30 Days in June – Chris Westlake
On the 1st day of June 1988, the residents of south Wales were thrown into a state of panic when a married couple were brutally murdered in their own home. The killer, nicknamed Spartacus by the media, did not flee the scene immediately; instead, he stayed to carve Roman Numerals onto his victims’ chests.
This was the beginning of a month-long killing spree, each murder taking a step closer to home.
Seventeen-year-old Jeffrey Allen was to be the final victim, on the final day of the month. Instead, he became the only survivor, and the only real witness. The killings ended as suddenly as they began. Jeffrey relocated to London, changing his name, and his identity, to Marcus Clancy. His past life became merely a dark secret.
On 1st June 2018, 30 years to the day since the first killing, a mysterious figure refers to Marcus by his old name, through closing lift doors.
Is Spartacus back? If so, has he returned to finish what he failed to do thirty years ago?
And so begins 30 days of terror for Marcus Clancy, culminating in dramatic fashion on the final day of June.
My thanks to Emma Welton at Damppebbles Blog Tours for the chance to join the tour today.
30 Days in June is a tense serial killer thriller with a few nasty spikes along the way. Not too dark but we are a long way from cozy! Nicely balanced for this reader
30 years ago (1988) a killer dubbed Spartacus committed a month long sequence of murders. His last intended victim, Jeffrey, survived but did not come out the incident unscathed. Jeffrey moved to London and changed his name – hoping to blend into the city and gain anonymity.
In 2018 Jeffrey (now Marcus) gets spoken to by someone who knows his real name. The fears come rushing back. Has Spartacus returned to finish the murder he planned three decades ago? If not Spartacus then who recognized Marcus as Jeffrey and what do they hope to gain?
Narrative is split between two time periods and the full story is slowly revealed to the reader with everything building nicely as we approach the end of the tale.
30 Days in June builds up towarss the finale so don’t come into this book looking for a murder second chapter. It’s a slow burn tale that rewards the reader in the telling rather than trying to blow them off the page with high octane adventures.
Serial killer stories are my favourite so I enjoyed 30 Days In June. Fun was had.
30 Days in June is available in digital and paperback format and you can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08283SZBZ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0