October 27

Betrayal – Lilja Sigurdardóttir

When aid worker Úrsula returns to Iceland for a new job, she’s drawn into the dangerous worlds of politics, corruption and misogyny … a powerful, relevant, fast-paced standalone thriller.

Burned out and traumatised by her horrifying experiences around the world, aid worker Úrsula has returned to Iceland. Unable to settle, she accepts a high-profile government role in which she hopes to make a difference again.

But on her first day in the post, Úrsula promises to help a mother seeking justice for her daughter, who had been raped by a policeman, and life in high office soon becomes much more harrowing than Úrsula could ever have imagined. A homeless man is stalking her – but is he hounding her, or warning her of some danger? And why has the death of her father in police custody so many years earlier reared its head again?

As Úrsula is drawn into dirty politics, facing increasingly deadly threats, the lives of her stalker, her bodyguard and even a witch-like cleaning lady intertwine. Small betrayals become large ones, and the stakes are raised ever higher…

 

My thanks to Orenda Books for a review copy of Betrayal and to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the Betrayal blog tour.

 

When I first started this blog I had no expectation around where it may lead.  I used to read quite a lot of books each week but would stick to familiar authors and got caught up in too many ongoing series but I didn’t really push myself into trying titles I would not normally have considered.  To keep my blog fun for myself, I promised myself that I would try to bring myself out of my reading comfort zone and try new authors or consider reading books I would never likely have been aware of.

Why am I telling you this?  Today’s review is the 800th post on Grab This Book – it is for an Icelandic political thriller and I am quite confident this is not a book which would have been on my radar had I not spent the last six years on the fringes of crime fiction’s blogging community. I would have missed out on this (and many other) great thrillers and it would mean I would not be encouraging more people to read Betrayal and enter the seemingly dark world of Icelandic politics.

Thanks for keeping me company over the last 800 blog posts.  Regular readers will know that I have featured many books by the newly annointed winner of the Best Crime/Thriller Publisher Dagger Award – Orenda Books.  When I am looking for stories which take me into new reading territories then the Orenda library is easily the best place to begin looking.  “Mama Orenda”, Karen Sullivan has a phenomonal ability to find the most powerful authors and get incredible stories into the hands of readers.

To Betrayal: the story begins with Úrsula, who is being lined up to take a ministerial post in the Icelandic government.  She is not affiliated with any party but both sides of the political divide agree she is a great neutral candidate to step into post. Always up for a challenge the former aid worker is putting warzones behind her to return home but is she stepping into a new type of conflict?

Úrsula has to find her feet quickly but her department seems well run and she can rely upon the support of her staff. On her first day a distressed mother appeals to Úrsula to assist with a rape case – her daughter was attacked by a police officer but her attempts for justice and a fair hearing for her daughter has gone nowhere.

Outside her office and without her knowledge a streetsleeper has recognised Úrsula and is determined to ensure she understands she has allied with “the Devil”.  He will stalk her and find ways to leave messages for Úrsula and her initial decision to decline a ministerial car and bodyguard appear to be serious mistakes.

We also get to spend chapters in the company of some other interesting characters.  First there is Úrsula’s bodyguard who is dealing with online attacks against his new boss and a jealous girlfriend at home.  Then we have Úrsula’s smoking buddy; a cleaner at the ministry who may also be a witch but is certainly a party goer who winds up matchmaking for a TV newsreader.  There is also Úrsula’s family, her colleagues and a journalist who is paying her lots of attention.

With so many plates spinning for Úrsula and story threads woven by Lilja Sigurdardóttir to keep her readers hooked you will find Betrayal spins along at a cracking pace.  There’s always something to keep you wanting to read more and I was somewhat bereft when I reached the end of the book and realised my time with these engaging characters was over.

 

Betrayal is published by Orenda Books and is available in digital and paperback.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Betrayal-Lilja-Sigurdard%C3%B3ttir-ebook/dp/B088671XP2/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&qid=1603730427&refinements=p_27%3ALilja+Sigurdard%C3%B3ttir&s=digital-text&sr=1-5&text=Lilja+Sigurdard%C3%B3ttir

 

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October 22

Bad Debt – William McIntyre

 

Defence Lawyer Robbie Munro’s wife has been stalked by a witness in a trial she is prosecuting. When the stalker is killed and Robbie is charged with murder his friends are only too willing to come up with schemes to prove his innocence. In the end though, will it be his enemies who make the difference?

 

My thanks to Sandstone Press for my review copy, received through Netgalley, and for the opportunity to host the publication day leg of the Bad Debt Blog Tour.

 

It is publication day for the latest in the Robbie Munro series: Bad Debt.  That means you can use the purchase links at the bottom of this review and get reading this fun thriller without too much delay.  It’s definitely a book I am recommending – I really enjoyed this one.

Proceedings begin with an ending, Robbie is at a funeral. The deceased was also a defense lawyer who appears to have written the book on sneaky plays in court to use every available twist to get his clients off the hook.  His former partner asks Robbie a favour; a political candidate in the Scottish Parliament is accused of using excessive force to attack a housebreaker who entered his home late one night. Could Robbie take his case and ensure the accused isn’t found guilty?

Robbie is also no stranger to sneaky tactics and effective use of legal loopholes, so he takes on the case and promptly finds himself caught up in a venture which puts his family and his freedom at risk. The first shock for Robbie comes when he finds the prosecuting Fiscal is his own wife – drafted in as cover at the last minute.  Still confident he can win there are further surprises in store when the attack victim gets into court and appears to have total amnesia over the alleged attack. Something is very strange about this case.

An attack on a family member leaves Robbie rattled so he enlists the help of one of his own dubious contacts to find the attacker.  Things don’t go quite to plan and Robbie’s attempts to speak with the attacker find Robbie placed under arrest and sent to prison pending a hearing.

With his reputation and freedom at stake Robbie will need to be at his sharpest to uncover the truth and clear his name. Luckily for him he has expert legal support in the form of his wife and he can call on the vast array of his dubious contacts to provide help when needed. With a Buckfast swilling pugilist and a wannabe porn producer in your corner how can you not succeed?

Bad Debt is a hugely enjoyable read. A clever thriller with some wholly unexpected twists. Robbie Munro is a wickedly engaging lead character – the humour and quips come thick and fast but don’t undermine the tension or Robbie’s predicament.

 

Bad Debt is published by Sandstone Press and is available in paperback and digital format from today.  You can order a copy here:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B086Y8RS96/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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October 20

Some Lockdown Reviews

Without being too subtle about 2020 – it has been a really crap year.  I have found my reading has really suffered and my reviews more so. Working from home has been a great relief but at the end of my working day I have felt little urge to shut down the work laptop only to remain sitting in the same spot and crank open my own laptop to draft a few reviews.

But that’s selfish behaviour – I have used stories to lift my blue moods and give me the escapism I needed. Maybe someone else would benefit from knowing about the great stories which brought me some respite and the authors and teams behind the stories worked so hard to get their books out there that I cannot simply pass them over without comment.   So here are some catch up reviews for books I have read “in lockdown”

 

Knife Edge – Simon Mayo

You never know where danger may come from…

6.45am. A sweltering London rush hour. And in the last 29 minutes, seven people have been murdered.

In a series of coordinated attacks, seven men and women across London have been targeted. For journalist Famie Madden, the horror unfolds as she arrives for the morning shift.

The victims have one thing in common: they make up the investigations team at the news agency where Famie works. The question everyone’s asking: what were they working on that could prompt such brutal devastation?

As Famie starts to receive mysterious messages, she must find out whether she is being warned of the next attack, or being told that she will be the next victim…

 

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley

 

I know that Simon Mayo has had a number of successful books which are aimed at younger readers so I was keen to see how the transition to the adult market would be recieved.  If Knife Edge is reflection on the excitement and tension he brought to his earlier books then I can see why his previous titles are held in such high regard.  This was a highly enjoyable thriller.

Focus is on Famie Madden, she works for one of the top media outlets in the country and on the day we join her story she is in the hot-seat for co-ordinating all the stories which are going to air.  However, Famie is soon to find the news is coming far too close to home – a series of murders in London all take place during the start of the morning rush hour. The attacks are clearly linked and must have been conducted by different people as they are spread around the city.  As more information starts to come through to Famie and her team they realise that all the victims are their colleagues.

It is a shocking opening to the story and Famie is impacted more than most as she had been in a secret relationship with one of the victims.  Naturally Famie wants answers so she begins to look into what story her colleagues may have been working on that brought about their terrible fate.

Knife Edge has all the thrills you need from a high stakes thriller.  After a dynamic start the pace does slow a touch but it’s a steady build up back to a corking finale.  While there haven’t been many opportunities to post recommendations for a summer beach read – Knife Edge falls into that category.  The paperback is out in March 2021 so keep this one in mind when the good weather returns and you are planning some relaxing downtime.    If you can’t wait that long then hardback, digital and audio copies are all available now!

 

Knife Edge is published by Doubleday and is available in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook format:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07WFS252B/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

 

The Photographer – Craig Robertson

 

The sergeant took some from each box and spread them around the floor so they could all see. Dozens upon dozens of them. DI Rachel Narey’s guess was that there were a few hundred in all. 

Photographs.

Many of them were in crowd scenes, some just sitting on a park bench or walking a dog or waiting for a bus or working in shops. They seemed to have no idea they’d been photographed.

A dawn raid on the home of a suspected rapist leads to a chilling discovery, a disturbing collection hidden under floorboards. Narey is terrified at the potential scale of what they’ve found and of what brutalities it may signal.
When the photographs are ruled inadmissible as evidence and the man walks free from court, Narey knows she’s let down the victim she’d promised to protect and a monster is back on the streets.
Tony Winter’s young family is under threat from internet trolls and he is determined to protect them whatever the cost. He and Narey are in a race against time to find the unknown victims of the photographer’s lens – before he strikes again.

 

I was at the launch of The Photographer and Craig Robertson gave a very powerful demonstration of the inherent creepiness behind an element of this story. It made me uncomfortable but made me really want to read The Photographer to see how the author addressed the issue in the book.

I was horrified to realise that a good many months (far, far too many) have passed since that launch event and that a review I thought I had written remained outstanding.  The good thing about a good book is that it doesn’t go away and on a recent trip to my local bookshop I saw copies of The Photographer on the shelves waiting to find new readers.  Go find it – this is a powerful and brilliantly told story.

Photographs – taken without the consent of the subject, or without the subject even knowing they were being photographed, have been found by DI Rachel Narey while she searched the home of a suspected rapist.  What was already a harrowing case has taken an even more sinister turn.  Narey is convinced her suspect is guilty of the rape she is investigating but now she wonders what other crimes he may have committed.  She will throw herself at this case in the pursit of justice and in doing so will bring danger to her home.

This is an incredibly tense read and it’s another cracking addition to what is already a brilliant series. Craig Robertson knows how to hold his readers attention and I found I lost huge chunks of time engrossed in The Photographer.  The scenes of tension and peril are nicely balanced out with lighter moments between Narey and Winter as their relationship further develops and they juggle their time between work and caring for their young daughter.

It is always a reading treat to spend time with one of Craig Robertson’s books – if you haven’t read any of his books before now then there is no time like the present to start!

 

The Photographer is published by Simon & Schuster and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06XKH76MX/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4

 

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October 18

Stone Cold Trouble – Amer Anwar

Set in the heart of West London’s Asian community, this is the latest instalment in the unmissable ZAQ & JAGS series . . .

Trying – and failing – to keep his head down and to stay out of trouble, ex-con Zaq Khan agrees to help his best friend, Jags, recover a family heirloom, currently in the possession of a wealthy businessman. But when Zaq’s brother is viciously assaulted, Zaq is left wondering whether someone from his own past is out to get revenge.

Wanting answers and retribution, Zaq and Jags set out to track down those responsible. Meanwhile, their dealings with the businessman take a turn for the worse and Zaq and Jags find themselves suspected of murder.

It’ll take both brains and brawn to get themselves out of trouble and, no matter what happens, the results will likely be deadly. The only question is, whether it will prove deadly for them, or for someone else . . . ?

 

I originally recieved a review copy from the author prior to publicaiton but subsequently bought and read my own copy which I purchased after release

 

No messing about on this review – Stone Cold Trouble is nailed on for a full five star review.  I bloody loved it. My only regret (and this is on me) is that I didn’t read the first Zaq and Jags book – Brothers In Blood – before I read Stone Cold Trouble.  As the books follow the story of the lead characters there were some small spoilers, I assume, as to how the first story panned out.  So I shall hold off for a few weeks then revisit this feisty duo so I can enjoy their debut adventure.

But Stone Cold Trouble is the focus for today and I want to rave about it a little.  It’s fast paced, tension packed, funny, engrossing and one of the best page turners I have picked up for many a month.

Zaq Kahn is the lead character and we pick up his story as he agrees to help his friend, Jag, with a family problem.  It turns out Jags uncle “Lucky” was not so lucky in a high-stakes card game.  He used a family heirloom as a marker against a bet but now can’t get the necklace back – turns out the other guy wants the necklace more than the cash he was owed.  Lucky wants Jags and Zaq to help him get back the necklace before Lucky’s wife discovers it is missing.  Recovering the necklace will prove to be somewhat problematic and these scenes provide much of the light relief in the early part of the story.

The light relief is necessary as Zaq has a much more serious issue to contend with.  His younger brother has been rushed to hospital after being badly beaten and left for dead.  While sitting by his brother’s hospital bed Zaq vows to find those responsible and seek some retribution. Stone Cold Trouble is Zaq trying to juggle a personal investigation into the attack on his brother, recover a stolen necklace and keep his brother company in hospital while his brother fights for his life.  There is no shortage of action points and Amer Anwar juggles the balance of tension, action and quieter scenes perfectly.

I found Stone Cold Trouble to be pure reading fun.  The story flowed and twisted and I got totally caught up in events – one of those gems which you get half-way through and find that you don’t want the story to end. Highly recommended and I cannot wait to see what else Zaq and Jags will get up to in future.

 

Stone Cold Trouble is published by Dialogue Books and is available in paperback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07SZL5BJX/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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October 10

The Point Of No Return (Audiobook) – Neil Broadfoot

How far would you go to find the truth?

After more than a decade of being in prison for the brutal murder of two Stirling University students, Colin Sanderson has been released after his conviction was found to be unsafe.

Returning home to a small village not far from Stirling, Sanderson refuses police protection, even in the face of a death threat. But the PR firm that has scooped him up to sell his story does know of a protection expert in Stirling. They want Connor Fraser.

Connor reluctantly takes the assignment, partly as a favour to DCI Malcolm Ford, who is none too keen to have Sanderson on the loose, particularly as he was involved in the original investigation that saw him imprisoned.

When a body is found, mutilated in the same way as Sanderson’s victims were, all eyes fall on the released man. But how can he be the killer when Connor’s own security detail gives him an alibi?

As Connor races to uncover the truth, he is forced to confront not only Sanderson’s past, but his own, and a secret that could change his life forever.

 

I am an Audible member and I bought the Point Of No Return audiobook on release.

 

Some housekeeping first and an apology to Neil Broadfoot.  This is the third Connor Fraser book but the first I have reviewed. Earlier this year I read the second book, No Place to Die, which I thoroughly enjoyed. However, this was one of the books I was reading when we first went into the March 2020 Covid Lockdown.  A quick glance at my blog archive will show very little reviews were prepared over the first few months of the year as I found it incredibly difficult to keep focus on anything at that time.  I stuggled and reviews which should have been written were not. My apologies to Neil for missing the paperback publication window of No Place to Die with a review I did so want to write.

The earlier Connor Fraser titles are readily available in paperback and digital format.  Connor’s story builds with each book (though each title can be read as a stand alone).  If you haven’t already read the previous books No Mans Land and No Place To Die then I would encourage you to pick them up and immerse yourself in these terrific stories.

The Point Of No Return opens with a miscarriage of justice being corrected.  Some 14 years ago Colin Sanderson was convicted of the brutal murders of two students.  The reader is left in no doubt that Sanderson is a nasty piece of work and there are interested parties, other than the police, unhappy to see his conviction overturned after his lawyer found an irregularity in the evidence used to secure the original Guilty verdict.  Sanderson is free and is not looking to slip quietly into the background.   A PR firm have ensured he will be given a platform to air his grievances (he has many) and there is talk of a book deal to allow him to tell his story.  Enter Donna Blake, reporter for Sky News who is handed exclusive interview rights and the lure of the chance to ghost-write Sanderson’s book.  Donna is a friend of Connor’s and their paths have previously crossed in devastating ways.

Just a few days after his release Sanderson manages to shake off the observation team working for Connor’s security firm. During the period where he is not being watched another murder takes place on the Stirling University campus.  There are stiking similarities between the new murder and the deaths of the two students Sanderson was accused of committing.  Have the courts freed a murderer on a technicality?

There is a constant sense of peril surrounding both Connor and Donna in The Point Of No Return.  Neil Broadfoot managed make me believe both characters were just one step away from falling foul of a dangerous killer. I love when a story grips me in the way Point Of No Return did.

It should be noted there are also some emotive scenes away from the murders where Connor is starting to understand his own family history a bit better.  His relationship with his father is strained but he dotes on his grandmother,who is in ailing health.  Connor’s relationship with his gran and his father come into close scrutiny and he will not always like what he discovers when he starts asking questions about their past.  Families have their secrets and Connor is going to have to face some unpleasant realisations before this book reaches its climax.

The Point Of No Return delivers a cracking murder story and anyone that enjoys a great thriller cannot go wrong with this one.

Huge shout to the team behind the audiobook too.  Narration duties were handled by Angus King and he was excellent.  There is a fair sized cast in this story and King gave each their own voice and brought the characters to life. Audiobooks can really let down a great book if the vocal performances are jarring or the voices chosen are unsuited to the material presented.  In the case of The Point Of No Return there were no concerns – this is a polished and quality production and the source material shines.

Great book and a cracking addition to the Connor Fraser series.  Don’t miss out on these stories – they are too good to let them slip by.

 

The Point Of No Return is published in Hardcover, digital and audiobook format and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B085PV4NHV/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3

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