April 7

Far From The Tree – Rob Parker (Audiobook)

Twenty-seven bodies, vacuum-packed, buried in a woodland trench. Some have been there for years, some for just days.

When DI Brendan Foley recognises one of the Warrington 27, he knows this case is about to shake his world.

Detective Sergeant Iona Madison is a skilled boxer and a vital support for Foley. Theirs is a newly established police force, and loyalties are about to be tested to the extreme.

Pressure mounts as news of the mass grave is plastered over the news. Brendan knows they can’t crack this case alone, but he’s not letting a rival force take over.

Their investigations lead them into the murky underworlds of Manchester and Liverpool, where one more murder means little to drug-dealing gangs, desperate to control their power bases.

But as Madison steps into the ring for the fight of her life, the criminals come to them. It’s no coincidence that the corpses have been buried in Foley’s hometown. The question is, why?

 

I am an Audible member and I purchased this audiobook through my membership allocation.

 

I bought Far From The Tree when it was an Audible Only title and because it was by Rob Parker – who is currently releasing books faster than I seem to be able to read them.  Knowing this author can write a pacy thriller and reading that blurb (above) about a mass grave and an investigating officer recognising one of the victims, I decided Far From The Tree was a book I didn’t want to miss out on.  Turns out my instinct was on the money as I could’t get enough of this one.

The good news for non-audiobook readers is that Red Dog Press have just announced there will be a paperback release of Far From The Tree in July of this year. The audiobook remains immediately available and I rate it highly, narrator Warren Brown is magnificent and does a fabulous job bringing life to DI Brendan Foley and his collleagues.   The action is set in Warrington and England’s North West and even to my untrained (and Scottish) ear I was able to place the regional accents and feel entirely satisfied the authenticity and accuracy which you would hope to hear was very much accomplished.

Why was Far From The Tree such a hit with me?  It gripped me early and kept me hooked.  I didn’t want to stop listening and Rob Parker really nailed the dynamics and impact of the story with a strong set of characters.

Lead character is Brendan Foley.  He is meant to be enjoying his son’s christening but is called out to supervise a shocking discovery in a local wood. When we arrive on the scene with Foley the police are uncovering a trench which appears to be a mass grave.  The bodies within are all wrapped tightly in plastic but it is immediately clear that some have been in the ground for quite some time.  Nothing the Warrington Police have seen before can have prepared them for this and readers can immediately see the impact it is having on them.

Foley is briefly called away from the crimescene and we see his DS, Iona Madison, step up to oversee matters while Foley returns to his family to explain his absence to his wife and to get his father to keep an eye on proceedings (and his wife) while Foley will be away.  This distraction from the body-filled trench was extremely effective in introducing Foley’s family, who will go on to play a significant role in later events, and also showcasing Madison as the strong, effective investigator she needs to be in Far From The Tree.

I am loathe to get too deeply into events of the book as part of my review (Spoilers) however, I do want to touch on how much I enjoyed this book as a strong police procedural thriller.  The investigation into twenty seven multiple murders is no mean feat, particularly when many of the victims were buried in a condition which involved maiming or disfigurement.  Foley and his team doggedly pursue the small clues they can uncover as the pathologist completes examinations.  I also enjoyed the side of the story where action slips to Foley and his family.  The strain an investigation such as this can put on the officers is something not always explored in fiction but Rob Parker takes time to show the devestation it can have on a family and it brings you closer to Foley and Madison and their loved ones.

This isn’t an easy review as I am trying so hard to avoid spoilers.  What I can share is that Far From The Tree is easily one of the best audiobooks I have listened to for some time.  I did a full six hour listening session to get through three quarters of the story in one go – previously the longest audiobook session I had completed was around 2 hours (and that was while I was driving).  I loved this book, it got its claws into me early and didn’t let me go.  When it ended I didn’t feel I was done with these characters – they endured shocks, grief, personal trauma and not all the team will be at their desks in the weeks following the story…but I still wanted more.  When a book leaves you craving more chapters then it has done its job.  Brilliant. Pure page turning drama.

 

Far From The Tree is currently available in audiobook format only but will be released in paperback on 2 July 2021.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1839012099/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i8

 

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April 4

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Paul Cuddihy

In January I began a quest to determine which books would be represented in the Ulitmate Library.  Imagine, if you will, a vast room lined with dozens of empty bookshelves all crying out to be filled with the best books available.  Alternatively, you are handed a brand new digital reader and asked to fill it with nothing but the best titles you can think of.  Where would you start?  How do you choose?

I confess I had no idea where to begin and I knew if I tried then it would only result in a selection of crime thrillers, all the Terry Pratchett books and a fan-boy collection of Doctor Who novels. Hardly the best representation of centuries of writing.

Rather than tackle this challenge alone I decided to invite book lovers to join me in my quest.  Each guest curator is asked to nominate any five books which should be included in my Ultimate Library.  However, they are only permitted to select one book per decade and they must choose from any five consecutive decades.

That’s it. Two Rules.  Five Books, Five Consecutive Decades.

While you contemplate your personal selections I will hand over to today’s guest: Paul Cuddihy.

You know the format by now…I ask Paul to introduce himself and then I pass him the Decades baton as he nominates his five books.

 

DECADES

I’m Paul Cuddihy, and I’m a journalist, writer and podcaster. I run a books podcast – Read All About It – where people talk about their favourite and not so favourite books. Each guest chooses a book from these five categories:

Favourite book from childhood.

Favourite book from teenage/formative years.

A book you’d recommend to anyone

A book you couldn’t be paid to read again

The last book you read/are currently reading.

The podcast has been running since January 2020, and it has been an absolute blast – what could be better than sitting talking books with people? You can find the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music and most other places where you get your podcasts.

I also self-published a non-fiction book called Read All About It back in 2015, which charted my year of trying to read more books and fall in love with literature again.

I have had three novels published – a historical trilogy set between Scotland, Ireland and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century.

I also published a book of short stories inspired by Duran Duran – every story is a song title from the band. I am, I confess, a big Duranie! (And, no, that’s not Cockney rhyming slang!) I am also in the process of launching a new podcast with a friend called the Duran Duran Albums Podcast, with each episode looking at one of the band’s 14 studio albums. I am convinced the world is waiting for such a podcast!

And I have also written around 10 books on Celtic Football Club through my work as a multi-media journalist with the club.

As any good writer will admit, I am currently working on a novel, but I can’t tell you what it’s about! I don’t want to jinx it.

You can find me on:

Twitter: @paulthehunted or @readallabout20 Email: author@paulcuddihy.com

Website: www.paulcuddihy.com

In choosing these books, my starting point was including The Cone-gatherers, which was published in the 1950s, and then I just had to work out which direction to go after that – I decided to go backwards and forward!

This is a great idea – anything to get you thinking, writing or talking about books is – and I’m delighted to be taking part in it

 

1920s

All Quiet on the Western Front: Erich Maria Remarque (1929)

 

This is a novel of the First World War but told from the perspective of a German soldier. Remarque was a veteran of the conflict, and All Quiet on the Western Front tells the reality of the terrible conflict, which was in sharp contrast to the patriotic appeals which led his main character, Paul Baumer, to enlist in the Kaiser’s army. The fact that the book was banned and burned by the Nazis only adds to its reputation. The novel strips away the mythical glamour and heroism of war, and instead gives an honest portrayal of the mundanity of live in the trenches, which is accompanied by its horrors, and how the soldiers subsequently find civilian life difficult to adjust to, given their wartime experiences.

 

 

 

1930s

The Grapes of Wrath: John Steinbeck (1939)

I think this was the first novel which made me cry as an adult. The ending of this novel is breathtaking, and comes at the end of the arduous journey you’ve been on with the characters as they travel from the 1930s Oklahoma dustbowl to the apparent promised land of California. I have read this book three times already, and I’m sure I’ll read it at least three more times in the years ahead – and I say that as someone who does not re-read many books. This is a stunning novel, following the Joad family on their journey across America. The writing is perfect – the description of the food being cooked and eaten on the way is such that there are times when I’m sure I can smell the aromas, or taste the food. Certainly, my mouth waters on occasion. A couple of years ago, my wife and I drove the Pacific Highway on America’s west coast, from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and one of my highlights was visiting the National Steinbeck Centre in Salinas. Of course, I purchased a copy of The Grapes of Wrath there!

 

1940s

Hiroshima: John Hersey (1946)

 

This is a stunning piece of reportage, and I can’t think of anything that better explains the horrors of weapons of mass destruction. It was originally published in the New Yorker magazine in August 1946, with the whole magazine given over to Hersey’s story. Hersey was one of the first Western journalists to visit Hiroshima after the devastation of the Japanese city by an American atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. He tells the story of what happened that day and afterwards through the stories of six survivors, and I can only imagine it profoundly affects every reader. What makes the book so successful, I think, is that Hersey tells this story which has a global impact though the personal. That makes what happens – which is almost beyond comprehension – all the more shocking because the reader invests their emotions in the stories of these six people.

 

 

1950s

The Cone-gatherers: Robin Jenkins (1955)

This is the book I recommend to everyone, and I subsequently judge them, depending on their reaction to it! It’s long been a bugbear of mine that when I was growing up, we were taught very little Scottish literature at school – I was at high school between 1978 and ’83 – and so I was in the twenties before I read The Cone-gatherers. It was love at first read, and Robin Jenkins remains my favourite Scottish author. The novel is set on a country estate during the Second World War, where conscientious objectors are set to work gathering cones to be replanted to replenish forestry stock. The two main characters are Neil and his brother, Callum, and there’s a nod to Of Mice and Men in the characters of the two brothers, with Neil almost a carer for Callum. The clash between good and evil in this garden of Eden is built with increasing tension by Jenkins, as the brothers’ relationship with the estate’s gamekeeper, Duror, slowly deteriorates, and the ending is incredibly dramatic. The Cone-gatherers is a masterpiece.

 

1960s

Catch 22: Joseph Heller (1961)

Peter McGhee was my English teacher when I was studying Higher English at Turnbull High School in Bishopbriggs between 1982-83. If I met him now, I would buy him a pint and thank him for giving us Catch 22 to read that year. What he actually did was give the boys Catch 22, while the girls had to study DH Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers. I’m not sure if the girls in the class were as grateful for the book choice, but all of us loved Catch 22. It’s funny, irreverent, with some topics and language that

we weren’t used to reading about in a Catholic high school, and that made it all the more appealing. I remember being in other classes where, if the teacher was off, we were told to take out a book and read it for the hour. Normally, that would be a signal for anarchy in the classroom, but we would take our copies of Catch 22 out, becoming instantly engrossed and laughing out loud at various parts of the book. There is a poignancy to the novel, of course, and a serious message about the futility and madness of war, but it’s also a very funny book. Thanks, Mr McGhee, I still owe you a pint!

 

 

A brilliant mix of books I instantly recognised with a couple which were new to me.  I really enjoy when I learn of new books I should be seeking out.  My thanks to Paul for putting himself through the wringer to narrow down his choices to this final five.

You can find Paul’s Amazon page and pick up any of his books here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paul-Cuddihy/e/B003E3LJIW?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1617564066&sr=8-1

 

If you are keen to see the choices already submitted to the Library by my previous guests, you can visit the Ulitmate Libary here: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=5113

 

DECADES WILL RETURN

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April 3

Into The Fire – Rachael Blok

Eleven guests. Three nights. One murderer… This is the haunting and atmospheric new thriller from rising star of crime fiction, Rachael Blok.

In a gorgeous mansion in the Hertfordshire countryside, sisters Lois and Ebba prepare to launch their new venture. Archipelago is an exploitation-free tech company whose virtual reality game promises to unite the worlds of technology, politics and the environment.

Invited to the launch party are their investors: current and ex-politicians, international business moguls and activists, one of whom – Marieke – has been receiving online abuse and death threats for her views on eco-politics.

DCI Maarten Jansen has been summoned to join the house party. He is sure the threats are from online trolls with nothing better to do – he’s only offering police protection because his boss wants to put the VIP guests at ease. But when eight of the guests are involved in a suspicious helicopter crash, Maarten starts to uncover long-buried secrets – and a murderer in their midst…

 

My thanks to Sophie at Midas PR for my review copy and the chance to join the Blog Tour

 

It is a big weekend for sisters Lois and Ebba. They have gathered together a group of investors, film representatives, politician and activists to showcase their innovative and potentially game-changing Virtual Reality videogame. The sister believe the VR is better than anything else out there and the interaction it offers will have benefits beyond the gaming world for those that want to develop it further.   There is a lot at stake for Lois and Ebba and they are understandably apprehensive as they start to welcome guests to their home, a large mansion where no expense has been spared to make their VIP guests feel welcome.

But also in attendance is DCI Maarten Jansen.  One of the guests has been receiving death threats and the police are on the scene to keep her safe and ensure the weekend goes off without incident.  On that front the police are not successful.  The book begins with a helicopter crash which did not happen by accident. The helicopter had been taking some of the guests to the studios in London where a demonstration of the VR game was to take place, it doesn’t even clear the grounds before it is spinning back to earth with several of the VIP guests on board.

Into The Fire is told with a non-linear narrative so after the early sight of the helicoper crashing down the reader is taken back to the start of the weekend and we get to know the key players in the story. The introductions are done by watching guests arrive at the house as from the viewpoint of some of the guests themselves (the multiple narrative runs through the book).  Not only does this allow us to assess what the guests each have been witness to but we also get their thoughts and background story which allows the reader to know the big issues which dominate the lives.  The positive pregnancy test, the man who adores his wife but feels so inferior to her that he is terrified to even make eye contact, even the policeman who will see his wife meet his ex.

Getting to know the characters can feel a bit of a slow burn but the characters do have quite fascinating and complex backstories so readers will engage with the various dilemmas.  Rachael Blok is ensuring we have all the information we need so when DCI Jansen starts to uncover some of the secrets which surround the death which occurs during the weekend the reader also knows something of what is there to be discovered for him.

Into The Fire is a clever character driven mystery.  Rachael Blok moves her figures around the board and only allows readers the opportunity to glimpse what her overall strategy may be. The characters need to be strong to make this approach work and I felt this was accomplished well.  I had sympathy for some, anxiety for others and the charaters who were the clear villains of the story were not made too toxic that you did not care what may happen to them.

Nicely plotted, engaging characters and a good payoff.  I hadn’t realised DCI Jansen had featured in previous books but I feel returning readers will enjoy his participation in this book.

 

Into The Fire is published by Head of Zeus and is available in Hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B082NZST2T/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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April 1

The April Dead – Alan Parks

NO ONE WILL FORGET . . .

In a grimy flat in Glasgow, a homemade bomb explodes, leaving few remains to identify its maker.

Detective Harry McCoy knows in his gut that there’ll be more to follow. The hunt for a missing sailor from the local US naval base leads him to the secretive group behind the bomb, and their disturbing, dominating leader.

On top of that, McCoy thinks he’s doing an old friend a favour when he passes on a warning, but instead he’s pulled into a vicious gang feud. And in the meantime, there’s word another bigger explosion is coming Glasgow’s way – so if the city is to survive, it’ll take everything McCoy’s got . . .

 

My thanks to Jamie at Canongate for a review copy of The April Dead and to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the oppourtunity to host this leg of the tour.

 

Harry McCoy is the new name to add to the list of Scotland’s Best Fictional Coppers.  His city is Glasgow and The April Dead takes us to 1974 – a full decade before Taggart became known as “Scottish For Murder.”

This book opens with a bang – literally. A homemade bomb has blown up in a rundown house in a quiet part of town.  It looks like the bomb-maker made one final mistake at the wrong moment.  McCoy isn’t good with blood so being asked to investiate a death where the victim is spread around a room really isn’t the best way for him to begin his day.

Before too long McCoy will be spinning more than one plate and finding himself in another unwelcome position.  As ever, one of the key elements which bring these predicaments is is oldest friend Stevie Cooper – recently released from Peterhead prison and back in town to re-establish himself as the big noise with a finger in every pie.  McCoy’s friendship with Cooper, one of Glasgows biggest criminals, is always problematic but never more so when Cooper is arrested for murder by McCoy’s young apprentice Wattie.

It seems the clumsy bombmaker may not have been working alone as there are further incidents around the city and McCoy finds he is relying upon the skills of a colleague who transferred from Northern Ireland.  His experience of dealing with the aftermath of IRA bombs across the Irish Sea has given him unwelcome knowledge of different bombs and the destruction they can cause.  In the mid-1970s the IRA were starting to make their presence felt on the mainland UK and unfortunately for McCoy he appears to be drawing attention to himself and being noticed by the wrong type of people.

With regular sidekick Wattie spending some of his time dealing with his new paternal responsibilities we see McCoy using some of his personal time trying to help out a retired American naval captain.  His son (also a sailor) has gone missing in Glasgow and Capitan Stewart has travelled to Scotland to try and trace him.  He is reliant upon McCoy’s support and McCoy appears happy to spend time with Stewart and help him to find the missing boy. However, it seems Stewart junior may have fallen in with a bad crowd and McCoy is certain there are elements of his life which his father knows nothing about.  Diplomacy isn’t really McCoy’s strength so digging into possible criminal activities while keeping Captain Stewart in the dark is just another challenge for McCoy.

As with the earlier Harry McCoy novels I find the author’s depictions of Glasgow, as she was, to be mesmerising.  It’s a familiar city in unfamiliar coat.  McCoy knows his home and he knows many of the undesirable characters who live within but he moves around and spins those plates and by shaking up the right people and knowing the questions to ask he begins to make progress.  The bombings are a clear and present threat and there are too many young military types cropping up in the investigation for McCoy’s liking.  Alan Parks keeps the reader hooked with multiple events and threads and you know that when the book reaches the endgame lots of those threads are going to be connected – but which ones?

I make no secret of the fact I adore the Harry McCoy series.  I recommend them above many other crime books and each new release brings increasing levels of anticipation.  The April Dead did not disappoint – if I did “starred” reviews it would be a nailed on Five Star recommendation. I know you have a TBR which is taking over your house but you need to be reading these books. So read them. No excuses.

 

The April Dead is published by Canongate Books and is available in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook fomat.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08H2BQR1T/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

 

 

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