Blog Tours – Page 21 – Grab This Book

The Louisiana Republic – Maxim Jakubowski

New York, and the world, have been transformed by an unexplained global catastrophe now known as ‘the Dark. Once a modest researcher, has now become an involuntary detective.

He is recruited by her elder sister to find the missing daughter of a local gangster in a city in chaos where anarchy and violence are just a step away. He soon discovers the case is anything but straightforward and compellingly close to home. Compromising photographs and the ambiguous assistance of a young woman with ties to the criminal gangs lead him to New Orleans, which has seceded from the rest of America in the wake of the Dark.

A perilous journey down the Mississippi river, murderous hit women and sidekicks, and the magic and dangerous glamour of the French Quarter become a perilous road to nowhere and to madness in his quest for the amoral daughter, his own lost love and his sanity. Will he find the missing women or lose himself?

My thanks to Anne Cater and Random Things Blog Tours for my review copy and the chance to join the Louisiana Republic Blog Tour.

Been staring at a blank document for 10 minutes trying to find a way to begin a review of The Louisiana Republic…tricky…very tricky as this is the book which I loved for its striking difference to everything else I have read recently.

Okay, I think we are in.

The Dark has changed the modern world as we know it, a dystopian America is the setting for The Louisiana Republic and it is not a place for the faint of heart. Savage criminal gangs are running rampant through the cities and there is more than one President (some may see this as an improvement on our present reality). Battles are being fought over key strongholds, libraries are revered (because of what the Dark is) and people are required to learn lost skills.

Into this mix steps a gorgeous femme fetale who wants to recruit the our lead character (a detective) to find her missing sister. He should have said no, but that would have made a much shorter book. The missing sister is a legend among purveyors of specialist pornography. Before the Dark she was happy to pose for any picture which people would request and people had some very extreme requests. Her father used his vast wealth to try to remove every trace of these images from the hands of strangers, he also disowned his daughter and most certainly does not want some private detective to find her. No problem – he has a number of employees who can deliver very persuasive messages!

I should probably make it clear that The Louisiana Republic is not going to be to everyone’s taste. It is dark, violent, sweary, ~~shaggy,~~ though I think “erotic” is the official designation and dystopian thrillers are not to everyone’s liking. The deeper I got into The Louisiana Republic the more I lost the link to a releatable reality – and the more I enjoyed what I was reading. It is not easy to create a new world and breath such compelling life into the society you have built whilst also keeping the main story spinning along.

There are not many books like The Louisiana Republic but when a story like this comes along I cherish the opportunity it gives me to enjoy something so very different.

The Louisiana Republic is published by Caffeine Nights and is available in digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Louisiana-Republic-fantastic-distopia-erotica-ebook/dp/B07C5SJDHJ/ref=sr_1_8?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1526326337&sr=1-8

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May 13

A Mind Polluted – Martin Geraghty

His world falls apart…

Triggered by overhearing a confession from his mother’s lips when he was a young boy, Connor Boyd carries the burden of the secret through his life.

Is falling in love his saviour? Or will he embark on a journey down a self-destructive path which ultimately leads to his version of justice?

Will he concentrate on his future, or be consumed by his past?

My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

Loose lips sink ships. In A Mind Polluted it is loose lips which sink Connor Boyd. At age 13 he overhears his parents arguing. Not an uncommon incident, however, on this particular day he hears his mother voice a terrible truth which rocks Connor’s world and will change his destiny forever.

Shocked by what he has heard, Connor’s attitude and approach to life will radically change. He had previously been a promising student at school but he becomes troublesome and disruptive. He will sneak out at night and hang with the “bad crowd” who will lead Connor further down a dark path.

His relationship with his parents will deteriorate to the point they can hardly recognise their son. He will not explain why he is behaving the way he is, but he firmly holds his mother responsible.

A Mind Polluted is a Glasgow based novel and the dialect and language reflect the city exceedingly well. The loutish behaviour of the kids in the story is really well realized but most striking is the reader’s view of Connor. He is a conflicted and complex character and we see his confidence, anger, neurosis, anguish, hopes, worry and fears. The author will take readers on a harrowing journey and if you get caught up in the tale then Connor will make you angry, upset, elated and frustrated…it is a highly emotive tale to read.

If you are a fan of a strong character driven story then A Mind Polluted is one to seek out.

A Mind Polluted is published by Crooked Cat Books and is available in digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Polluted-Martin-Geraghty-ebook/dp/B07B4G3H9R/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526204857&sr=8-1&keywords=a+mind+polluted

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May 10

Salt Lane – William Shaw

SHE ALWAYS WENT TOO FAR

DS Alexandra Cupidi has done it again. She should have learnt to keep her big mouth shut, after the scandal that sent her packing – resentful teenager in tow – from the London Met to the lonely Kent coastline. Murder is different here, among the fens and stark beaches.

SHE WAS THE ONE WHO FOUND THE KILLERS

The man drowned in the slurry pit had been herded there like an animal. He was North African, like many of the fruit pickers that work the fields. The more Cupidi discovers, the more she wants to ask – but these people are suspicious of questions.

AND NOW IT WAS KILLING HER

It will take an understanding of this strange place – its old ways and new crimes – to uncover the dark conspiracy behind the murder. Cupidi is not afraid to travel that road. But she should be. She should, by now, have learnt.

Salt Lane is tagged as the first in a new series which will feature DS Alexandra Cupidi – sounds good to me, I loved Cupidi and she drives this story.

Cupidi has left the Metropolitan Police and relocated to Kent, readers are given early glimpses into her background which allude to why she may have made this move and it is clear that she may not have made the best of choices in the past. Cupidi brings her daughter but faces the single parent dilemma of how to do parenting things when work commitments are all consuming and a listless teenager is not keen to conform or help her mother.

Cupidi is partnered with Constable Ferriter and the dynamic and developing relationship between the two women made for terrific reading. Cupidi seems prickly and aloof while Ferriter is younger and more impetuous. Both can deliver some cracking one liners or a suitably waspish comment so their discussions are a joy to read.

Salt Lane, supported by cracking lead characters, is a dark thriller which I really, really enjoyed.

A man is murdered in a slurry pit, pushed in and held under the sludge until life left his body. A grim murder investigation for Cupidi who was already fronting a second murder investigation after a woman’s body was pulled from water with no identification documents which may have let the police know who she was.

There is loads going on in Salt Lane and the story is wonderfully told by William Shaw. The book holds a real feeling of location and scenes come to life very vividly as I was reading. I found pages were flying past as I kept reading, one more chapter, one more chapter – brilliant pacing which avoided lulls in the narrative and kept me hooked.

More Cupidi please…stories of this quality don’t come around too often.

Salt Lane is available in hardback, digital and audio formats and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Salt-Lane-Alexandra-Cupidi-Book-ebook/dp/B073BPFJGM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1525941622&sr=1-1

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May 10

Fault Lines – Doug Johnstone

A little lie … a seismic secret … and the cracks are beginning to show…

In a reimagined contemporary Edinburgh, where a tectonic fault has opened up to produce a new volcano in the Firth of Forth, and where tremors are an everyday occurrence, volcanologist Surtsey makes a shocking discovery.

On a clandestine trip to new volcanic island The Inch, to meet Tom, her lover and her boss, she finds his lifeless body, and makes the fatal decision to keep their affair, and her discovery, a secret. Desperate to know how he died, but also terrified she’ll be exposed, Surtsey’s life quickly spirals into a nightmare when someone makes contact – someone who claims to know what she’s done…

My thanks to Orenda Books for my review copy and to Anne for inviting me to join the blog tour

There is a volcano in Edinburgh and it has changed the lives of all the residents of the capital. Earth tremors are commonplace and the unexpected arrival of a new volcanic isle at the edge of the city means that the scientific community have an exciting and unexpected new area to investigate.

Surtsey is a volcanologist and she is studying The Inch, on an evening trip to the new island she plans to meet her lover Tom (who is also Surtsey’s boss). However, all her plans are unexpectedly changed when she discovers Tom’s body. There can be no doubt that Tom was murdered so Surtsey decides to head home and not report the crime. Nobody knows about their relationship and Surtsey did not tell anyone she was traveling to The Inch, if she can keep her head down then she may be able to keep her part in Tom’s life a secret.

Unfortunately for Surtsey this is not going to happen. Someone knows she and Tom were sleeping together and it is not long before the secret is out. The police will come calling, Tom’s widow is convinced Surtsey is the killer and Surtsey’s boyfriend doesn’t react well to the news either.

Her world is falling apart and Surtsey needs to rely upon her friends and family but there can be no respite their either. Her mother is in final stages of terminal cancer, her sister and mother barely speak and Surtsey feels she is intermediary between the two at a time when every conversation is strained and challenging. Surtsey can see her mother slipping away and is struggling to cope.

Fault Lines is a murder, mystery while Tom’s killer remains free. However there is so much more depth to Doug Johnstone’s story as the human drama of Surtsey’s struggle plays out too, the chapters with her mother are quite distressing in places as the reader shares Surtsey’s anguish at seeing her rock diminishing in front of her eyes.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fault Lines, the story flows wonderfully and the characters are deep and engaging. A book which draws you into the lives of the characters and you just want to keep reading to see how the story unfolds.

Fault Lines is published by Orenda Books and is available in digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fault-Lines-Doug-Johnstone/dp/1912374153/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1525901181&sr=1-1

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May 9

Don’t You Dare – A.J. Waines

What if your daughter becomes your enemy?

When barmaid, Rachel, discovers her soon-to-be-married daughter, Beth, pinned down by a stranger in the pub cellar, Rachel lashes out in panic and the intruder ends up dead. In desperation, Rachel convinces Beth they should cover up the crime and go ahead with the planned wedding in one month’s time.

Rachel, however, has her own reasons for not involving the police.

Hiding their dreadful secret is harder than they both imagined and as the big day approaches and the lies multiply, Beth becomes a liability. Rachel looks on in dismay at the hen party when, after too many drinks, Beth declares she’s about to make a special announcement. But before Beth can say a word she disappears…

When two people share a chilling secret can both hold their nerve?

My thanks to Sarah at Bloodhound Books for my review copy and the chance to join the Blitz

Having previously read a few books by A.J. Waines I picked up Don’t You Dare knowing (without even opening the first page) that I was holding a book with guaranteed thrills and an engaging story. Some quality reading time proved me right.

Rachel is alone in the pub when she spots light coming from a room in the cellar where nobody should be. She is startled to find her daughter, Beth, cowering under a strange man – Beth is clearly terrified and Rachel rushes to protect her daughter. A scuffle ensues and when it abruptly ends the man lies dead with the mother and daughter standing aghast over his body.

Urgent action is needed and the pair decide they can hide the body and escape detection. Nobody knows they were in the pub at the time the incident occurred and the man was not meant to be there either – if they can keep their cool and plan carefully then they can keep this terrible secret and get on with their lives.

Of course it is never as easy as it sounds and Beth starts to feel the burden of guilt hanging over her. Rachel is stronger but readers are given some insight into the fact that Rachel may well have experience of keeping secrets – perhaps this was why she was not keen to involve the police from the outset and elected to keep their crime secret?

Don’t You Dare splits narration duties between Rachel and Beth. It gives readers insight into how each woman is coping with the events following their ill-fated evening. The need to keep the secret becomes overwhelming and it is not long before lies and more lies are needed to cover Beth’s increasingly erratic behaviour and to try to throw the police off the track of a missing person investigation.

Tension from first page to last as lies are spun and trust is shattered, I highly recommend Don’t You Dare.

Don’t You Dare is published by Bloodhound Books and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-You-Dare-heart-stopping-psychological-ebook/dp/B07CLKBQQ9/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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May 3

Death of an Actress – Antony M Brown

Published in time for the 70th anniversary of one of the most dramatic trials in British criminal history.

DEATH OF AN ACTRESS is the second in the Cold Case Jury Collection, a unique series of true crime titles. Each case study tells the story of an unsolved crime, or one in which the verdict is open to doubt. Fresh evidence is presented and the reader is invited to deliver their own verdict.

October 1947. A luxury liner steams over the equator off the coast of West Africa and a beautiful actress disappears from her cabin. Suspicion falls on a dashing deck steward with a reputation for entering the cabins of female passengers. When the liner docks at Southampton, the steward is questioned by police. Protesting his innocence, he makes an astonishing admission that shocks everyone, and is charged with murder. His trial at the historic Great Hall in Winchester draws the world’s media. He is found guilty and sentenced to hang.

But was the verdict sound?

Many believe not.

Now for the first time, Antony M. Brown has secured unprecedented access to the police file, enabling the definitive story to be told. Included in the file are original court exhibits, including a hairbrush with strands of the actress’s red hair. Could a personal effect left behind in her cabin provide clues to how she might have died? Take your seat on the Cold Case Jury…

My thanks to Mel at Mirror Books for my review copy and the opportunity to join the blog tour.

A rare dip into True Crime today at Grab This Book. I generally don’t read True Crime stories as I am terrible at keeping track of characters and non-fiction tends to have a larger list of people, places, names and other important details which it is very important to keep track of. Also I like knowing that the horrible things I usually read about are all just made up, when it becomes REAL I get uncomfortable. The psychologists can have some fun with that last confession!

So how did I get on with Death of an Actress? I will be honest and confess that I rather enjoyed it. Quite a lot as it turns out.

This is the second book in Antony M Brown’s Cold Case Jury collection. A real life crime is presented to the reader. Through disclosure of facts, compilation of official documents presented in the real life court cases and some dramatic recreations of events penned by the author the reader gets the case compiled for their consideration.

The twist which I loved was that once you have read the book you visit the Cold Case website and cast your own vote as to how you felt the accused should have been charged. I cast my own verdict on Death of an Actress just before I started writing this review. Unsurprisingly I did not side with the most popular verdict.

Death of an Actress recounts the murder of Gay Gibson, a young rising star of the stage who was traveling from South Africa back to Southampton on luxury liner Durban Castle. One night Miss Gibson vanished from her cabin and her body was never found. A crew member, James Camb, was suspected of her murder – he had a reputation for pressing his advances upon single female passengers and had taken a shine to young Gay.

Antony M Brown will introduce readers to Gay Gibson and guide us through her young life and explore her character. He considers Camb and his reputation and status among the crew of the Durban Castle. He then uses dramatic recreations to explore the last days of Gay Gibson’s life. Using witness statements, news paper reports and other primary source material we get a great insight of life on board the Durban Castle for those important days after the ship left South Africa.

The fun in reading Death of an Actress is absorbing the information provided, forming your own assessment of the behaviours of Camb and Gibson and then working out if the arrest, and trial, of James Camb for Miss Gibson’s murder was correct or if some important facts were not given proper consideration.

I must admit I was caught up in the details of the case. I knew I was going to cast my own verdict on events when I finished the book so I was paying close attention (most unlike me). I was shocked by some of the omissions from the court case and I got sidetracked from fact by some “additional” detail which was included after the main case had been discussed, unverified recollections of stories overheard but which had potential to change the nature of the trial.

All very interesting and very well constructed by the author. Some readers may quibble that a dramatic recreation of conversations which the author could not have possibly have overhead have no place in a true crime book. Personally I really enjoyed the switch from hard facts to the authors own interpretation of possible scenarios – it opened up my own imagination to what may have occurred.

A very welcome change to my normal choice of book. I may even read another True Crime book soon…particularly as I cannot help but notice this was the second case for the Cold Case Jury. The first book has the intriguing title The Green Bicycle Mystery.

Highly recommended!

Death of an Actress is published by Mirror Books and can be ordered in digital or paperback format here:

http://www.mirrorcollection.co.uk/products/details/search_results/DeathofanActress/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Actress-story-murder-Collection/dp/1910335827/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524665646&sr=8-1&keywords=death+of+an+actress+book

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April 29

The Girl Who Got Revenge – Marnie Riches

Revenge is a dish best served deadly…

A twelve-year-old girl is found dead at the Amsterdam port. An old man dies mysteriously in a doctors’ waiting room. Two seemingly unconnected cases, but Inspector Van den Bergen doesn’t think so…

Criminologist George McKenzie is called in to help crack the case before it’s too late. But the truth is far more deadly than anyone can imagine… Can George get justice for the dead before she ends up six-feet under too?

My thanks to Sabah at Avon for the chance to join the blog tour

Returning visitors to Grab This Book will know that I am a huge fan of the George McKenzie The Girl Who books by Marnie Riches. For once I found that I was following a series from the first release of the first book and then impatiently waiting for the next book to be written. Then the next. Then the next. Now The Girl Who Got Revenge has arrived and I am delighted.

Before I get to the actual story the housekeeping…it is the fifth book in a sequence. There are not any major spoilers relating to events in the first four books and you do not have to have read all the earlier titles to enjoy The Girl Who Got Revenge. This may also be a great time to highlight that until now The Girl Who titles were only available in digital format for your Kindle/Kobo/E-Reader. The good news is that all 5 books will be available in paperback which I hope means they will find their way to new readers

The Girl Who Got Revenge was another storming page turner. George and Van den Bergen are back at their very best even though the hypochondriac, Van den Bergen, is ever more determined he is rushing towards diagnosis of a terminal illness. It places his relationship with George on rocky ground again, yet when he watches an old man die right in front of his eyes it will shake the policeman to his core.

The old man’s death appears a tragic case of someone reaching the end of their days, however, at the autopsy a surprising discovery links his death to that of a second person – could there be more to his death than first thought?

Elsewhere, the police are required to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a young girl who was being smuggled through The Netherlands in the back of a truck with dozens of other refugees. The situation is highly emotive and once again Marnie Riches takes a topical plight and builds a compelling story.

I honestly cannot say enough good things about The Girl Who Got Revenge (or indeed about ALL the books in this series). These are fantastic stories, which enthrall, entertain and captivate me in equal measure. George McKenzie is the feisty lead character that I love reading about and as soon as I finish one book I start longing for her return.

Five star thrills and pure reading enjoyment.

The Girl Who Got Revenge is published by Avon and is available in digital and paperback format. You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Who-Got-Revenge-addictive-ebook/dp/B076P22L95/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1524952013&sr=1-1&keywords=marnie+riches

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April 29

The Family At Number 13 – S.D. Monaghan

The most perfect lives can hide the darkest secrets…

Mary has everything. Beautiful and rich, she lives on an exclusive street in the heart of the city, in a house with gorgeous views and an immaculately maintained garden. Her life looks perfect.

But behind closed doors the truth is very different. Her husband Andrew barely speaks to her, spending his days down in the basement alone. Her teenage nephew is full of rage, lashing out with no warning. Her carefully constructed life is beginning to fall apart.

And then someone starts sending Mary anonymous notes, threatening her and her family…

Everyone has secrets. But is someone at number 13 hiding something that could put the whole family in danger?

My thanks to the Bookouture team for my review copy and the chance to join the blog blitz

This is a tricky wee review to write as the need to avoid spoilers is at a premium…such is the way with twisty and unpredictable stories. What also makes it tricky is that there are several characters in the book who get to take the lead narrative and I didn’t warm to any of them very much. But that’s not a complaint, it is what drives the story onward.

As the story begins to hit its stride we meet Connor. He is a psychiatrist and is not having the best of days, he has just tried to move on one of his patients having reached a point where he felt he could no longer offer the support the patient needed. Unfortunately the patient is not happy with Connor’s decision and the suggestion to end their sessions ends badly. The patient is a rich and influential man his threats to ruin Connor for abandoning him do not make Connor feel any better about his decision.

But things start to look up for Connor – an unexpected opportunity to relocate to a new property in a seemingly idyllic neighbourhood almost seems too good to be true. He can move his practice to one of the rooms in the large house and work from home – saving on office rent and making his workplace more appealing for prospective clients. It should possibly not come as too much of a surprise to learn that the move does not work out well for Connor and soon he finds he has made a terrible decision.

The interaction between the majority of characters in The Family At Number 13 will treat readers to a series of fractious encounters. Tensions run high throughout and if you enjoy the uncertainty of not knowing what the author will throw at us next then this is the perfect read for you. I was kept on my toes keeping up with some of the twists and turns in this story.

Not one for the cozy crime readers – lots of unpleasantness going on in The Family At Number 13. A dark thriller indeed.

The Family At Number 13 is published by Bookouture and is available in paperback and digital formats and can also be ordered as an audiobook. You can get your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Family-Number-13-absolutely-psychological-ebook/dp/B07B6BPHLV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524949225&sr=8-1&keywords=the+family+at+no+13

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March 27

The Elf King – Lorraine Hellier

Lorraine Hellier’s children’s book The Elf King follows the story of a family of elves. Bay Leaf is the new Elf King. In this fantasy tale his sister, Sweet Pea, demonstrates her love and devotion for her brother.

In the story, the elves go on a perilous journey to the Mountain Shrine where Bay Leaf must take his ‘Oath of Allegiance’ to the ‘Moon Lake Elves’. An enchanted book offers advice and guidance from their ancestors and warns Sweet Pea to take care of her brother several times during the journey. Bay Leaf almost loses his life…Sweet Pea supports Bay Leaf throughout the journey, but will her interference bring resolution to Bay Leaf’s heartache on their return?

This traditional tale of love and loyalty will appeal to children aged between 7-9 that enjoy fantasy tales. Lorraine uses The Elf King to raise issues surrounding family loyalty and the importance of supporting each other in difficult times.

My thanks to Rachel and Rachel’s Random Resources for the chance to join this blog blitz

I have two mini-bookworms and story-time at bedtime has always been a very important part of our nightly routine. My eldest bookworm is devouring anything he can get his paws on (currently Calvin and Hobbes cartoons and some Magnus Chase thrillers). However, my youngest still enjoys being read a story of an evening and he often asks if he can help me write my blog. So when I was offered the chance to read Lorraine Hellier’s The Elf King I jumped at the opportunity to read a book with my son and get his contributions to the review.

First up, the Dad’s submission.

The Elf King was a great story to take my son through. A few adventures to Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree have prepared him for reading fantasy novels so he had no trouble accepting the concept of Elves on a quest. We took on a chapter or two each night (depending on how tired he was) most chapters we comfortably read in 10 to 20 minutes, longer when we were chatting about the story as we went.

Together we joined Bay Leaf on a journey which should see him secure his legacy of head of his kinfolk. It was a journey traveled by his father and his father before him. Bay travels with his family and keeping him company is his sister Sweet Pea. Pea acts as the readers eyes for much of the book – she chats to the reserved Bay and draws out his secrets. And what a secret Bay Leaf has been keeping from his family. The unexpected death of his father thrusts Bay into a position he had not anticipated to find himself in so soon. It creates a very personal problem which he does not want to share. The trust and friendship of his sister will help Bay to find himself on his journey. The magic book they carry will help them both to find their way.

The Bookworm Boy

As we read I would ask about the story, what he thought of characters. Was Bay right to keep his secrets, what would we do with a magic book? It gave us some fun chats and helped my son to engage with the story.

When we finished I asked how he enjoyed it and I received a very positive response. He seemed to like Sweet Pea the best, I think Bay was a little too reserved at times (plus Pea carried the story). He has made his own magic book which seems to mirror some of the traits shown in the book carried by Sweet Pea.

We enjoyed our time reading The Elf King, it was a comforting story which he responded well to and he was disappointed when we reached the end of the tale.

The Elf King is published by Matador and is available in digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elf-King-Lorraine-Hellier/dp/1785898876/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522102649&sr=8-1&keywords=the+elf+king+lorraine+hellier

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March 15

Burnout – Claire MacLeary

My husband is trying to kill me: a new client gets straight to the point. This is a whole new ball game for Maggie Laird, who is trying to rebuild her late husband’s detective agency and clear his name. Her partner, Big Wilma, sees the case as a non-starter, but Maggie is drawn in. With her client s life on the line, Maggie must get to the ugly truth that lies behind Aberdeen s closed doors. But who knows what really goes on between husbands and wives? And will the agency s reputation and Maggie and Wilma s friendship remain intact?

My thanks to Sara at Saraband for my review copy and the opportunity to join the blog tour.

A return to Scotland’s Granite City and the chance to join up with Harcus and Laird, Aberdeen’s newest Private Investigators.

Fresh from events in McIlvanney-prize-listed Cross Purpose we have a distressing new problem for our leading ladies to contend with. Sheena Struthers wants to engage Harcus and Laird to investigate her husband – she is convinced that he is trying to kill her and fears for her life. While Maggie is concerned and keen to help the distressed woman, Wilma is not so sure. Keeping an eye on the time and energies involved in domestic investigations she is keen for Maggie to ditch Mrs Struthers and concentrate on working more reliable and financially rewarding cases. The two disagree but Maggie is not prepared to turn her back on a woman who is calling for help.

In this post-Weinstein era and with #MeToo still very much in the public eye Burnout is an extremely important addition to the voices and stories which is helping lift the lid on unwelcome and unacceptable attitudes. While Sheena Struthers is insisting her husband is harming her there is little proof to support her claims and Burnout highlights the problems which victims (and prospective prosecutors) face.

As we read further into the book we read of a couple where the woman is unhappy and subjected to unwelcome attentions of her husband. His demands and desires totally at odds with her own but she sees no escape from his control. We don’t get to know who the couple are but reading their encounters was an uncomfortable and somewhat distressing experience. Yet Claire MacLeary is not done there, other relationships are subjected to scrutiny and she lifts the lid on the “secret” lives of a few characters. Readers are taken into the home of a young couple with a small child where the husband is oblivious to the exhaustion and unhappiness of his wife. Maggie’s daughter appears with a new beau in tow and Maggie is very unimpressed with the attitude of the boy towards her daughter. Even Big Wilma is going to have a few bumps in her relationship with her husband. We get to see some stark realities over attitudes, expectations and the desperation that can come from a lack of respect. It is all handled really well by the author who does not sugarcoat any of the issues she is addressing.

This is powerful storytelling but the focus is never lost on the investigations which are ongoing. The dry humour we expect is also very much in attendance and the larger than life Big Wilma never fails to disappoint – she even treats herself to a trip to a strip club for Ladies Night.

Harcus and Laird are quite unlike any other characters I am reading – they have self-doubt, worry about paying the bills, feel the world is almost on the brink of slipping away from them yet they have a will and determination to succeed and it makes them joyful to read.

Burnout is published by Contraband and is available in digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Burnout-Claire-MacLeary/dp/1912235110/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1521071707&sr=8-1&keywords=burnout+claire+macleary

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