November 1

Killing State – Judith O’Reilly

The bullet in his brain isn’t the problem.

She is.

Michael North is a hero, with a bullet in the brain to prove it. A bullet which has rewired his neural pathways and heightened his sense of intuition. A bullet which is driving him mad. Working for an extra-governmental agency called The Board, North knows one thing for sure. He is very good at killing very bad guys. But what happens when a hero is ordered to kill a good woman rather than a bad man? Because it turns out that rising political star, Honor Jones, MP, can’t stop asking the right questions about the wrong people. He should follow orders. Shouldn’t he?

 

My thanks to Anne Cater for the chance to join the blog tour

 

 

Michael North is a hero but he is also used as a killer by a mysterious agency known as The Board. The Board seem to be working in shadows but appear to be associated with the UK Government. Michael has been instructed to kill a Member of Parliament who has been asking all the wrong questions.

Michael North has a personal code – he will kill bad guys but he does not kill women. So when Michael comes face to face with his next target, an M.P. called Honor Jones, he will have to ignore his own code of honour or go against his employers – and face the consequences.

Killing State had me hooked from the outset. I love a political thriller and with a shadowy agency targeting an MP I immediately thought that National Security must be at stake and that the Government would stop at nothing to keep their secrets. I am not going to tell you if I was right but I will tell you that Killing State is a cracking action/chase thriller which sees North using all his training and guile to keep one step ahead of his employers.  He has done something they are not happy about and his life is in danger.

Not that North’s life was not already endangered…as you can see in the opening descriptions – he has a bullet in his brain and he lives under the constant threat that one day the bullet will shift inside his head and cause irrevocable harm.  Knowing that the key player in the tale is at risk every second of the day makes for an entertaining drama. Every fight, every tumble, every chase scene I found that I was expecting the bullet to jar and North to immediately become vulnerable. It keeps you turning the pages I can assure you!

What also kept me turning the pages was that I wanted to know why Honor Jones had been marked for death.  Why had this young woman been singled out, could it be down to the friends she kept?  One of her friends recently died – before his death he made cryptic references that should anything happen to him then Honor must get to some where safe.  Honor’s closest friend is missing – possibly out of contact and working in South America but if that cannot be verified then how would Honor know her friend was still alive?

Judith O’Reilly nailed the pacing, the tension and the entertainment in Killing State.  I zipped through this book in a few short days and enjoyed it immensely. Killing State releases later this week and I highly recommend you seek out a copy.

 

Killing State is released on 6 November 2017 in digital format and will be available in paperback in 2018. You can order the Kindle copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Killing-State-Michael-North-Thriller-ebook/dp/B075GW4GPZ/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

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October 29

Descent to Hell – Nic Parker

A man forced to enter mankind’s most feared territory … a child dragged into the underworld!

When Charlie Ward’s beloved niece is kidnapped by an atrocious demon he has to find the secret gateway into the one place every human wants to stay away from: Hell!
Armed only with courage and determination Charlie has to survive in a forbidding place filled with despair and anguish. He must face challenges no mortal should ever have to undergo that threaten to destroy his very soul.

 

My thanks to Victoria Watson for the chance to join the blog tour to Descent to Hell and to Nic Parker for my review copy.

 

Halloween approaches and it was time that I got some tales of ghosts and evil entities onto the reading list. Descent to Hell sounded ideal and, very pleasingly, it was exactly what I needed – a clever and stylish adventure story (with demons, the devil and some nasty surprises).

Charlie is going to Hell. His choice. His niece is missing and Charlie has discovered that she was abducted by a demon.  As you may expect there are not many people who may believe that a demon can rise from Hell to steal away a child and Charlie has found himself under suspicion from the police into the girl’s disappearance.

Charlie finds a way to cross from the “real” world to the depths of Hell and decides that his sister’s happiness and the chance to save his niece is worth more than his own life. Charlie will risk everything to go to Hell and try to bring his niece home. .

The most pleasing aspect of Nic Parker’s Hell was that it was not a classic interpretation from Dante or the biblical depiction. No flaming pits of the damned, no obvious tortured souls – a modern cityscape awaited Charlie. Denizens of Hell who chat, have homes, comfortable beds (as Charlie finds out when “rescued” by a gorgeous bombshell who has her own “wicked” ideas).

Yes Descent to Hell is a horror tale (any book with Lucifer has to be such) but it is also funny in places, there is a crime undertone with an investigation ongoing into where his niece may be, there is an adventure thriller as Charlie faces numerous challenges to cross Hell to face the demon who took his niece.

Nic Parker writes in a very readable style. The story zips along and there was no feeling that she was trying to pad out the plot or to distract the reader with sub plots which don’t progress the main tale. The focus on the rescue remained constant and Charlie’s frustration over a lack of progress was always tangible.

Descent to Hell comes highly recommended. If you fancy a Halloween story but normally shun away from chillers or ghost stories then this clever thriller with its dark undertones is a great option.

 

Descent to Hell is published in paperback and digital format and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Descent-Hell-would-rescue-loved/dp/3946413501/ref=la_B075TD51VV_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509270636&sr=1-1&refinements=p_82%3AB075TD51VV%2Cp_n_binding_browse-bin%3A492564011

 

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October 25

When A Killer Strikes – RC Bridgestock

“Boss, we’ve got a body”.

Detective Sergeant Vicky Hardacre, greets him at the scene, but what awaits them behind the blood red door of Colonial House is undoubtedly a murder. The approach identifies several prime suspects. But who is telling the truth; and who is lying?

Before the killer can be caught, another body is discovered, this time in a putrefying mixture of mud and slime, lain among the remnants of decaying food within a waste-bin shelter. Now it’s the task of the man in charge to make the call.

Are the two murders connected?

There’s only one way to find out, and that’s by working long hours, within strict budgets, and the usual pressure from above to obtain quick results.

However, Dylan is distracted by personal matters, with Jen being keen to seal the deal on a renovation project. He suggests they delay finalising the purchase; until he discovers the significance of the house, and that it’s about to be demolished.

In his absence, Jen’s pleas for help from his estranged siblings are answered, resulting in hidden secrets coming to light, as Dylan continues, through a twisting and turning plot, to ensure justice is done in respect of the murder victims, whose bright hopes for the future were cruelly snatched away.

 

My thanks to Darren at Caffeine Nights for my review copy and the opportunity to join the tour.

The 8th DI Dylan novel from husband/wife writing team RC Bridgestock and it seems they are building a strong case to support the theory that two heads may indeed be better than one. This was my first RC Bridgestock novel and it will not be my last – huge enjoyment reading When a Killer Strikes.

My books of preference are crime thrillers, I particularly like when a book I have enjoyed becomes part of a series. I love to see characters developed over a number of books, relationships develop and the players come and go as the different stories dictate.  To learn that When A Killer Strikes was the 8th in a series was such a thrill as I have some serious catching up to do and I cannot wait to get started!

I found When A Killer Strikes to be a very powerful read and quite unsettling too. A young girl has been murdered in her own home. There seems no obvious suspect and the police will have their work cut out to identify a suspect pool and then narrow down their investigations.

That investigation is very much the key to the story (no lone detective wandering round chatting to suspects and making a grand reveal) this is a real police procedural where the reader gets to feel that they are part of the squad, uncovering clues and discovering who has been telling lies. It felt like a “proper” crime novel and I thought it had a very authentic voice. NB, I subsequently discovered that Bob Bridgestock had served in the police for many years…no hiding that realistic edge to the story!

Running alongside the murder story was the brilliant cast of characters. Arriving late to a series is never ideal but I loved the interplay between the members of the investigative team – a camaraderie and bond was clear to see and their personal lives crept into the book to give them depth and presence away from their day job.  When you can believe in characters and relate to their experiences it lets me become more involved in their stories.

I thoroughly enjoyed When A Killer Strikes – entertaining, cleverly worked and with characters I wanted to read about. More like these please…

 

When A Killer Strikes is published by Caffeine Nights and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Killer-Strikes-Dylan-novel-ebook/dp/B075FXLK6Q/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

 

 

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October 25

Snare – Lilja Sigurdardóttir

After a messy divorce, attractive young mother Sonia is struggling to provide for herself and keep custody of her son. With her back to the wall, she resorts to smuggling cocaine into Iceland, and finds herself caught up in a ruthless criminal world. As she desperately looks for a way out of trouble, she must pit her wits against her nemesis, Bragi, a customs officer, whose years of experience frustrate her new and evermore daring strategies. Things become even more complicated when Sonia embarks on a relationship with a woman, Agla. Once a high-level bank executive, Agla is currently being prosecuted in the aftermath of the Icelandic financial crash. Set in a Reykjavík still covered in the dust of the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption, and with a dark, fast-paced and chilling plot and intriguing characters, Snare is an outstandingly original and sexy Nordic crime thriller, from one of the most exciting new names in crime fiction.

 

My thanks to Karen at Orenda and to Anne Cater for the chance to join the blog tour.

Sonja is a single mum struggling to keep her head above water and hoping to secure full custody of her young son. When we first meet Sonja she is trying to smuggle a kilo of cocaine through the airport. Her strategy is cleverly played out but we share her tension at the prospect of discovery (and the obvious consequences). It made for a compelling introduction to Lilja Sigurardottir’s Snare and for the next few hours that I read this book I never felt that the tension was ebbing.

Sonja has fallen into a difficult position – she does not want to smuggle the narcotics but finds she has no option. She proves her adeptness at outfoxing the customs officials and this only means that the expectation she will continue to do so increases.  The suppliers want her to increase the size of her next delivery and a new strategy will be required – this increases the risk of discovery and also the consequence of failure.

When we see Sonja at home she is in a complicated relationship with Alga.  Sonja and Alga are lovers but Alga refuses to accept that she may be a lesbian and is clearly not comfortable with being in a relationship with another woman. Adding to Alga’s internal dilemma is the fact she was once a senior figure in Icelandic Banking Circles. Prosecutors are looking to find where they can lay the blame of the recent Financial Crash and Alga is in their sights – she has to face the investigators and provide her side of events but is determined that none of the blame shall be laid at her feet.

It is always a delight when I can start a new book with no idea where the story may take me. Snare was pure reading pleasure.

Translation duties fall to Quentin Bates and once again he has done a phenomenal job. The story flows so smoothly and I tore through Snare loving every twist and turn of the plot.

Snare had a real cat and mouse feel – Sonja trying to outsmart the customs officials and smuggle drugs through the airport at Reykjavik. Alga is under investigation and she too is trying to keep one step ahead of the prosecutors who want to find those to blame for the financial crisis which Iceland experienced.  Tension is tangible and it makes for a brilliantly engaging story.

Lots of love for this book – it looks like another winner from Orenda Books.

 

Snare is published by Orenda Books and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Snare-Reykjavik-Noir-Lilja-Sigurdard%C3%B3ttir-ebook/dp/B06ZYLBJFN/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1508875450&sr=8-1&keywords=snare

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October 20

The Fallen Agent – Oliver Tidy

Jess Albion has recently started a new life on the other side of the world with a new identity. She used to be MI5. Then a job went bad, someone died and she was made an example of in the British courts. But MI5 look after their own. Or they did until rumours of a planned Al Qaeda biological terror attack on London started circulating. Now someone in the British security services is giving agents up in return for information. No price, it seems, is too high to save London from the ultimate threat.

When Jess’s fresh start is compromised she has a choice to make: run and hide and spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder or go looking for the threat and snuff it out. On her own, she’d run, but she has Nick on her side.

The Fallen Agent is a story of love and hate, of loyalty and betrayal, of revenge and callous disregard for human life in the pursuit of satisfaction.

 

My thanks to Caroline Vincent (Bits About Books) for the chance to host today’s leg of the blog tour.

 

My earliest memories of reading books I considered to be “spy” thrillers came from my teen years when I was devouring as many books as I could get my paws on at the time. Most of the espionage thrillers were Cold War tales set in Berlin or Russia where there were it seemed everyone was frantically trying to outmanoeuvre the next person – I got a bit scunnered with those quite quickly and returned to crime and horror tales.  Had those “spy” books been as exciting and fast paced as Oliver Tidy’s The Fallen Agent then I would have read many more.

The Fallen Agent is described as a Jess Albion thriller as I had not read any of Oliver’s books prior to this one it was nice to have that wee steer as to which character I should be looking out for.  Chapter One and I am picking my jaw from the floor and wondering what the Hell is going to happen next as all my preconceptions of what may happen in The Fallen Agent had been shattered.

Well there will not be any spoilers over what did happen next but I can assure you that this was a great read. I tore through it in one single sitting and loved every twist and turn along the way.

British Security chiefs are worried about a potential terror attack on London and are willing to do whatever they can to protect the city. When a potential information source makes an offer to trade his knowledge of the upcoming attack for details of where he can find Jess it seems there is an easy choice to make. There will be no loyalty shown and Jess will be sacrificed to protect millions of others – her location will be revealed to the man who wants her dead.

But Jess still has at least one friend in the Service (Nick) and he embarks on a race against time to find Jessica and alert her to the potential threat against her life.  With so much at stake, the action in The Fallen Agent comes thick and fast. Oliver Tidy has a fabulous writing style which keeps the story zipping along and kept me hooked throughout.

An absolute treat: The Fallen Agent comes highly recommended.

 

The Fallen Agent is available in digital download and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fallen-Agent-Jess-Albion-Thriller-ebook/dp/B075QHKG8P/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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October 14

The Angel -Katerina Diamond

THE TRUTH WON’T STAY LOCKED UP FOREVER

When a burned body is found in a disused signal box, suspicion falls on lonely teenager Gabriel Webb. There’s no doubt he was at the scene of the crime, but does he really deserve what awaits him in prison?

DS Imogen Grey is certain there’s more to the case than meets the eye. But while she struggles to convince those around her of the truth, her partner DS Adrian Miles is distracted by his own demons.

When a brutal double murder is reported, their investigation is stopped in its tracks. Is the body in the box even who they thought it was? The duo realise Gabriel might have been locked up for a crime he didn’t commit. But with enemies watching Gabriel’s every move, they may be too late.

 

My thanks to Sabah at Avon Books for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

Imogen Grey and Adrian Miles are back – they are called out to investigate a fire in an abandoned signal box but on arrival at the scene they find that their arson case has had a tragic outcome – the body of a homeless man (who must have been sheltering from the elements) is found under the main signal room where the fire started.

Grey and Miles manage to track down Gabriel Webb, he had been in the signal box with his girlfriend and a couple of other local kids.  Gabriel had started a small fire to keep them warm but had not wanted to be in the signal box and wanted nothing to do with the drugs which he was offered.

When confronted by Grey he confirms he started the fire (for warmth) but he had no idea that it had spread to ignite the whole signal box and he is devastated to learn that someone died.  His world shattered Gabriel finds himself in prison – pending trial.

The Angel keeps us updated on Gabriel’s story while in prison and I loved those scenes. We see how he moved from lonely and uncertain then started to accept his situation and adjust to his new life. What he had not anticipated was Asher – a fellow inmate who has his sights on Gabriel and more than a little power in their confined world.

Elsewhere a brutal murder of an elderly couple commands all the attention of the police. The seemingly unmotivated killings shock Grey and Miles but when they start their investigations they uncover some strange connections which suggest that this random incident may actually be part of something much more sinister.

Although they may not initially be aware – the double murder is going to have a huge impact upon both Miles and Grey. Katerina Diamond expertly spins a story and I was completely hooked on The Angel – Gabriel’s situation was compelling but the personal dramas which her cops encountered lifted this from a “great” book to a “fantastic” book.  I utterly loved it – reading late into the night as I did not want to stop.

The housekeeping bit – The Angel is the 3rd book and there are references to past events. But the good news for new readers or for those (like me) that have “goldfish” memories then The Angel can be enjoyed as a stand alone – really enjoyed, really, really enjoyed.

Katerina Diamond is now firmly established as a must read author, her books are all brilliantly written, paced to perfection and have that dark unpredictability which I always welcome.

The Angel is out in paperback and digital format now – treat yourself, I am going to be recommending this to everyone.

 

The Angel is published by Avon Books and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Angel-shocking-thriller-Imogen-Adrian-ebook/dp/B06XB3R3PV/ref=la_B01C0H1GOE_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1507970935&sr=1-1

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October 5

Quieter Than Killing – Sarah Hilary

It’s winter, the nights are dark and freezing, and a series of seemingly random assaults is pulling DI Marnie Rome and DS Noah Jake out onto streets of London. When Marnie’s family home is ransacked, there are signs that the burglary can have only been committed by someone who knows her. Then a child goes missing, yet no-one has reported it. Suddenly, events seem connected, and it’s personal.

Someone out there is playing games. It is time for both Marnie and Noah to face the truth about the creeping, chilling reaches of a troubled upbringing. Keeping quiet can be a means of survival, but the effects can be as terrible as killing.

 

My thanks to Katie at Headline for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour

 

Quieter Than Killing is the 4th book by Sarah Hilary to feature DI Marnie Rome. Each book can be read as a stand-alone novel but what you need to do is make sure you DO read all four books – they are all fantastic.

We readers are blessed with choice when it comes to police procedurals and crime thrillers, yet – for me – the Marnie Rome books stand head and shoulders above the others. Rome is a determined and focused detective who lives in the constant shadow of personal tragedy and it makes her own story utterly compelling.

In Quieter Than Killing, London is in the grip of a bitter winter and Marnie and DS Noah Jake are on the hunt for a violent offender. Someone has targeted three people for a vicious beating – disfiguring injuries have been inflicted and the only obvious link between the victims is that they have each (in the past) served time in prison for violent attacks of their own.  Are Marnie and Noah looking for a vigilante?  If so then how are they selecting their victims and what possible motive could they have?

Elsewhere the reader gets to see Finn.  He is 10 years old and has been plucked from the street and locked into a house from which there seems no escape.  His captor, dubbed Brady by Finn, has “rules” which Finn must obey…cooking and cleaning is expected and noise or disobedience are not tolerated. Finn is convinced Brady is a pervert who is planning to murder him, but Brady is keeping his distance and has been keeping Finn alive for several weeks. What does he need with the young boy and how much longer must Finn endure his captivity?

I got to enjoy Quieter Than Killing in audio and I need to give a massive thumbs-up to the narrator Imogen Church who voiced Marnie almost exactly how I had imagined her.

As with all of Sarah Hilary’s books the story is gripping, the clues well hidden and the entertainment is to the max. If you are not already reading these books you damn well should be.

 

Quieter Than Killing is published by Headline and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Quieter-Than-Killing-D-I-Marnie-ebook/dp/B01INGSU68/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1507232613&sr=1-1&keywords=sarah+hilary

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October 2

Sleep No More – P.D. James

The acknowledged ‘Queen of Crime’, P. D. James, was a past master of the short story, weaving together motifs of the Golden Age of crime-writing with deep psychological insight to create gripping, suspenseful tales. The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories contained four of these perfectly formed stories, and this companion volume contains a further six, published here together for the first time.

As the six murderous tales unfold, the dark motive of revenge is revealed at the heart of each. Bullying schoolmasters receive their comeuppance, unhappy marriages and childhoods are avenged, a murder in the small hours of Christmas Day puts an end to the vicious new lord of the manor, and, from the safety of his nursing home, an octogenarian exerts exquisite retribution.

The punishments inflicted on the guilty are fittingly severe, but here they are meted out by the unseen forces of natural justice rather than the institutions of the law. Once again, P. D. James shows her expert control of the short-story form, conjuring motives and scenarios with complete conviction, and each with a satisfying twist in the tail.

 

My thanks to Sophie at Faber for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

 

One of my earliest memories of crime drama was watching Shroud for a Nightingale on tv with my mum. Shroud was a PD James story and I still remember being gripped by the story and being particularly disappointed when it ended.

I picked up all the PD James novels I could find once Shroud had finished and I spent many happy hours catching up on the stories of Adam Dalgliesh. I was a firm fan by then and over the next three decades I would always seek out a new PD James novel on release.

Now, many months after her death I get to read a new collection of stories – six in all – gathered in a new book from Faber & Faber: Sleep No More. As soon as I started on the first story I was caught up in her world once again. Her writing style feels so formal against modern books yet the tales she tells seem timeless.

The six stories collected in Sleep No More are:
The Yo-Yo
The Victim
The Murder of Santa Claus
The Girl Who Loved Graveyards
A Very Desirable Residence and
Mr Millcroft’s Birthday

My favourites were most certainly the 3rd and 4th in the above list. The Murder of Santa Claus a very nicely worked murder tale which was almost certainly mirroring the style of an Agatha Christie tale.

The Girl Who Loved Graveyards was the darkest of the collection. While each story has a murder to consider Graveyards was the “unfiltered” tale and the author did not shy away from the crime, it was vividly described to shocking effect.

Short stories are exactly that – short. This collection comes in at around 170 pages in length and if I were ordering the book online I’d like to have known that ahead of time. It is a cracking collection of cleverly written tales, which I read in a couple of hours.

But the treat in Sleep No More is the class of the author’s storytelling. I loved reading this one and the variety of approaches was a treat. A twist, a clever narrative, that shocking ending and the clever reveals which have you flicking back to see where you missed the clue.

She was one of the best at what she did, her work lives on and Sleep No More only enhances my appreciation of her skills.

 

Sleep No More is published by Faber & Faber and is available in Hardback and Digital formats – you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sleep-No-More-Murderous-Tales-ebook/dp/B0721NSJZW/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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September 28

Death Parts Us – Alex Walters

Twenty years ago, Jackie Galloway was a senior cop with a bad reputation. Then he ended up on the wrong side of the wrong people, and his career was ruined. Sacked and with no pension, he ends up eking out his last days on Scotland’s Black Isle, his mind lost to dementia, supported only by his long-suffering wife, Bridie.

Then Galloway is found dead. The police assume the death to be accidental, until Bridie Galloway reveals that her husband has been receiving apparently threatening letters containing only the phrase: ‘NOT FORGOTTEN. NOT FORGIVEN.’

DI Alec McKay is struggling to come to terms with life without his estranged wife Chrissie, and is living in isolation on the Black Isle. As a junior officer, McKay had been allocated to Galloway’s team and has bad memories of the man and his methods. Now he finds himself investigating Galloway’s death.

But when suspicion falls on him and more police officers are murdered, the pressure is on for McKay to solve the case.

Why would the killer seek revenge twenty years after Galloway left the force?

As McKay fights to link the events of past and present, he realizes that time is rapidly running out…

 

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

If you live in London, Manchester or New York you will not bat an eye if you pick up a book set in the city you live. Happens all the time.  You may smile a little if you recognise a street name or if your old school is mentioned; it is a familiarity you would enjoy spotting.

I grew up in the Highlands of Scotland. I went to school in a town called Fortrose, I drove through the neighbouring town of Avoch* and walked to Rosemarkie. Ever heard of them?  Unlikely. They are not often selected as the setting for serial killer thrillers so we don’t get to experience that wee smile of familiarity.

But Death Parts Us by Alex Walters is set on The Black Isle and features all these towns (well…villages) and I read this book with a huge smile on my face.  I walked these streets, I went to that beach, I have crossed that bridge more times than I can count and I have tromped through the Fairy Glen. This is a book set in my wee part of the world and I bloody loved it.

But you are now thinking – I have never heard of these places, is this book one I will enjoy too?  YES. If we move beyond my love of the locations in the book there is also my love of great crime novels and Death Parts Us is a slick and highly entertaining thriller.

Retired police officers are dying. Initially their deaths are considered tragic accidents, old men in poor health who reach the end of their days. However, the frequency of sudden and unexpected deaths of old colleagues soon points to some sinister faction at work. Then it becomes clear that each of the dead men had been receiving letters “Not Forgotten. Not Forgiven”  DI Alec McKay wants to investigate, however, some unfortunate timing means he will be sidelined as Alec finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Can Alec have any influence on an investigation if he just asks a few questions around the villages?

The responsibility to investigate will fall to his younger colleague Ginny Horton. But Ginny has problems of her own. An unwelcome visitor from her past has tracked her down and Ginny is not prepared to face those old and unwelcome memories.  Not that she can turn to McKay, he is trying to adjust to life alone after a recent split from his wife and has his own problems to contend with.

Death Parts Us is the second novel to feature DI Alec McKay (Candles and Roses was the first book). I had not read the first book in the series so I can state with assurance that you can read Death Parts Us without needing to read Candles – the book is very enjoyable as a stand-alone novel.

I really enjoyed Death Parts Us and I cannot wait to go back and read the first book in the series. I urge you to seek this one out, a police procedural in a whole new setting and a cracking murder mystery to enjoy.

Death Parts Us is published by Bloodhound Books and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1?ie=UTF8&text=Alex+Walters&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Alex+Walters&sort=relevancerank

 

*Avoch rhymes with “Loch” and is pronounced “awch” – it has a harbour where you can take out a boat to go dolphin spotting in the Cromarty Firth.

 

 

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September 21

The Ice Shroud – Gordon Ell

When a woman’s body is discovered frozen in the ice of a river near the alpine resort of Queenstown, Detective Sergeant Malcolm Buchan faces both a mystery and a moral dilemma. The identity of the nude woman is critical to the motives and manner of her murder, and Buchan is personally involved. So are a number of locals, from ski bums to multi-millionaire businessman.

Newly appointed to head CIB in the Southern Lakes district, Buchan hunts the killer through the entanglements of corruption and abuse that lie barely below the surface of the tourist towns.

The assistance of a woman traffic sergeant is critical to the hunt but she brings her own dilemmas. The community is practised at keeping its secrets, and finding the truth comes at a price

 

The Ice Shroud has been named on the Best First Novel shortlist for the first ever Ngaio Marsh Awards. I have been invited to join the blog tour for the Awards and I was thrilled to have the chance to read Gordon Ell’s debut novel. My heartfelt thanks to Craig Sisterson for inviting me to join this international blog tour.

 

Wikipedia tells me that Dunedin is the second largest city in the South Island of New Zealand – its name comes from the old Gaelic name for Edinburgh (capital city of Scotland) MY capital city.  I knew the origins of the name Dunedin before I read The Ice Shroud so every time Dunedin received a name check in the book I had a happy smile – wee things like this make me absurdly happy!

What also makes me happy is when I have the chance to read a cleverly written and engaging murder mystery and I found The Ice Shroud to be exactly that, I found it utterly compelling. A whodunnit tale set in a small New Zealand town where the police are not prepared to investigate a mysterious death and yet they have to cobble a team together when a badly mutilated corpse is discovered.

Leading the investigation is DS Malcolm Buchan he has completed tours in Afghanistan but returned to New Zealand and now works for the police. He is assisted in his investigations by Magda Hansen – a traffic cop who just happened to be first on scene when a woman’s body was found deep in a ravine and partially submerged in an icy river.

We follow Buchan and Magda as they first meet then try to work out how they can recover the body from its incredibly inaccessible resting place. Once the corpse is finally recovered Buchan will find himself facing a personal dilemma which could have significant implications over how the investigation will proceed.

The victim lived and worked in a Southern resort region on the South Island. There is a high turnover of tourists to the town but the locals have a strong support network and will close ranks against the police who come knocking at their doors.  As Buchan uncovers more details of the life that the victim lived he only uncovers more questions, how could her specialist boutique sustain such heavy losses? Why did  her Bank Manager and her Accountant both offer her personal loans on a loss making business but not seek any security on her borrowing?  Why does the local barman deny knowing the victim, despite her being a frequent visitor at his establishment?

Buchan will have to break down the suspicious defences of the residents, pick out the half-truths and work out why nobody is keen to admit to knowing his victim – despite all indications that they knew her well.  To this end Gordon Ell has penned a wonderfully crafted small town murder mystery. With a relatively small cast of potential suspects, all confined in a small area and all seemingly knowing of each other’s interests The Ice Shroud is also a fascinating study of characters and what may drive them.

Having read a few Ngaio Marsh novels in my younger days I can remember them being cleverly crafted tales which always kept me guessing. The Ice Shroud therefore sits very well on the shortlist for a Ngaio Marsh award, the clever plotting by the author reflects the dogged determination of DS Buchan to find a killer and I could not turn the pages fast enough. Highly recommended, if you are a fan of police procedurals then The Ice Shroud is not a book to miss.

 

The Ice Shroud is published by Bush Press.

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