cast onto current events. Neil White does a brilliant job of showing the effects of horror and how people cope (or not) with unspeakable trauma.

This story flowed so smoothly, I just kept reading and became caught up in events. I had to find out why Dan and Jayne were being targeted. Who was keeping secrets? Who had most to lose? Who needed long forgotten deaths to be left forgotten?

I read a lot of crime fiction and I know what I like. I like The Inncocent Ones. A murder story, a thriller and some courtroom scenes – ideal.

 

 

The Innocent Ones is published by Hera Books and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Innocent-Ones-absolutely-gripping-thriller-ebook/dp/B07NCBH5HP/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=neil+white&qid=1556483769&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

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April 14

Death at the Plague Museum – Lesley Kelly

The pandemic is spreading.

On Friday, three civil servants leading Virus policy hold a secret meeting at the Museum of Plagues and Pandemics. By Monday, two are dead and one is missing.

It’s up to Mona and Bernard of the Health Enforcement Team to find the missing official before panic hits the streets.

 

 

 

I received a review copy of Death at the Plague Museum from the publishers who also invited me to join the blog tour.

 

I got permission from the publishers to use enthusiastic sweary words to describe how much I enjoyed Death at the Plague Museum. I could use them, mainly as adjectives, but I will keep it clean. Just know that I am a huge fan of these books (The Health of Strangers series) and I would like lots more people to spread the booklove and chat with me about them.

Plague Museum is the third novel in the series. Reading the earlier  books is  not essential but will give a better understanding of the characters.  In brief, our focus is on the staff of the HET. The books are set in Edinburgh but after a virus has swept through the city and very careful steps are now being taken to monitor the populous to restrict further infection. We follow the HET employees who enforce the health checks and ensure the city residents try to restrict infections spreading.

A prominent advocate of the health screenings has vanished just as her routine check up is due. The negative publicity of her missing the health check she so stringently advocates has to be kept in check and the missing woman found as a matter of urgency. It falls to Mona, Bernard and their colleagues to track her down.

Matters are complicated by the unexpected death of another prominent figure in the anti-virus reforms – a known associate of the missing woman.

With a death to be explained and a missing woman to be found there is a great mystery story at the heart of Death at the Plague Museum. Where these stories really shine is the focus on the lives of the cast – they are so much more than their  respective jobs and Lesley Kelly gives them a chance to shine.  I want to read about them because they are so much fun to watch.

Written with wonderfully dark humour and the wry observational opinions I always expect from Scottish characters I get so much enjoyment from this series.

It is time you became acquainted with the Health of Strangers. Bloody marvellous.

 

 

Death at the Plague Museum is published by Sandstone Books and is available to order here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plague-Museum-Health-Strangers-Thriller/dp/1912240521/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_3?crid=2USWGM0E3BKZ&keywords=death+at+the+plague+museum&qid=1555238088&s=gateway&sprefix=death+at+the+pla%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-3-fkmrnull

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April 11

I Want You Gone – Miranda Rijks

The only obituary you never want to read – is your own.

Laura Swallow is dead.
A life cut tragically short, says the newspaper obituary.
But that’s a lie.
Estate agent Laura did not die in a car accident. She is alive and well.
At first, Laura thinks it’s a sick joke.
But multiple announcements of her death are followed by increasingly sinister real-life events. Already fragile, struggling to recover from a recent divorce, Laura is plunged into a living nightmare.
Who can she trust? Her new lover? Her clients and work colleagues? What about her ex-husband and his smug fiancée? Can Laura even rely on her best friends? And why is it that Laura’s present troubles are so tied up with her sister’s sudden death all those years ago?
But one thing Laura is sure of – someone out there wants her to suffer. Wants her gone.
Forever.

 

My thanks to Emma at Damppebbles Blog Tours for the chance to join this tour.  I received a review copy in order to participate in this blog tour.

 

This was a twisty and unsettling story which saw lead character, Laura Swallow, put through an emotional wringer.  If you enjoy your protagonists to experience all the trauma (rather than swan through a story observing misfortune for others while they remain untouched) then add I Want You Gone to your reading list immediately.

Laura is a divorcee, her ex-husband is living with a younger woman and Laura is making a tentative to begin dating again.  She has a good job at a local estate agency and seems to be building some self-confidence but her world is about to be rocked in a way she could never have anticipated.

It begins with an obituary in the local paper.  Laura’s obituary. But there must have been a terrible mistake – Laura is alive and well and most certainly did not die in a car accident as the paper suggests.  Things get worse for Laura when a client, an old school friend, raises a complaint about her behaviour while she is showing him around a property. This is just the start of a sequence of unexplained attacks (or pranks?) where Laura is the target.  Each incident becomes more venomous and her personal safety no longer seems assured.

With only a few friends or colleagues she feels able to trust, who can help keep Laura safe as she struggles to understand why someone seems intent on destroying her.

Some fun twists and a few dark touches kept me reading. I was keen to find out why Laura had been singled out and enjoyed my journey to enlightenment.

 

I Want You Gone is published on 13 April 2019 by Inkubator Books and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PZ8Q3LT/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Category: Blog Tours, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off on I Want You Gone – Miranda Rijks