February 26

Doctor Who:The American Adventures – Justin Richards

 

Travel through time and space with the Twelfth Doctor in these six brand new adventures, set in a host of locations across the US and eras from throughout US history.

An invisible spacecraft turns up at the Battle of New Orleans, an alien presence is detected at the 1944 D-Day landings, and ghosts take over New York’s subway tunnels as they’re being dug in the early 1900s…

Filled with mystery, excitement and the Doctor’s trademark wit, these timey-wimey stories will delight any Doctor Who fan.

 

 

My thanks to Penguin Books UK for my review copy which I received through Netgalley

When Doctor Who goes off the air I switch to the books to get my fix of my favourite Timelord. This is a tactic which has been working for me since 1989 and I hope it never ends. When the novelisations of the tv shows ended I was bereft, however, Virgin Books and then BBC started releasing original novels featuring various incarnations of the Doctor and since the early 1990’s there have been a steady stream of new tales to enjoy.

Through the years Justin Richards has been a regular contributor to those original Doctor Who novels and he has written some of my favourite Doctor Who books. This means that when settled down to read Doctor Who: The American Adventures (six tales all from Mr Richards) I knew that I had some treats ahead…I was not disappointed.

As the name suggests all the stories are based in America and the Doctor will find himself arriving at some familiar points in time. The Oregon Trail (opportunity missed for The Ogron Trail), the California Gold Rush and with New York and a Florida theme-park also featuring we get a feel for different parts of the diverse landscape offered in the US.

I don’t believe it is possible to read a short story collection without favouring some tales more than others and this was the case with DW:TAA. I enjoyed the New York ghost story and the amusement park in Florida was fun too.  That said the collection holds together really well and Who fans will enjoy the chance to see the Doctor (avec Capaldi face) back in the thick of the action.

A bit of Doctor Who knowledge will serve you well – but this is much more commonly found in readers over the last 10 years than was the case in the 1990’s!

Justin Richards is always very readable and this was an enjoyable evening’s entertainment.  There are too few Capaldi stories available for readers so while we wait for the latest incarnation to light up our screens I recommend Doctor Who: The American Adventures.

 

Doctor Who: The American Adventures is available in hardback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-American-Adventures-Various/dp/1405928727/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1519588441&sr=8-4

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February 25

Evidence of Death – Peter Ritchie

Billy Nelson is back home in battle-scarred Belfast. But the Troubles have cut this ex-Army Loyalist hard man deep – and now that his city’s allegiances have shifted, nothing is quite the same.

An outbreak of gang violence forces Billy to move on. This time to Edinburgh, where he muscles in on the capital’s drug trade and the family who run it. As the balance of power tips, underworld rivalries between Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast spill out onto the streets.

With a spate of horrific incidents and a trail of victims, the pressure is mounting for Grace Macallan, new superintendent of the Crime & Counter Terrorism Directorate. Troubled by her own demons and with everyone baying for the blood of Billy Nelson and his old paramilitary contacts, can Grace hold her nerve?

My thanks to Lina at Black and White for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

 

Edinburgh is about to become a battleground as a new gang aim to muscle their way into the city and take over the top spot among the city drug suppliers. As Edinburgh already had a family at the top of the pecking order who were supplying drugs to their needy customers it is safe to assume that things are going to get messy.

Billy Nelson grew up in Belfast. He hated Catholics and, after a life defining incident as a child, he wants to devote his time hurting as many Catholics as he can. His intelligence and focus comes to the attention of the head of Belfast’s most influential crime family.  He identifies Billy as a resource to be harnessed and encourages the boy to join the army and learn new skills which he can bring back to Belfast in future. Billy agrees and as readers pick up events in Evidence of Death, Billy is home from the army, discharged after an incident which made it impossible to remain in service. He is changed but remains an angry, focused and dangerous individual.

Billy’s return to Belfast is attracting the wrong sort of attention and he is brought back before the kingpin of Belfast’s underworld and given a choice – head to Edinburgh and set up as the new drug suppliers…or die. Billy heads to Scotland, armed and ready to take out any competition.

What follows, Billy and his gang finding a path to challenge the incumbent suppliers, was gripping, at times harrowing and was what the phrase “page turner” was made for. The callous brutality of their path to power, contrasted brilliantly by the author with the lives they are destroying to there, was terrific.

Although the book is part of the Grace Macallen series (book 2) she very much takes a back seat for the first third of the story.  There is no requirement to have read the first book (Cause of Death) as all the backstory is nicely threaded through Evidence but we know Grace is enjoying some much needed rest and recuperation. While she rests the story is building up the various bad guys so that Grace returns from her break as all Hell is about to be unleashed on her turf.

Evidence of Death was a delight to read. It is brutal in places, melancholy in others, the characters so well defined that it made the impact of their respective fates more meaningful for the reader.   There are more books to come from Peter Ritchie and Grace’s story will continue – these are stories you should be reading.

 

Evidence of Death is published by Black & White Publishing and is available in paperback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evidence-Death-Detective-Grace-Macallan-ebook/dp/B079YLC9M1/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1519556336&sr=1-2

Be aware that Evidence of Death is a revised edition and was previously published as The Shortest Days of the Year

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February 23

A Darker State – David Young

For the Stasi, it’s not just the truth that gets buried . . .

The body of a teenage boy is found weighted down in a lake. Karin Müller, newly appointed Major of the People’s Police, is called to investigate. But her power will only stretch so far, when every move she makes is under the watchful eye of the Stasi.

Then, when the son of Müller’s team member goes missing, it quickly becomes clear that there is a terrifying conspiracy at the heart of this case, one that could fast lead Müller and her young family into real danger.

Can she navigate this complex political web and find the missing boy, before it’s too late?

 

My thanks to Emily at Zaffre for my review copy and the chance to join the blogtour.

 

A new Karin Müller novel is met with great excitement here at Grab This Book. The series which started with Stasi Child (and continued into Stasi Wolf and now A Darker State) are quite unlike anything else I read and each new book is a very welcome addition to my library!

David Young sets his fabulous police thrillers in 1970’s East Berlin. His lead character Karin Müller works for the police and in A Darker State is newly promoted to the position of Major. Müller faces challenges at every step of her investigations, she not only has to catch the bad guys but as a woman in a male dominated environment she is facing the usual prejudices. She has to prove she is worthy of her promoted post as promotion brings extra rewards from the State. But most significantly she understands that all her actions are monitored and that the State will be playing their own game and Müller has no idea what their ultimate goal will be.

While all the books thus far have shown the political influence that the Stasi (Secret Police) wield over the entire country it really comes into play during A Darker State.  Karin is going to investigate areas which have been very clearly closed off to her – the consequences may be far more severe than she may imagine.

Müller is required to investigate the murder of a teenage boy, his body is found weighted down in a lake. Her investigations will bring her into contact with the male dominated circles of football (soccer) and motorcycle gangs. The soccer element of the story gave a fascinating insight into the social side of life in 70’s Berlin. A scandal in a club which was hushed up and almost overlooked due to the state interference in team selection and squad building. The additional detail which David Young brings to his story, these insights into East German society, give the books the depth and character which draw the reader deeper into the story and make them feel part of events.

The murder investigation takes a nasty turn for one of Karin’s colleagues when his family become too closely embroiled in the events surrounding her investigation. Readers are periodically taken back a few months from when Karin is conducting her investigations and we get to see how a sequence of events slowly build and combine to culminate in the shocking discovery which led to a young man’s brutal death.

All three novels can be read and enjoyed as stand-alone thrillers. But the books chart Karin’s life and her career and returning readers will be rewarded with the latest twists in her story. Despite our perceptions of how life may have been in East Berlin 40 years ago, Karin seems to accept most of what the state expect of her as a citizen. A Darker State seems to push her acceptance at times and I cannot wait to see if her compliance will perhaps start to waiver – particularly in light of some information she receives in the latest book! (no spoilers)

The increased political interventions, the personal dramas which Müller has to face and the wonderful continued insights into Berlin culture all combine to make A Darker State my favourite of the series thus far. David Young goes from strength to strength. You should be reading these books.

 

A Darker State is published by Zaffre and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Darker-State-gripping-thriller-Oberleutnant-ebook/dp/B0718X1S12/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

 

 

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February 22

Best Friends – Carys Jones

Four friends, a terrible secret, and one week to stay alive. . . Grace doesn’t have a family. That was taken away one dreadful day when she was just six, and her twin brother Peter was killed. Instead she has her best friends and flatmates – Jasper, Franklin and Aaron – and nothing can tear them apart. Living in London, and trying desperately to make a living, the four friends are rapidly running out of money and hope. So, when they find a discarded suitcase in a skip, they can’t believe their eyes when its contents seem to answer all their prayers. But then a there is a knock on their door, and a very disgruntled thug with revenge on his mind, gives them one week to return his belongings, or they will pay with their lives. Soon the fractures in their friendships begin to show, and when one of them ends up fighting for his life, the stakes are raised even higher. Will any of them get to the end of the week alive, or will the best of friends become the deadliest of enemies. . .

 

My thanks to Melanie at Head of Zeus for the chance to join the blog tour

Four young friends sharing a flat in London and struggling to meet their living costs. The rent is due but even pooling funds they find they are going to struggle. Grace is a ballet dancer who is auditioning for that one role which will give her the break she needs, get some money, get to perform and hopefully spring-board her to greater heights.

Her friends and flatmates are in similar positions of just needing that change in fortune which will make all their struggles and sacrifice worthwhile. However, Grace has had the biggest struggle and as we read through Best Friends the horrors of childhood traumas are slowly revealed and we realise that Grace is a girl who really needs a stroke of good fortune.

But could the luck of the friends be about to take a significant turn for the better?  On a drunken night out (blowing the precious little money they have) the four stumble upon a case full of money. It has been left in a skip and with no-one around to claim it the four friends take the case (and its contents) home. They have scrimped and scraped for so long that it does not take too long before all four head into London on an indulgent shopping spree.

Of course their good fortune is all too good to be true. A menacing figure appears at their door demanding “his” money back and the consequences of not meeting his demands are too terrifying to contemplate.

Best Friends was an enjoyable read. I loved the character of Grace, her troubled background was nicely dripped into the narrative. Despite not loving all her flatmates (there’s always one!) I really wanted them all to pull through and get all the money they needed. Obviously I could not possibly reveal how they fare, you will need to read it for yourself to find out!

 

Best Friends is published by Aria and is available in paperback and digital format

 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2mKlVg0
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2DMGC34
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2mMlsKp
iBooks: https://apple.co/2rk5pZN
Follow Carys Jones
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2rmTGti
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2Dpix5D
Website: http://bit.ly/2mS51gj
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February 20

Mystery Writers – Linden Chase

Some of the authors I enjoy reading are not real people.  Okay, that’s not entirely accurate – some of the authors I enjoy reading are not published under their real name.

When I say I enjoyed a book by Robert Galbraith or by JD Robb or by John Sandford I also know that those authors are simply pen-names which the authors have decided to use on that particular novel.

Robert Galbraith may be the most famous of the three names listed above and the reasons for his creation are fairly well known. However JD Robb (with over 40 futuristic murder mysteries under her belt) is best known as romance novelist Nora Roberts.  John Sandford (creator of over 20 Lucas Davenport “Prey” novels and the successful Virgil Flowers spin off series) is a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist.

I wanted to ask some authors who have become a “mystery writer” why they have assumed a secret identity. My first guest, Linden Chase, has kindly slipped out of the shadows to answer some of my questions.

Twitter: @Linden_Chase

First I should clarify that I do not want to know your real identity. However, I would be keen to learn if your real name is a closely guarded secret or do you think it may be fairly common knowledge (but you are not making any efforts to confirm/deny/share)?

I don’t believe very many people at all know who Linden Chase actually is. A few fellow writers, who I meet every month to talk over each other’s works in progress know, but they are all sworn to secrecy. I am certainly not advertising who I am and it is fair to say I am trying to keep it secret.

 

What prompted you to write under a second name? Have you perhaps switched to a different genre?

Linden Chase writes particular kinds of stories. They are gritty, a little gory and decidedly sexy in places. I don’t write this kind of book under any other name. Linden has a very particular voice. My other writing incarnations – and there are at least three currently – also have a particular voice and a particular audience.

 

If you were previously published did you approach publishers you had already established a relationship with?

No. I am unusual in that my main occupation is writing. Of course there are mega best selling authors, who have homes in several countries, but the majority of writers are what is termed ‘mid-list’. To make a living as a mid-list author you need a number of books on the market at one time and no publisher wants a glut of one author. Spreading your eggs among several baskets or books among several publishers has become common for those of us who primarily make our living from writing.

Also, sadly, there is expectation in publishing that writers will write only in one genre and this is passed along to readers. There’s a famous phrase ‘give them more of the same but different’ which is all too true. Names become associated with not simply genres but with types of books – whether it’s the alcoholic detective with a failing personal life, the happy ever after romance or the rugged bounty hunter who always gets his man. You will even see that covers from similar types of stories (albeit by different authors) are becoming the same. Romance covers often include pastel colours, figures drawn in a particular way and the same type of font for the similarly places titles. Ghostly mysteries (at least recently) had greenish/grey covers often with ivy covered garden gates. The theory is the time-poor book buyer will gravitate towards books that look the same and have similar kinds of story. It’s all packaged neatly and allows little room from the truly innovative – in my opinion.

But then you have writers like me who have a great many stories to tell. I’d studied broadly and worked in a number of different areas. I choose the best voice to tell my story – but I don’t simply have one voice. Also what I write and what I want to write changes with my life experience. As I grow so do my stories.

 

Does keeping your identity a secret then create challenges in marketing a new novel?  For example if you have a healthy Twitter following have you had to “reset” with a second account and start afresh?

I’ve tried that and honestly running more than one twitter account at the same time is hard! You also run the same risk as you do when you have several messenger windows open, of posting the wrong thing to the wrong place! Generally I chose a different form of publicity for each alias and focus on that.

 

Does the “real you” take a hiatus while the pseudonym is publishing/promoting their novel or do you have to adopt multiple roles and write two books in a very short space of time?

I am all of my different aliases – in a good way! Clarity in narrative is essential, so I confine my story to the voice it needs. I prefer to write different books at different times. However, when you have been using one alias for a long time, and featuring the same characters in a series, it is very easy to fall back into the right style. Rather like meeting old friends at the pub. Typically when you are doing publicity for any book you wrote it so long ago -publishing is slow – that you always struggle to remember the story!

 

Time to get in some plugs…will there be future titles we can look forward to from your pseudonym or have they been retired for the present time?

Linden Chase has written Killer Instincts and Killer Intent. The final Killer book – and last in the Tranquillity series –  will be out shortly.

 

As Linden slips back to Tranquility Island I would like to thank her for breaking cover to join me today.

Killer Instincts and Killer Intent are published by Fahrenheit Press and can be purchased here:

Killer Intent: http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_killer_intent.html

Killer Instincts: http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_killer_instincts.html

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February 15

Before It’s Too Late – Sara Driscoll

In this powerful K-9 crime thriller, FBI Special Agent Meg Jennings and her trusted search-and-rescue Labrador, Hawk, must race against the clock before a diabolical killer strikes again…
 
Somewhere in the Washington, D.C., area, a woman lies helpless in a box. Beneath the earth. Barely breathing. Buried alive. In Quantico, the FBI receives a coded message from the woman’s abductor. He wants to play a game with them: decipher the clues, find the grave, save the girl. The FBI’s top cryptanalysts crack the code and Special Agent Meg Jennings and her K-9 partner, Hawk, scramble to the scene of the crime. Cryptic clues lead them astray and by the time they solve the puzzle, it’s too late. But the killer’s game is far from over . . .

Soon another message arrives. Another victim is taken, and the deadly pattern is repeated—again and again. Each kidnapping triggers another desperate race against time, each with the possibility of another senseless death. That’s when Meg decides to try something drastic. Break the Bureau’s protocol. Bring in her brilliant sister, Cara, a genius at word games, to decipher the kidnapper’s twisted clues. Meg knows she’s risking her career to do it, but she’s determined not to let one more person die under her and Hawk’s watch. If the plan fails, it could bite them in the end. And if it leads to the killer, it could bury them forever . . .

 

My thanks to Jen Danna and Kensington Books for a review copy, received through Netgalley.

 

Last year I reviewed the first FBI K-9 novel Lone Wolf and fell in love with a fictional labrador called Hawk.   Hawk is a search and rescue dog working for the FBI in the canine unit, his handler is Special Agent Meg Jennings and together they make a formidable team.  Lone Wolf saw the duo on the track of a bomber who was targeting government buildings and it was a powerful and engaging read.

Meg and Hawk are back for a second outing in Before it’s too Late and this time the action is taking place much closer to home.

The FBI receive a coded message – a woman has been kidnapped and if the FBI can crack the code in the message then they will be able to locate the missing woman and rescue her. If they don’t solve the puzzle in good time the woman will die.  A game from the kidnapper with a deadly twist.

Meg and Hawk are involved in the chase to rescue the woman but their chances of success are slim. When a cryptic clue throws the FBI off track it is too late to save the woman. Meg takes the failure hard but the kidnapper/killer is not done yet and a second woman is abducted, the alert is raised when her dog is spotted running free.

I am avoiding plot spoilers but suffice to say Meg becomes close to the action as she blames herself for not saving the first kidnap victim and she will not rest until she sees the killer brought to justice.

The FBI K9 novels have been a welcome and refreshing addition to my kindle. I love the dynamic between Meg and Hawk (and the other dogs which appear through the stories). After the thrill of hunting the bomber in Lone Wolf, the change to a sadistic killer in Before it’s too Late was equally welcome as I love a serial killer tale.

I hope that more FBI K9 stories shall follow, not enough dogs in my crime fiction and these warm my heart.

 

Before it’s too Late is published by Kensington and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Before-Its-Late-F-B-I-Novel-ebook/dp/B01N7NZL8T/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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February 11

Gallery of the Dead – Chris Carter

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

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

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

Welcome to The Gallery of the Dead.

 

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

 

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

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

And it does.

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

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

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

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

 

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

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February 11

The Extremist – Nadia Dalbuono

On a hot summer’s morning in Rome, three public places — a McDonald’s, a preschool, and a café — come under siege from a group of terrorists who appear to be Islamic extremists. When word comes through that the terrorists will only negotiate with Detective Leone Scamarcio, no one is more surprised than Scamarcio himself.

The young man with frightened eyes who speaks to Scamarcio seems anything but in control. He says that Scamarcio is the only person he can trust to care about the truth. Then he gives Scamarcio an unusual list of demands, including that everything must be done without police or intelligence involvement, and within twenty-four hours — or the hostages die.

With his face on every TV screen, and with all of Italy on alert, Scamarcio must race against the clock and elude the grasp of the increasingly unhinged chief of intelligence, Colonel Scalisi, to meet the terrorists’ demands, and to uncover the truth behind the attacks. But, as Scamarcio follows the young man’s clues, he finds that every question seems to turn up five more, and, as usual for this son-of-a-Mafioso policeman, nothing is as it seems.

 

My thanks to Adam Howard at Scribe for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

 

The Extremist stars with an explosion of horror as the reader is witness to a terror siege in Rome. One of the terrorists makes a demand – he wants to speak with Detective Leone Scamarcio and nobody else will do. This is something of a shock to Scamarcio who is required to walk into the heart of the action with no protection, no back up and no idea why he has been summoned.

Even after speaking with a nervous terrorist Scamarcio is unclear exactly what is expected of him – he does know that his own unique background (a cop with mafia connections) is the reason he was sought out.

Scamarcio is set a challenge, recover a box from a garden far from where the action is taking place then come back and speak with the terrorist again. Not easy – as soon as he leaves the scene of the siege Scamarcio is expected to update his colleagues but he is not to speak of the task he has been set and to share the detail means he will not have the chance to get to that garden…he needs to escape from the police and go it alone.

The situation in Rome is critical and Scamarcio is racing against time to meet the deadline he has been set – if he fails then innocent lives will be lost. The challenges he faces will put him in peril more than once, he cannot trust anyone and it seems the terrorists may also be pawns in a more deadly game. You need to keep your wits about you whilst reading The Extremist, it gets twisty.

The Extremist is the fourth Leone Scamarcio thriller. Do you need to have read the earlier novels?  Nope….but there is a lot going on in The Extremist and I suspect that returning readers will get great enjoyment from seeing how the characters move on while new readers get a high tempo adventure.

I usually have three or more books on the go at one time, while reading The Extremist I only wanted to focus on this one story. It is fast and furious and with many of the characters not being open with Scamarcio and playing their own game it needed my full attention to ensure I was keeping up with events.

I do enjoy when I can get my teeth into a gripping tale, when characters will have me questioning their motives and especially when I cannot predict where a story is heading.  The Extremist was an intense read but I was hooked so I am happy.

 

The Extremist is published by Scribe and is available in paperback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Extremist-Leone-Scamarcio-Nadia-Dalbuono-ebook/dp/B077Y7DSP5/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1518302325&sr=1-3

 

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February 6

Don’t Look For Me – Mason Cross

Don’t look for me.

It was a simple instruction. And for six long years Carter Blake kept his word and didn’t search for the woman he once loved. But now someone else is looking for her.

He’ll come for you.

Trenton Gage is a hitman with a talent for finding people – dead or alive. His next job is to track down a woman who’s on the run, who is harbouring a secret many will kill for.

Both men are hunting the same person. The question is, who will find her first?

 

Last year I broke one of my self-imposed reading rules when I read a book called Winterlong. The “rule” I broke was that I should not begin reading a new series unless I start at Book One of that new series.  Winterlong subsequently renamed to The Time To Kill and it was the third novel in the Carter Blake series.

I regret nothing as it was brilliant.

This week Carter Blake book 4: Don’t Look For Me, is released in paperback and is currently hitting bookshelves up and down the land. If you like an action packed adventure thriller then Don’t Look For Me should be an essential purchase.

Following events outlined in the previous books (all handily explained by the author without need to have read the earlier books) we know that 6 years ago Carter Blake had to quickly slip away from the life he had built for himself. He told the woman he loved that she too also had to vanish – her parting shot “Don’t Look For Me”.

Blake has honoured that request but it seems he may not be permitted to continue to do so.  In a quiet residential suburb of Nevada a young couple have mysteriously disappeared from their home.  A concerned neighbour has found Blake’s email address which was hidden in the home owned by the missing couple and, as a last resort, emailed Blake.

When his past comes calling out of the blue Blake will need to break the promise he made and find the woman he loved. However, he is not the only person searching for the missing couple and soon he will become caught up in a dangerous race against time.

As I mentioned, Don’t Look For Me is a cracking adventure thriller. The action zips along and I found it incredibly easy to slip into the story and lose myself for an hour or so – only surfacing by necessity as I’d rather have kept reading.

Five star thrills – grab this when you see it.

 

Don’t Look For Me is published by Orion and is available in paperback, audio and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Look-Me-Carter-Blake-ebook/dp/B01M3NSD91/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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February 5

Two Nights – Kathy Reichs

Meet Sunnie Night a woman with physical and psychological scars, and a killer instinct . . .

Sunnie has spent years running from her past, burying secrets and building a life in which she needs no one and feels nothing.

But a girl has gone missing, lost in the chaos of a bomb explosion, and the family needs Sunnie’s help.

Is the girl dead?

Did someone take her?

If she is out there, why doesn’t she want to be found?

It’s time for Sunnie to face her own demons – because they might just lead her to the truth about what really happened all those years ago.

 

My thanks to Random House, Cornerstone for my review copy which I received through Netgalley

A stand alone thriller from Kathy Reichs, a break from the Tempe Brennan thrillers which I have enjoyed for many years now. As a fan of recurring characters and getting caught up in an ongoing series, I should be vexed when an author breaks from the familiar to introduce new heroes to follow. However, there is always that fascination to find out what they may come up with when “unshackled” and able to cause havoc on new characters with no responsibility to keep them all alive so they can appear in the next book.

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised with Two Nights, it felt totally different from from a Brennan thriller (which I guess was the point). Sunnie Night is a complex character who is living a reclusive lifestyle until she is sought out and her services requested by a well-to-do client for whom money is no real object when it comes to tracing a missing member of her family.

A bomb explosion has robbed a family of precious lives, however, there remains some doubt that a teenage girl (related to Sunnie’s client) actually died in the blast.  Sunnie is engaged to find out if the girl may still be alive.  If she is to be successful Sunnie will need to understand why the girl may not have made herself known to her remaining family after surviving such an ordeal.

But Sunnie’s investigations will mean looking into why the bomb was placed and at those responsible. These are not people who will welcome snooping and Sunnie has put herself in the firing line – good job she is more than adept at outfoxing the tw0-bit thugs.

Something very different from Kathy Reichs but she knows how tell a good story and Two Nights is well worth hunting down.

 

Two Nights is currently available in Hardback and digital format with the paperback released scheduled for April 2018. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Two-Nights-Kathy-Reichs-ebook/dp/B019CGXMCK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1517871460&sr=1-1

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