October 13

The Jigsaw Man – Nadine Matheson

There’s a serial killer on the loose.

When bodies start washing up along the banks of the River Thames, DI Henley fears it is the work of Peter Olivier, the notorious Jigsaw Killer. But it can’t be him; Olivier is already behind bars, and Henley was the one who put him there.

The race is on before more bodies are found.

She’d hoped she’d never have to see his face again, but Henley knows Olivier might be the best chance they have at stopping the copycat killer. But when Olivier learns of the new murders, helping Henley is the last thing on his mind . . .

Will it take a killer to catch the killer?

Now all bets are off, and the race is on to catch the killer before the body count rises. But who will get there first – Henley, or the Jigsaw Killer?

 

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley

 

The problem with reading multiple books at the same time is that I tend to finish a few titles in a short space of time. My review writing does not keep pace with my reading so (long story short) some reviews don’t get written when they should. Couple this with my goldfish memory and it is only when I revisit my Netgally library that I realise I have finished some books and not provided the feedback.

Putting a positive spin on all that means I have a great book to review today even though I have not actually finished reading any new books this week. Hurrah. And strap in – this one’s a bit graphic in places!

The Jigsaw Man, Peter Olivier, is in prison for multiple murders. He acquired his name as he dismembered his victims leaving limbs well apart from their body. A charismatic character who believes himself to have a superior intellect, he was caught by DI Anjelica Henley who was badly injured in by Olivier when he was arrested. Henley has been absent from work for a prolonged spell but her recouperation is complete and she feels ready to resume her duties in full – her mental recouperation may not quite be where it needs to be though.

Unfortunately for Henley she is returning to work just as a new killer is making his presence known, an Olivier copycat, which means more bodies are going to be found and readers be warned…Nadine Matheson is giving you details of his crimes so be sure you are ready for some detailed descriptions.

Henley isn’t working alone though and we get to enjoy a new investigating team. This includes her very new trainee: Ramouter who is to work alongside Henley. Ramouter is cutting his teeth on a dangerous and disturbing investigation and I loved this pairing who are finding their feet with each other as we watch. It’s a fun dynamic and Nadine Matheson makes it work really well.

Serial Killer stories are a particular favourite of mine and I prefer my crime thrillers to lean towards gritty so The Jigsaw Man was ticking all my boxes. It’s a brilliantly spun story and one I thoroughly enjoyed, flying through it in just a couple of days. More like this would be very welcome but if you haven’t picked up your copy yet – go get one today.

 

The Jigsaw Man is published by HQ and is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B088PBPZZR/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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October 4

The Quiet People – Paul Cleave

Cameron and Lisa Murdoch are successful New Zealand crime writers, happily married and topping bestseller lists worldwide. They have been on the promotional circuit for years, joking that no one knows how to get away with crime like they do. After all, they write about it for a living.

So when their challenging seven-year-old son Zach disappears, the police and the public naturally wonder if they have finally decided to prove what they have been saying all this time…

Are they trying to show how they can commit the perfect crime?

Electrifying, taut and immaculately plotted, The Quiet People is a chilling, tantalisingly twisty thriller that will keep you gripped and guessing to the last explosive page.

 

My thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for my review copy

 

This book comes at you with unrelenting pace and by the end every emotion had been wrung from my body. Suffice to say I bloody loved The Quiet People but it’s going to be a nightmare to review without letting any spoilers slip.

Cameron Murdoch is having a day. He has taken his young son, Zach, to a local fair but in a moment when he is distracted his son manages to leave the bouncy castle without Cameron noticing. Cameron panics and jumps onto the castle to see if Zach is perhaps just out of his line of vison, kids get upset, Cameron gets frustrated nobody will help him and the matter escalates. There are threats against Cameron, his own fierce temper soars too as he gets angry at people’s reaction. A punch is thrown, pictures are taken, kids are upset and meanwhile. Zach is spotted queuing for another ride.

Zach is a “challenging” child and is prone to doing his own thing in his own way. He knows he has annoyed Cameron and tries to work out what he has done wrong but he becomes upset as he thinks he acted properly. Cameron tries to calm him but Zach becomes enraged, screaming and screaming in frustration. Cameron bundles him home but that night as Cameron puts Zach to bed, Zach threatens to run away.

In the morning Zach’s room is empty – it looks like he has made good on his threat to run away.

The police are called. Cameron and his wife Lisa are calling everyone they can think of, they are driving to locations where Zach may be. All to no avail – Zach cannot be found.

Lisa and Cameron are famous crime writers. The police are aware the couple have repeatedly joked during interviews about crime authors being able to get away with murder – some of the investigative team harbour a suspicion that Lisa and Cameron may have decided to remove a problematic child from their lives. This seed of doubt spreads and after a disasterous press conference which was intended to appeal for Zach’s safe return it appears the public also have their doubts about Lisa and Cameron’s innocence.

Things get even worse when one journalist discovers the events which had ocurred at the park the day before – images of an upset Zach, an angry Cameron and the boy being bundled into his dad’s car do not present a good look for a couple pleading for their son to be returned home.

I honestly cannot begin to tell you the problems Cameron and Lisa will face – far, far too many spoilers. At one stage I thought the story had reached a conclusion only for a whole new predicament to raise its head and the story to take an extremely unexpected new direction. Emotional journey doesn’t even come close to describing how Cameron fares in this story.

It’s two frightened and desperate parents, it’s a missing child, it’s a police force facing a difficult time sensitve investigation which the celebrity factor has thrust into a media spotlight. It’s #YeahNoir – New Zealand crime writing at its very best. Honestly I could not put this one down.

 

 

The Quiet People is published by Orenda Books on 25 November in paperback and is available now in digital format.  You can get your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B097PRKM64/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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September 21

Blood Summer – Steven Dunne

Two detectives from opposite sides of the planet join forces to hunt a ruthless killer in the South of France.

Commandant Serge Benoit is haunted by the terror attack in Nice, a crime scene he can see from his seafront apartment. Dispatched to a remote village, an hour’s drive from his home city, Benoit finds two brutally dismembered bodies. Who are the victims? Where did they come from? And who killed them? Benoit’s only clue is a cell phone with a single number in the memory…

Former FBI Agent, Michael Trent, is a wanted man in his homeland. Unable to return to America, he travels the world as an escapologist-for-hire, helping people in trouble to disappear. In Singapore, he is engaged by multi-millionaire Harry Renfrew who needs to relocate after receiving death threats from the Russian mafia.

After hiding Renfrew and his wife in a rustic French village, Trent assumes Renfrew’s identity to lay down a false trail to confound pursuers. After weeks of incident free globetrotting, Trent arrives in Barcelona for the final leg of his journey. But before he can congratulate himself on a job well done, he receives a shattering phone call…

 

Normally when I post a review I share the blurb then, in this space, I mention I am reviewing as part of a blog tour or I may thank a publisher for proving a review copy. Today I am reviewing Blood Summer, a book from my TBR pile which I had pre-ordered and received on release as I think Steven Dunne is a brilliant author and I absolutely had to read this book as soon as I could. Well done to past-life me, that was a great decicion you made a few weeks ago.

Blood Summer is in the world and if you like a dark, intelligent and pacy crime thriller then this is very much a book you should be reading.

The action takes place in rural France where two bodies have been found in a luxury villa on the edge of a small village near the South coast. Both victims appear to have suffered prior to death and their bodies were dismembered leaving investigators with little to go on. Commandant Benoit and his colleagues will take short term residence in the village while they conduct their investigations but this is not a small town crime.

Before the murders take place and the police become involved, the reader knows the victims. We have read about their flight from the East into Europe, how they travelled using fake passports and we understand why it was essential nobody knew who they were. For the couple we were rooting for and the former FBI Agent (Michael Trent) who had been employed to ensure their safety, this is a double blow for a reader.

Where did everything go wrong for Trent? Well, perhaps the incident which led to his departure from the FBI may have influenced his subsequent career choices but the memories of an operation which went wrong will never leave him. Now a second operational failure hangs over him and he must rely upon the support of the French police if he his to understand what happened. The problem for Trent is that he is very much a Person of Interest to the police and he must convince them of his innocence.

Despite the dark nature of the murders (and some of the other plotlines) there is humour and heart in this book too. Steven Dunne knows how to pack his stories with punch and I enjoyed every aspect of Blood Summer. Highly recommended.

Blood Summer is available in paperback and digital format and can be ordered here:

 

 

 

 

 

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September 6

Five Minds – Guy Morpuss

SHARING A BODY CAN BE MURDER

The Earth’s spiralling population has finally been controlled. Lifespans are limited to eighty years, except for those who make an extreme choice: to become a commune. Five minds sharing one body, each living for four hours at a time. But with a combined lifespan of nearly 150 years.

Alex, Kate, Mike, Sierra and Ben have already spent twenty-five years together in what was once Mike’s body, their frequent personality clashes leading to endless bickering, countless arguments, and getting themselves stranded on a Russian Artic freighter. Wanting to buy upgrades for their next host body, they decide to travel to a Death Park where time can be gambled like money. But things go very wrong when Kate accepts a dangerous offer, and one of them disappears.

Someone is trying to kill off members of the commune. But why? Is one of them responsible? Or is an outsider playing a deadly game? It’s hard enough to catch a murderer. It’s almost impossible when you might be sharing a body with them…

 

I received a review copy from Viper and I thank Anne Cater at Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to host this leg of the Five Minds blog tour.

 

Where to start with Five Minds? How to explain Five Minds? This is an absolute belter of a crime story. It’s high concept, cleverly constructed and has all the tension and thrills I want from my murder stories.

But it’s a bit “different” with Five Minds sharing a body, all taking an alloted time to live while the other Minds are dormant and waiting for their allocated time to roll around again. So readers have five main characters to get to know and we learn they can only communicate with each other by leaving messages for the other people inhabiting their body. Guy Morpuss explains it so much more effectively in the book and being able to see what Kate, Mike, Sienna, Alex and Ben are telling each other allows the reader to understand the dynamics of each character.

Although big decisions need to be made by unanimous vote (thus taking 24 hours) sometimes snap decisions are needed and the Mind which makes that choice has to hope the others agree. This takes conflicted main character to a whole new level!

In Five Minds our commune of Minds are in danger, a synthetic lifeform has challenged Kate to a game. The prize is more time (time is lifetime and everyone can trade some of their hours to prolong their lifespan). Kate has no time to consult the others so agrees to the android’s challenge and from here our Five are in danger. Someone, for reasons they don’t know, is trying to kill each of the Minds within the body.

Within the world where Five Minds is set are game zones. The desperate souls who are reaching the end of their lives can play in the games to try to win more time. Fail and it’s an early death. Our Five must play these games and Guy Morpuss has devised some absorbing challenges for them. The games are physical challenges, there are moral and reasoning dilemma scenarios to navigate or problem solving challenges to overcome. Failure isn’t an option but what happens if a third party is trying to rig the odds against you?

Five Minds is quite unlike anything else. A murder tale in a fantasy reality and obviously this may not appeal to everybody. But if you pass on this excellent book then it will be your loss – how refreshing to have something so wonderfully different to enjoy. Embrace the unusual and go with it.

 

Five Minds is published by Viper and is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08QB1L1JW/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

 

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September 4

A Slow Fire Burning – Paula Hawkins

‘What is wrong with you?’

Laura has spent most of her life being judged. She’s seen as hot-tempered, troubled, a loner. Some even call her dangerous.

Miriam knows that just because Laura is witnessed leaving the scene of a horrific murder with blood on her clothes, that doesn’t mean she’s a killer. Bitter experience has taught her how easy it is to get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Carla is reeling from the brutal murder of her nephew. She trusts no one: good people are capable of terrible deeds. But how far will she go to find peace?

Innocent or guilty, everyone is damaged. Some are damaged enough to kill.

Look what you started.

 

I received a review copy from the publishers. My thanks also go to Anne Cater at Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the tour for A Slow Fire Burning.

 

A Slow Fire Burning: a book which took a little while to draw me in – the classic slow burn thriller. And that’s exactly what this story was; even though the prologue tells of a young girl fleeing from a man who seems to have harmed her friend and the first chapter introduces us to Laura as she tries to wash blood from her t-shirt. Indeed the first five pages tell of danger, violence and two vulnerable women so you can’t say Paula Hawkins isn’t grabbing your attention from the get-go.

And once the reader gets past those first five pages there is soon a brutal murder to read about local busybody, Miriam, finds a dead man sprawled on the floor of his houseboat. Miriam tries to keep track of all the activity on the houseboats beside her own so she knows the man in question had entertained young Laura a few days earlier and even finds something belonging to Laura by his body but she isn’t going to leave that for the police to find…why not? I wondered.

Once the murder has been discovered, and Miriam has the chance to chat with the police about what she may have seen, Paula Hawkins takes us through the players in this clever drama. This is when the perception of a slow burn may kick in as we learn about the lives and background of those involved.

The murdered man’s aunt is Carla who recently lost her sister too. Carla experienced the ultimate tragedy many years earlier when her son, as a toddler, died while under the care of Carla’s sister. Her son’s death placed too much strain on Carla’s marriage to Theo and the marriage ended but the couple stay just a few streets apart and Carla still spends time with Theo. Theo is a successful novelist with a smash hit in his past, however, there is a suggestion he took inspiration from events in Miriam’s life and there is a history of bad feeling between the pair. Switch back to Laura, a troubled girl who was injured as a child by a hit and run driver leaving her with a damaged leg, a trigger temper and the inability to always think clearly and rationally. Laura earns a few extra quid by collecting shopping for Irene who is now in her 80s and not as mobile as she was. Irene was Angela’s next-door neighbour.  Who is Angela?  Well that would be Carla’s sister, Theo’s sister-in-law and the woman responsible for looking after Carla’s son the night he died. Angela died just a couple of weeks before events in the story commenced.

Phew, there are a fair few connections in that ensemble and Paula Hawkins establishes each character and covers their background with great care. She is seeding plot threads and throwing out red herrings and it is skillfully done. Okay it does mean the murder is slightly pushed to the background and this may give the impression we are not getting anywhere but we are, everything is leading somewhere and your reward as a reader is to getting to know these people and understanding their lives because nothing is quite what it seems.

You finish reading A Slow Fire Burning and you know you have finished reading a great story. That’s what we want, a book to set up a cast, push them and stretch their emotions to limits they didn’t know they had and stepping back to see how they react. Unpredictably!

 

 

A Slow Fire Burning is published by Doubleday and is available in Hardback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order your copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/a-slow-fire-burning/paula-hawkins/2928377051112

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September 1

The Divinities – Parker Bilal

When two bodies are found brutally murdered at a building site in Battersea, DS Cal Drake is first to the scene. He sees an opportunity: to solve a high-profile case and to repair his reputation after a botched undercover operation almost ended his promising career in the Violent Crimes Unit.

Assigned to work with the forensic psychologist Dr Rayhana Crane, and on the hunt for an elusive killer, Drake’s investigations lead down the dark corridors of the past – to the Iraq war and the destruction both he and Crane witnessed there. With a community poised on the brink of violence, Crane and Drake must put their lives on the line to stop the killer before vengeance is unleashed.

 

Thanks to Jamie Norman at Canongate for sending me a copy for review

 

I took this book on holiday to read and after an unfortunate “pool” incident it didn’t make it home. Which is a real shame as I really enjoyed The Divinities as it took my crime reading to the dark gritty corners of London and introduced me to two interesting lead characters that I look forward to seeing again.

Cal Drake is the first police officer on the scene at a building site where the night guard has found two very dead bodies. Drake has put himself at the scene of a brutal double murder but his position in the force is not strong following past incidents; which readers will learn more about as the story unfolds. After pleading with his boss for the opportunity to investigate the two deaths he finds himself with a very short period of time to show significant progress in identifying a killer.

As pressure to deliver a result intensifies, Drake also finds himself gaining assistance from Dr Rayhana Crane.  Dr Crane is a forensic psychologist keeping her practice running after the death of her former business partner and struggling to get the proper work balance in place now she is running solo. The opportunity to work with the police is definitely arriving at an opportune moment but she will need to convice Drake she can be an asset and she also needs to convince him to let her help.

Though working the same investigation the pair don’t spend too much of their time together, this allows Drake to investigate and chase down leads and Crane to pursue an alternative line of enquiry (which leans into spoiler territory so I can’t elaborate). Suffice to say each has a fascinating story thread to explore and I enjoyed learning more about how each half of the duo operated.

Drake has a chequered past, he changed faith and explored new teachings then through his policework seems to know several of the city gangsters and can gain assistance when needed. Crane has worked in some fascinating areas too and her patients, trauma sufferers, can be more than a handful in more than one sense but Crane is more than capable of looking after herself.

The two threads of the story will start to pull together and the endgame in The Divinities is pure tension.

 

 

The Divinities is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08SR7JK4F/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

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August 29

A Numbers Game – RJ Dark

One dead man and a missing lottery ticket.
Two family members who need that money to get away from the rundown Blades Edge estate.
Three local gangsters who want that money for themselves.

Meet Malachite Jones – the foremost (and only) psychic medium on the gritty Blades Edge estate. All he wants are two things: a name that isn’t ‘Malachite’, and a quiet life. And maybe some real psychic powers, but he’s making a living without them.

Janine Stanbeck wants to find her dead husband Larry’s winning ticket and escape Blades Edge with her son. And she thinks Mal can help her.

But Larry’s dad is the crime lord of the estate, and he wants that ticket for himself, and worse for Mal, he’s not the only criminal with his eyes on it. Add in two coppers desperate to nick Mal’s best, only, and admittedly quite dangerous, friend, Jackie Singh Kattar, and Blades Edge is getting pretty crowded.

Malachite Jones might not really be able to talk to the dead, but if he and his friend Jackie Singh Kattar can’t find that money and a solution that pleases everyone they’re likely to be in need of a psychic medium themselves.

The first Mal Jones and Jackie Singh Kattar adventure: a chaotic rollercoaster ride through a Yorkshire landscape full of double crossing friends, dogged police, psychotic gangster and voices from the other side.

 

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley.

 

There is a real skill to delivering a thriller which has lashings of tension, violence and murder but also keeps fun in its soul and gives the readers laughs and empathy and two lead characters you will want to see return as soon as possible.  Kudos, therefore, to RJ Dark for the hugely enjoyable A Numbers Game; first in a new series to feature “psychic medium” Mal Jones and his extremely deadly best friend Jackie Singh Katter.

Jackie sends Mal a new client: Janine Stanbeck. Her husband recently died in a motorcycle accident and Janine wants to know if Mal can communicate with her late husband as she needs to know where he hid his winning lottery ticket. Janine is very cynical and does not believe Mal can help her but desperate times call for desperate measures and Mal may well be her last chance to get her hands on the unclaimed millions.

Unfortunately for Mal, Janine is the daughter of the local crime kingpin and the Stanbeck family is to be feared and (if possible) avoided. And Janine is not the only person looking for the missing ticket – her father would quite like to get his hands on it too…as would the Russian gangsters who would also like to see the Stanbeck family taken out of the picture so they can extend their own influence. All these interested parties would like Mal to find the missing ticket. Actually they all expect him to find the ticket and they all expect Mal to ignore any other people who may want the ticket and pass control of the money to them. Mal, caught up in the middle of the mix,would really like everyone to leave him alone but that does not seem likely.

Mal will need to rely upon Jackie to keep him safe and help him out when the going gets heavy, which it does. Jackie is the violent part of the duo and when the pair are backed into a corner the fists will fly and Jackie frequently surprises the larger and more intimidating thugs who will cross their path.

I had a blast reading A Numbers Game. Mal needs to understand the man at the heart of the problem and to know the secrets of a dead biker who seemed to be forging a path away from the criminal background the rest of his family. Jackie has to keep Mal alive. Together the pair are fantastic fun to read about and it’s one of those books you zip through as the action comes thick and fast.

Characters are brilliantly developed, nobody likes Mal and the police are determined to lock up Jackie; just how the pair keep it together is something of a minor miracle. More books in this series would be very welcome, no better feeling for a reader than getting characters you instantly like and want to read again.

 

A Numbers Game is available in paperback and digital format and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08Z85446C/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

 

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August 20

Ouija – Zoé-Lee O’Farrell

The only thing for certain is the deaths were no accident.

Rayner High School once a prestigious school stands in ruins after such a terrible event.

A year later, a group of friends return to the abandoned school and their nightmare begins.

Something wants to get out and won’t take NO for an answer…

 

 

My thanks to Zoe-Lee O’Farrell for the opportunity to join the Question Mark Horror Blog tours.

I received a review copy of Ouija and Camp Death from the publishers so I could participate in this double-header blog tour.

 

I missed out on Point Horror as a reader, I was already onto King, Herbert, Laymon and Hutson when the Point Horror titles were at a peak. However, I was a young bookseller back in the day and I sold dozens of them, usually to the same faces every couple of weeks as a wave of young horror readers came to our bookshop to get their latest fix.

Question Mark Horror seem to be tapping into the same target readership as both Ouija and Camp Death are chillers but keep on the careful side of being too detailed with the depictions of carnage. YA readers will have a ball with these though and it is always great to see horror titles being enjoyed.

This leg of the Two Books One Tour is about Ouija by Zoé-Lee O’Farrell and the name is a big clue as to where the menace lies. Six childhood friends decide they will use an ouija board to communicate with the dead.  Not only do they feel this is a sensible thing to do, they decide to do it in the old school in their town, a building no longer in use after it was the scene of an horrific massacre where staff and students died at the hands of an unknown assailant. Though perhaps this is a mystery which the ouija board could help cast some light upon?

The book opens with a flashback to the start of the massacre in the school but before we can get too much idea as to what may be about to unfold the narrative switches to the six friends who will be the stars of the show. Readers get to learn about each of the kids and understand the group dynamic. It’s clear there are some rivalries and hidden affection but they seem a tight group despite not all of them being keen to venture into Rayner High School and communicate with the spirits.

Soon the friends are slipping out their homes and making their way to the ruined building. Their final destination (as it were) is to be the Headmaster’s study but as they edge their way along the dark corridors we can see they are not the only ones moving around the old school that night. Without getting into too much more detail things do not go to plan and the friends don’t get to complete their ritual properly, have they left a path open for any of the spirits?

It isn’t long before unexplained incidents start happening around some of the group and each becomes increasingly unnerved. Their terror is complete when one of their number dies and the readers soon learn that one death is only just the beginning.

As I tend to read at night I will confess Ouija had me nervously glancing into the dark corners of my room on more than one occasion. It’s a relatively quick read and the story zips along at a very satisfying pace which meant we got to the darker events pretty quickly. Fans of horror films and chilling fiction will get their kicks from this one as there are plenty of recognisable horror devices brought into play. Good fun and always a treat to get a new horror read, I look forward to seeing what Question Mark Horror will have for us in future.

 

Ouija is available in digital format and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0997CPK3J/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

The Question Mark Horror tour is a two book affair and I will be back with my thoughts on Camp Death at the end of the month

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August 12

Half-Past Tomorrow – Chris McGeorge

Shirley Steadman, a 70 year old living in a small town in the North East of England, loves her volunteer work at the local hospital radio. She likes giving back to the community, and even more so, she likes getting out of the house. Haunted by the presence of her son, a reluctant Royal Navy officer who was lost at sea, and still in the shadow of her long dead abusive husband, she doesn’t like being alone much.

One day, at the radio station, she is playing around with the equipment and finds a frequency that was never there before. It is a pirate radio station, and as she listens as the presenter starts reading the news. But there is one problem – the news being reported is tomorrows. Shirley first thinks it is a mere misunderstanding – a wrong date. But she watches as everything reported comes true. At first, Shirley is in awe of the station, and happily tunes in to hear the news.

But then the presenter starts reporting murders – murders that happen just the way they were reported.

And Shirley is the only one who can stop them.

 

My thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the opportunity to join the blog tour. I recieved a review copy from the publishers ahead of the tour.

 

Half-Past Tomorrow drew me in the second I read the blurb – a radio news report which is giving tomorrow’s news stories? Knowing 24 hours in advance of events which are going to happen is unsettling but to learn a murder will take place? What would anyone do in those circumstances?

Fortunately this dilemma doesn’t fall on the readers but lands at the feet of Shirley Steadman. Shirley is a pensioner who volunteers at her local hospital radio. She has had a tough life but the death of her abusive and dominating husband, coupled with the tragic suicide of her son have given Shirley a peace and inner steel which makes her a feisty and determined principle character.

Shirley is at the hospital when she finds an old radio set as she waits to begin her show. While spinning through the frequencies she finds a pirate radio station Mallet which heads into the news as Shirley is listening. She realises this station is VERY local to her home in the North East of England and enjoys listening to an amateur broadcaster sharing enthusiasm over local events.

The last story on the news tells of a local baker falling off a ladder outside his shop. Shirley hadn’t heard about the event and doesn’t give it much thought until the next day when her son-in-law also recounts the story about the baker but makes it clear it had just happened. Shirley heard about the ladder fall before it happened – she needs to understand how.

Worried she may be mistaken, Shirley tries to talk it through with her son Gabe. Gave died at the start of the book, took his own life while at sea. Yet he sometimes appears to Shirley in her kitchen and once she got passed the initial hysterical screaming she began to speak with her when he appears.

Half-Past Tomorrow shows how Shirley becomes obsessed by the pirate radio show and its predictive news reports. Despite health issues restricting her investigations Shirley doggedly chases down the reported incidents and soon becomes entangled in a way she could not have predicted.

Safe to say I had a lot of fun reading this book, I had absolutely no idea how Chris McGeorge was going to find a way Shirley could “solve” her pirate radio mystery. That need to see how the story would play out kept me hooked.  There were more than a few surprises along the way that I really enjoyed too.

 

Half-Past Tomorrow is published by Orion and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08V95SMCB/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

 

 

 

 

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August 6

A Rattle of Bones – Douglas Skelton

In 1752, Seamus a’Ghlynne, James of the Glen, was executed for the murder of government man Colin Campbell. He was almost certainly innocent.

When banners are placed at his gravesite claiming that his namesake, James Stewart, is innocent of murder, reporter Rebecca Connolly smells a story. The young Stewart has been in prison for ten years for the brutal murder of his lover, lawyer and politician Murdo Maxwell, in his Appin home. Rebecca soon discovers that Maxwell believed he was being followed prior to his murder and his phones were tapped.

Why is a Glasgow crime boss so interested in the case? As Rebecca keeps digging, she finds herself in the sights of Inverness crime matriarch Mo Burke, who wants payback for the damage caused to her family in a previous case.

Set against the stunning backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, A Rattle of Bones is a tale of injustice and mystery, and the echo of the past in the present.

 

My thanks to Polygon for providing a review copy of A Rattle of Bones.

 

When you’re selecting a new book to read you always hope you pick one which you will enjoy. This is particularly important if you are selecting an audiobook. The time you expect to devote towards reading a story means you will be looking for a rewarding return for that investment. What can you do to reduce the risk of selecting a disappointing read?

Well I recommend picking up a book by Douglas Skelton, he always delivers a tight, gripping thriller. Skelton will perfectly balance tension, humour and the human engagement needed from characters to make them authentic and believable. He consistently delivers and with his Rebecca Connolly series he seems to be hitting new highs.

A Rattle of Bones is the third book in the series, you don’t need to have read either of the two previous novels to enjoy this one. Rebecca is a journalist working for a news agency in Inverness. Events in Thunder Bay and The Blood is Still have left her somewhat rattled and there has been some turmoil she has had to endure but Rebecca is made of strong stuff and plugs on. What she did not anticipate was a direct threat to her safety when a face-to-face confrontation takes an unexpected turn. Someone doesn’t like Rebecca’s reporting of certain events and makes it clear he will be watching and wating for the chance to make her pay.

It’s a chilling opening to the story and places a constant threat over Rebecca for the whole story.

Personal threats don’t stop Rebecca from working and she finds herself investigating the imprisonment of James Stewart, convicted for killing his lover, the politician Murdo Maxwell.  Maxwell’s body was found in a locked room in his home, Stewart was unconcious beside him with a bloody poker in his hand and it was clear to the police and prosecutors that Stewart killed Maxwell while under the influence of drugs – his sentencing was but a formality.

Ten years later there are now doubts over Stewart’s guilt. Banners have been erected which suggest there has been a miscarriage of justice – Stewart is innocent. Rebecca agrees to run a story which alerts readers to the possibility James Stewart did not murder Murdo Maxwell, she then finds herself in a lawyer’s office under the promise he can cast further light on the matter.

Rebecca is about to become caught up in a complicated drama which has its roots over a decade earlier. Long memories, rivalries and personal pride make people do unpredicable things and Rebecca is caught up in the mix. Oh and don’t forget…someone is out to get her.

If every book was as enjoyable as this I’d be a happy reader.

 

A Rattle of Bones is published by Polygon and is available now in paperback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08Q3M2L36/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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