Cold as Hell by Lilja Sigurdardóttir translated by Quentin Bates

Áróra returns to Iceland when her estranged sister goes missing, and her search leads to places she could never have imagined. A chilling, tense thriller – FIRST in an addictive, nerve-shattering new series – from one of Iceland’s bestselling authors…

Icelandic sisters Áróra and Ísafold live in different countries and aren‘t on speaking terms, but when their mother loses contact with Ísafold, Áróra reluctantly returns to Iceland to find her sister. But she soon realizes that her sister isn’t avoiding her … she has disappeared, without trace.

As she confronts Ísafold’s abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend Björn, and begins to probe her sister’s reclusive neighbours – who have their own reasons for staying out of sight – Áróra is led into an ever-darker web of intrigue and manipulation.

Baffled by the conflicting details of her sister’s life, and blinded by the shiveringly bright midnight sun of the Icelandic summer, Áróra enlists the help of police officer Daníel, as she tries to track her sister’s movements, and begins to tail Björn – but she isn’t the only one watching…

Slick, tense, atmospheric and superbly plotted, Cold as Hell marks the start of a riveting, addictive new series from one of Iceland’s bestselling crime writers.

I read my purchased copy of Cold as Hell ahead of my review being shared as part of the blog tour. My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the Cold as Hell tour.

Áróra and Ísafold are sisters but they do not get on. It’s been several years since the pair spoke, Áróra lives in England, while Ísafold prefers Iceland. But Ísafold has fallen off the grid – she has not been in contact with her mother who is worried about what may have happened. Áróra is called – get to Iceland, find your sister.

The fact Ísafold is missing does not immediately concern Áróra but she takes herself to Iceland and is soon at Ísafold’s house. Her partner is not remotely interested in helping Áróra and doesn’t even care where Ísafold may be – she is not there and that seems enough for him. His dismissive behaviour perplexes Áróra and when she speaks with her mother after this encounter she doesn’t appear to have much of an idea how to track her sister. But mum’s can be full of good ideas and she recommends Áróra seek out an investigator (Daniel) who may be able to lend his support and skills. Giving up is not an option.

So an investigation is unofficially launched with Áróra and Daniel digging deeper and uncovering secrets.

There is a second distraction for Áróra though. She has met a guy in Iceland and while the two are in his hotel room she discovers his father owns the hotel. Áróra also realises she is naked in bed with a man who has just left prison and she has no idea what crime may have been committed to put him there. She flees into the night fearing for her safety but it subsequently transpires her new acquiantance had been charged with financial crime. This is of deep interest to Áróra who wants to know more about this man and the crimes he committed.

I cannot get enough of Financial Crime stories and I love that Lilja Sigurdardóttir features some wickedly clever financial scams in each of her books. The crashing of the global economies in 2008, when financial markets took a hit around the world, was particularly hard on Iceland – seeing the continued manipulation of financial issues in stories set in Iceland does make each of the crimes Lilja Sigurdardóttir writes about seem more cruel than may otherwise have been the case. But I do still love reading them.

I am reading more translated fiction these days than I have ever done at any previous time in my life. This is only possible through the work of all the translators who have a command of language far beyond anything I could ever hope to achive. Their hard work and diligence brings stories like Cold as Hell to my bookshelves and I get to enjoy books which would otherwise be strangers to me. You may note that this review has been titled to include Quentin Bates as translator; going forward I plan to always show the translator when reading a text not originally written in English.

In the case of Cold as Hell I love how Quentin Bates conveys the tone and emotion of the story. Áróra’s initial frustration at her mother’s concern over her sister’s disappearance. Her own bemusement at the reaction she recieves in Iceland from Björn when he does not seem to have any interest in the whereabouts of the woman he lived with for three years. Then the more subtle fascination Áróra has with Daniel as she outlines why she is worred about Ísafold. With those subtle indicators of emotion and intrigue I become more drawn to all the players in this game, they are not binary “good guy, bad guy” characters, there are shades of emotions, subtle deceptions and telling tics and Quentin Bates brings them all through to give the story the nuance I seek.

Cold as Hell builds the layers of mystery and dead end investigations but you are drawn along with the story. Nothing is quite what it seems and Lilja Sigurdardóttir is masterly in her weaving of layers to everyone’s story. Add in the whole financial crime element and I was more than happy to be lost in this story.

Cold as Hell is published by Orenda Books and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08WRJXYGY/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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October 23

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Steph Mullin and Nicole Mabry

A first for Decades this week as I am going to need two Curator Hats.

Each week I invite a guest to join me in my ongoing quest to add books to my Decades Library. In January 2021 I asked myself the question: If you were to fill the shelves of a brand new library but had no books, which books should you add to make sure the very best publications were represented?

Now that was far too difficult a question to answer alone so I am enlisting the assistance of booklovers (authors, publishers, journalists and bloggers) and I ask them which five books they would put into my library. However, I added an extra rule – my guests may only select one book per decade and they must select their five books from five consecutive decades. So they have any fifty year publication span to select from. Apparently this makes it harder to choose than it may sound!

Earlier this year I read a wonderful serial killer thriller: The Family Tree – it is the first novel co-authored by Steph Mullin and Nicole Mabry. The book reminded me of a discussion I had been having with my wife around DNA testing and the unforeseen outcomes which may arise from trying to trace your ancestry. In The Family Tree the protagonist (Liz) discovers she may be related to a serial killer. For clarity, I am not related to a serial killer (to my knowledge). My discussion with my wife was around charities who are helping people to cope with the trauma some people can experience when they learn their family are not their blood family.

The Family Tree was one of my favourite reads this year and as it was recently released into paperback I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to ask Nicole or Steph if they fancied taking on the Decades challenge. To my delight they were both keen to make their selections so, for the first time, I have co-authors to welcome to Grab This Book and we have ten new titles to add to the Library.

Steph Mullin and Nicole Mabry met as co-workers in New York City in 2012, discovering a shared passion for writing and true crime. After Steph relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2018, they continued to collaborate creatively. Separated by five states, they spend countless hours scheming via FaceTime and editing each other’s typos in real time on live Google Docs. Steph’s dream of becoming a writer started at age six, followed by winning scholastic writing awards and crafting articles for her university literary magazine. She currently works as Creative Director for a Media, Entertainment and Digital Marketing Solutions company. Nicole works in television as Senior Manager of Post Production in the photography department. She is the author of Past This Point (2019), an award-winning apocalyptic women’s fiction novel. Past This Point was chosen as Best Book of the Year by Indies Today and won first place in the Global Thriller division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards. The Family Tree is the writing duo’s first co-authored crime novel.

DECADES

My co-author and I are 18 years apart in age, so we loved the idea of doing a list like this separately, knowing our different generations would surely affect our lists.

NICOLE MABRY

I started my list in the 60’s, the decade before I was born, because it was responsible for some of the most incredible literary works of our time.

1960s: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1969)

I was introduced to this autobiography in my college African American History class in 1997 and could not put it down. I read it start to finish in one sitting and those hours brought a range of emotions. It impacted me on so many levels, not just because of the important racial subject matter that I wasn’t fully aware of before this class, but also as a woman and a writer. Angelou’s writing is so beautifully elegant and lyrical that it makes the tough subject matter so much more compelling. I cried multiple times and then undoubtably sighed at the exquisite words Angelou put down on the page. I remember sitting in my dingy college apartment on my unmade bed after reading the last page and just staring off into space, my head filled with Angelou’s life and words. My only regret is that I didn’t read this book sooner. It is a book that has stayed with me over the years and the first I recommend.

1970s: Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks {as Anonymous} (1971)

I was raised by a busy, full time working mom who was brilliant at finding ways to impart parental wisdom without actually having difficult conversations. For example, instead of exasperatingly telling me for the 100th time not to wander off in stores, she had me watch the made-for-tv movie Adam, the true story of Adam Walsh’s kidnapping from a shopping center. And it worked. I never left her side at stores again. When I entered my teens, even though she never needed to worry about me taking drugs as I didn’t even drink at parties, my mom gave me the book, Go Ask Alice. The book is in diary entry form and is written by an anonymous fifteen-year-old girl who falls headfirst into drug addiction. I was glued to the page, flipping them rapidly as I devoured a first-hand account of a drug fueled journey of a girl my own age–the good and the bad. To my naïve teenage self, it felt real, as though I was doing drugs alongside her, experiencing the highs and the lows that come with such a life. As I followed her through her addiction and into a more hopeful future, the epilogue delivered a gut punch that left me sitting stunned in my bedroom, anxiously looking for another chapter. Needless to say, it scared the bejeezus out of me and did the superfluous job my mother had hoped it would. But to this day, the final words of this book still haunt me.

1980’s: Misery by Stephen King (1987)

I’m a horror movie lover so King is one of my go-to authors. But Misery is without a doubt my favorite of his. I had watched the movie before I read the book and was certain the book could not be better. James Caan and Kathy Bates gave such incredible, unforgettable performances, I couldn’t fathom that King could top that. I was so wrong. King’s writing in this book is so visceral and each character’s reactions are so perfectly laid out that Caan and Bates had a very detailed map of what to do at each step. And even though I knew what happened, I was glued to every page. Now when I watch the movie, I can see King’s words in my head like a script for the movie.

1990’s: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (1999)

A friend recommended this book to me and when I first got it, I looked at the slim volume skeptically. How could such a small book fully tell the story of an awkward teen navigating life and learning who he is? But within a few pages I was hooked and fully immersed in Charlie’s world. The concept and formatting were unique and drew me in. Once I got to the poem that’s deep into the book, I cried openly. I read that poem about ten times before moving on. The book is perfect, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I still read it once a year.

2000s: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (2006)

During the 2000’s I really dug into the thriller/suspense/mystery genre that eventually led me to choose the same genre for my own writing. But I didn’t know about this book until everyone was raving about Gone Girl years later. While I liked Gone Girl, I decided to search out more by Flynn and found Sharp Objects. This has to be my favorite debut from any thriller author. Flynn created such a devious and emotional plot, and to top that off with a deliciously flawed main character just sweetened the pot. Full of twists and turns, complex, well-developed characters and an ending that will leave you gasping, this was an easy pick for the 2000s.

STEPH MULLIN

1970s: The Shining by Stephen King (1977)

The Shining was my first Stephen King novel and really showed me what it was like to be a master of suspense. I didn’t read this book until my teen years, but it played a huge role in influencing the types of books I love to read…and what areas of writing I enjoy the most. Part of what I love so much about this book is the way King is able to turn the atmosphere and setting into a character in itself – the hotel playing such an integral role in the story and the torment of the characters. It so expertly blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, using masterful character development to bring out the horror and mystery woven through the pages. Now, as a writer, developing characters and atmosphere are the two areas I enjoy the most, and as a reader I love to seek out stories that execute them expertly like Stephen King.

1980s: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

As I was born in 1990, The Handmaid’s Tale was a story I didn’t become familiar with until a bit later in life – however, what’s so brilliant about Atwood’s masterpiece is its uncanny ability to be relatable even decades later. Every woman who reads The Handmaid’s Tale can place themselves into the shoes of these women, feeling the terror at how close society feels at times to turning into Atwood’s world. The Handmaid’s Tale really made me take note of the political policies in today’s society as it relates to women’s rights, and to also realize that this is a timeless concern that we all feel in our bones. I normally read fiction for the entertainment and escapist value in it, but this thought-provoking book is one that sticks with me for entirely different reasons.

1990s: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling (1997)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the first book I have a distinctive memory of reading. I was only seven years old when it came out, and I remember another girl in my elementary school had a copy and leant it to me – and I was hooked. Over the years, I aged alongside the characters as each book came out and it was something that really shaped my childhood years. I remember convincing my parents to take me to midnight book releases, staying up all night at sleepovers with friends reading through the night and refusing to sleep until we finished the book. I owe a lot of my love of reading, and ability to read quickly, to when I picked up that first Harry Potter book in the late 90s. It was the first time I really felt what it was like to escape into another world through fiction.

2000-2010: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (2002)

The Lovely Bones was one of the first books I read growing up that was of “darker” subject matter. It was also the first book I read that was told through a unique format, the narrator being that of the young Susie Salmon, after she was murdered. Susie watches as her loved ones try to solve her murder and figure out how to move on in life without her. I was only a teenager when this book came out, and the haunting and heartbreaking narrative really struck a chord with me, paving the way for me to continue seeking out books that explored crimes and mysteries. That path The Lovely Bones sent me down is what now has manifested into a love for thrillers and true crime, and ultimately, becoming a thriller writer where one of my favorite things to consider – is unique format and storytelling perspectives.

2010-2020: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (2019)

As an avid thriller reader and writer that takes in a lot of true crime media, it’s very hard to surprise me in a book. I’m constantly playing detective as I read, subconsciously trying to solve the mystery before the author reveals it. The Silent Patient was one of the first books in a long time to actually surprise me in the end. Masterfully crafted so that the twist reveal was unraveled by the story’s format and unreliable characters (that you didn’t even realize at first were unreliable), I delightfully didn’t guess everything Michaelides had up his sleeve and enjoyed every page-turning moment. As both a reader and a writer, this book really made me think about the way we reveal our own inner truths and I hope to one day pull off an ending with such finesse.

My thanks to Nicole and Steph for the longest Decades span I have shared (while still keeping within the rules). But we’re not quite done as Nicole added a bonus recommendation which I will also share now. As the publication was in the 1920’s it doesn’t qualify for Library inclusion but as a booklover it is in my blood to pass on a recommended title!

BONUS 1920s: The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

When I was 6, I was a very hyperactive child. My single mom didn’t know how to occupy my curious mind. My teacher had given us a vocabulary workbook for homework assignments for the entire year. I misunderstood the instructions because, being hyperactive also meant I rarely paid attention to adults, and I completed the whole workbook in one night. My exasperated teacher didn’t have any other homework for me so she said I should start reading a book a week instead. So, my mom took me to the library and told me I had to pick a book that was over 100 pages. I chose The Boxcar Children and my mom sat me down on the living room floor with a thick dictionary and my chosen book. I had to read at least 20 pages a night and if I didn’t know a word, I had the dictionary to look it up. The story, about four orphaned kids who make a home in an abandoned boxcar, captivated me instantly. This sparked a passion for stories very early on I never looked back. I became a voracious reader and a regular at the local library.

The Family Tree is published by Avon and is available in Digital and paperback formats now. Nicole and Steph have also just revealed the cover of their next thriller – When She Disappeared – which will release next year.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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October 22

Bad Apples – Will Dean

It only takes one…

A murder

A resident of small-town Visberg is found decapitated

A festival

A grim celebration in a cultish hilltop community after the apple harvest

A race against time

As Visberg closes ranks to keep its deadly secrets, there could not be a worse time for Tuva Moodyson to arrive as deputy editor of the local newspaper. Powerful forces are at play and no one dares speak out. But Tuva senses the story of her career, unaware that perhaps she is the story…

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the Bad Apples tour.

Tuva Moodyson is one of the best new characters to have emerged into the crime fiction arena over the past few years. The journalist who keeps finding trouble deep in the wooded areas of Sweden as she shines a light into some of the darker aspects of life in this Northern outpost.

Bad Apples does not start well for Tuva and, skipping ahead, it only gets worse. While driving through the forest Tuva hears a scream. She stops her car to investigate and finds a woman traumatised. The woman has found a body in the woods, a very dead body. Tuva knows the man in front of her is dead as someone has removed his head.

The police are summoned and when they come to take over what has become a crime scene Tuva puts on her journalists hat and starts asking questions. She has a good relationship with the police, not least because her partner is one of the officers in attendance, but with no real leads themselves the police are not too keen to overshare with Tuva…can she keep the missing head out of the paper? Naturally the very next day everyone in town knows there was a decapitated body found, small towns do not need newspapers to print stories as word has a way of getting around.

Working the story leads Tuva to Visberg, a small town which has recently come under Tuva’s remit due to the Visberg newspaper closing down. Visberg is even more of a closed community than “Toytown” where Tuva lives. Half the population appear to be related to a single (powerful) family who live an affluent life and enjoy a Stepford Wives lifestlye at their luxury golf course. The other half of the town do the work and keep the town ticking over. Ticking being the key word in the case of the guy that runs a watch emporium which houses many rare timepieces. There is also a Gaming Cafe (a very definite plus for Tuva) which is run by twins, a pizza cafe managed by a former “Yugoslavian” who is rumoured to have been summoned to The Hague to be investigated for War Crimes, there is a dentist, a super storage facility with some dark secrets within and if you like the troll making sisters from earlier books then you will be delighted to know they (and their weird trolls) return too.

Visberg is remote, peculiar and dangerous for strangers. Each year, in the lead up to Halloween they celebrate their own annual festival: Pan Night. Except officially they don’t. The festival apparently ended some years ago and nobody engages in the unusual celebrations which were once reported upon. Which is why Tuva is walking the streets watching in bewilderment as the chaos and carnage of Pan Night unfolds around her, masks are worn, people are howling into the night, public shagging, dead animal entrails and something even more shocking which will end the “celebrations” early.

Tuva is too close to a killer. She is receiving messages at her home warning her she needs to stop digging into stories at Visberg. She is also getting closer to her partner Noora and this alarms Tuva as she really doesn’t want Noora to see her if her “busy head” returns and Tuva slides into a darkness. She fears she has too much to lose.

Will Dean does a fantastic job of turing Tuva’s wooded world a dark and atmospheric isolated setting which serves a crime thriller so well. He writes Tuva brilliantly and I felt there was a larger emphasis placed upon her deafness in this book which hadn’t been quite so evident last time around. I only mention it as I felt the first book was one of the best depictions I have encountered of handling a character with hearing difficulties – that is repeated in Bad Apples. The coaxing people to help her hear them, dealing with her hearing aid, everyday loud noises she has to contend with and using her deafness to manipulate a situation. It never feels forced or artificial and it brings an authenticity to the lead character which elevates the whole story. Tuva feels real, her concerns are ours, her frustrations cause us to be concerned for her – this reader is hooked and I keep those pages turning. Plus she is a gamer. In 2021 why do so many characters in books happily sit and watch tv or films but hardly any play videogames? Gaming is everywhere, consoles, phones, gaming cafes on our high streets but hardly in our fiction.

Bad Apples. A story which will pull you into the darkness and keep you there to that very last shocking endgame. You will instantly want more, trust me when I say you will be counting the days to the next book.

Bad Apples is published by Point Blank Crime and is available now in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook format. You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08WM3MCNP/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Follow the blog tour:

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October 19

The Rabbit Factor – Antti Tuomainen

Just one spreadsheet away from chaos…

What makes life perfect? Insurance mathematician Henri Koskinen knows the answer because he calculates everything down to the very last decimal.

And then, for the first time, Henri is faced with the incalculable. After suddenly losing his job, Henri inherits an adventure park from his brother – its peculiar employees and troubling financial problems included. The worst of the financial issues appear to originate from big loans taken from criminal quarters … and some dangerous men are very keen to get their money back.

But what Henri really can’t compute is love. In the adventure park, Henri crosses paths with Laura, an artist with a chequered past, and a joie de vivre and erratic lifestyle that bewilders him. As the criminals go to extreme lengths to collect their debts and as Henri’s relationship with Laura deepens, he finds himself faced with situations and emotions that simply cannot be pinned down on his spreadsheets…

Warmly funny, rich with quirky characters and absurd situations, The Rabbit Factor is a triumph of a dark thriller, its tension matched only by its ability to make us rejoice in the beauty and random nature of life.

My thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for my review copy and to Anne Cater at Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to take part in the blog tour for The Rabbit Factor.

The exciting news about The Rabbit Factor (which I am sure you know already) is that Steve Carell loves the book and will play Henri in a movie adaptation for Amazon Studios. I don’t believe it is possible to know this and NOT picture Carell as Henri – I felt I knew the character from the outset.

But maybe that is because I had a bit of a head start? Henri is an actuary and works in Financial Services. Although I am not smart enough to be an actuary I have certainly worked with a fair few actuaries down the years and could easily identify with Henri and the dilemmas he faced. You see, Henri craves order, precision and mathematics. He knows where he stands with mathematical accuracy – it is CORRECT. It can be qualtified. It does not entertain frivolity or feelings.

So when his employers stop putting their focus behind the calcuations and start synergizing and working in teams to consider how best to drive their corporate missions forward he feels decidedly out of his comfort zone. Things come to a head when his boss lays it out to Henri – embrace the softer, team focused ethos or take a hike. Henri walks, confident he will be snapped up by another firm. But Henri has misjudged the modern workplace – it’s all buzzwords and corporate bullshit these days and he doesn’t find a place as easily as he had expected.

Fate is to intervene though. Henri’s brother, the last of his family has sadly passed away. Henri inherits everything. But everything is a children’s Adventure Park and a whole lot of debt – debt which Henri isn’t used to dealing with as it did not come from the bank but from some unsavoury characters who don’t accept “no” for an answer.

Soon Henri is trying to deal with frustrated artists, ticket collectors with aims to become General Manager, broken machinery, absent staff and planning how best to avoid being killed by a frustrated loanshark. It’s an absolute riot but in Antti Tuomainen’s skilled hands it is also a delight to read.

The Adventure Park (never Amusement Park) becomes Henri’s focus. He can make it work, he can make it profitable and more importantly…he thinks he can use it to keep the moneylenders off his back. However Henri had not considered the possibility someone may just decide that they want him dead – can he survive long enough to outfox the criminals?

The Rabbit Factor delivers fun by the bucketload. Henri and the other Adventure Park staff are hugely engaging and the whole story is quirky and charming – well as quirky and charming as you can get with hitmen, dead bodies and hostile lapdancers.

Don’t sleep on this one.

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October 17

Last Girl Ghosted – Lisa Unger

You trusted him with your secret…and then he vanished.

When Wren Greenwood meets a good-looking stranger from a dating app, she expects a casual fling – but they connect immediately. Adam Harper is her perfect match.

She falls for him.

She confides in him.

And then he disappears… his profiles deleted, his phone disconnected, his Manhattan apartment emptied.

First, Wren blames herself. Then she hears about the other girls – girls who fell in love with Adam, and are now missing.

Wren needs answers, but as she follows the breadcrumb trail Adam left behind, it leads back to her own dark past. Suddenly, she’s no longer sure if she’s predator or prey.

She only knows one thing: whatever it takes, she’ll be the last girl he ever ghosts…

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley.

Wren Greenwood has met the perfect man through the Torch dating app. She hadn’t been looking for love but the connection she makes with Adam Harper is immediate and deep. The two begin an intense relationship and Wren starts to open up to Adam but one day he leaves. He isn’t answering his phone, he isn’t on social media and his house is empty. But he HAS sent Wren a brief message to apologise for what he has done.

Wren is in turmoil. It sounds like a problem she would take to Dear Birdie – a podcast which helps people deal with difficult life events and offering advice on how to get their life back on track. Unfortunately for Wren she doesn’t have that option available as Wren IS Dear Birdie – a secret identity she has kept under wraps and that only her closest friend (her co-host) and a small, trusted production team know about. The podcast has been very good to Wren and she is financially more than comfortable but this wasn’t something Adam knew about.

While still struggling to come to terms with the fact she was ghosted by Adam, Wren has another shock to contend with. A private investigator wants to speak with her, he knows about Adam and Adam has history of using Torch to match with single women who are both vulnerable and financially well off. Wren is very much the type Adam would target and the fact this investigator knows about Wren’s wealth and her vulnerability suggests her secrets are not as well kept as she had believed.

Wren initially resists the urge to help the investigator but Adam is still out there and despite her determination to move on there is one question she cannot ignore: Has Adam finished with Wren? She receives messages from an unknown number, the instruction is clear – get rid of the PI and we can be together.

Can Wren trust a man that ghosted her? Is the investigator correct when he says Adam is not the man she knows and that he has been responsible for three other women vanishing? Does Adam know about Dear Birdie? Who to trust?

Lisa Unger has penned a great thriller with Wren’s dilemma at the heart of the story. At times Wren’s reluctance to just ditch the idea of Adam coming back to her infuriated the hell out of me. But Wren’s feelings for Adam just can’t be brushed off easily and she is confident the investigator is mistaken in his accusations. Lisa Unger balances Wren’s indecisions really well and you can’t help but sympathise with her position at times. Then more information slips out and you begin to question everything about Wren’s history and how she came to be where she is.

Domestic drama and a love that’s meant to be? Or creepy weirdo meets girl with too much to lose? You’ll want to keep reading to find out!

Last Girl Ghosted is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B085M4F4J7/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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October 15

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Ayo Onatade

My Decades challenge began in January. I had been contemplating the joy of entering a new library for the first time and tried to imagine the overwhelming situation a librarian may face if they were asked to fill the shelves of a brand new library.

Starting with zero books, how could you possibly hope to decide which titles you needed to order to make sure the very best books would be available for readers? I knew this was a question that demanded an answer and I knew I couldn’t do it alone.

Each week I invite a booklover to join me and I ask them to nominate five new books to be added to my Ultimate Library. Although they can choose ANY five books I do add a second rule which governs their selections…only one book per decade over five consecutive decades. So my guests can choose five books from a fifty year publication span. Easy!

I don’t want to add much more as I want to hand over to Ayo. During my 8 year life as Grab This Book I have been constantly in awe of Ayo who champions crime writing, books and authors in a way I could only ever dream of matching. It is a huge honour to have Ayo taking part in my Decades challenge and, of course, she has selected five terrific books which I am delighted to add to my Library.

Ayo Onatade is a freelance crime fiction critic/commentator and blogger. She has written a number of articles on different aspects of crime fiction and has also given papers on the subject as well. She was a contributor to British Crime Writing: An Encyclopaedia (2008) edited by Barry Forshaw and The American Thriller (Critical Insights) (2014) edited by Gary Hoppenstand. She wrote the chapter on Legal Thrillers. She is co-editor with Len Tyler of the anthology Bodies in the Bookshop (2014). She is a former Chair of the CWA Short Story Dagger and former judge of the Ngaio Marsh Award. She is current Chair of HWA (Historical Writers Association) Debut Crown and a Judge for the Strand Magazine Critics Award. She is an Associate Member and a Committee Member of the Crime Writers Association of Great Britain (CWA).

She has an eclectic taste in crime fiction, which runs the gamut from historical crime ﬁction to hardboiled and short stories. Her research interests include historical fiction especially crime fiction and crime fiction literary criticism. She can be found blogging at Shotsmag Confidential and Tweets @shotsblog.

DECADES

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1930)

Dashiell Hammett stole half my heart with Sam Spade. This is one of two books that changed my reading tastes for ever. It was originally serialised in Black Mask Magazine and was an instant bestseller on publication. For me Sam Spade (along with Philip Marlowe) encapsulated what it was to be a private eye. He (that is Dashiell Hammett) according to Raymond Chandler took murder out of the drawing room and put it back in the gutter where it belonged. As someone who before reading The Maltese Falcon had been reading Agatha Christie and other Golden Age mystery novels this was a revelation. Sam Spade was allegedly no one’s hero but to me he was and in The Maltese Falcon he clearly showed how ruthless he could be. It is a story of double and triple crosses, femme fatale’s and a statue that was worth committing murder for.

Farewell My Lovely by Raymond Chandler (1940)

Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe stole the other half of my heart. Farewell My Lovely is the second book to feature the iconic Philip Marlowe and despite being filled with murder and corruption is essentially a love story. Farewell My Lovely is a cannibalisation of a number of previous short stories. Famous for its metaphors and allusions it also in my opinion contains some of the most grotesque characters going. I have always said that reading crime fiction is the best way of opening your mind to social history and social policy and in Farewell My Lovely, Raymond Chandler’s implied social critique can be seen.

Both Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe have often been imitated but never bettered. They are the archetypal private eyes, more iconic and more enduring than we have at the moment.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958)

It depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern part of Nigeria and the arrival of Europeans during the late 19th century. The first book of a trilogy by Chinua Achebe it has gone on not only to be a bestseller but also it is a chronicle of African history and indeed a classic study of cross-cultural misunderstanding and the consequences. Things Fall Apart was described by Wole Soyinka as being “the first novel in English which spoke from the interior of the African character, rather than portraying the African as an exotic, as the white man would see him” and this certainly was the case. For me it was also the first book by an African author that I read that stuck with me and through a historical lesson as well showed how colonialism impacted on Africans and that violence and pride can bring down an individual. Also that despite Europeans’ claims of bringing “civilization” to Africa, there was already a complex and varied culture on the continent. I read it over 40 years ago and it is now considered to be a classic. Chinua Achebe writes beautifully and honestly about Nigeria warts and all. There is a reason that this book became an international bestseller and there is a reason why it considered to be one of the most foremost African novels. Once read never forgotten.

I know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1969)

Maya Angelou’s seminal novel was published 4 years after I was born (here’s me showing my age) but despite the fact that this book is over 50 years old it is still a classic. It describes her life from when she was 3 until her becoming a young mother at 16 and is the first of seven autobiographies. All her autobiographies deal with issues that a lot of black people (especially women) are still dealing with today. From identity and rape to racism and literacy and also the way in which women and their lives are seen and dealt with in a male dominated society.

The symbolism in I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is very revealing. Think oppression in all its forms including slavery, race based segregation and the still pervasive and insidious forms of oppression that is still rife in black communities today. Maya Angelou was at the forefront of the launch of African American women writers and her importance cannot be ignored. When you think of Black writers whether male or female Maya Angelou will always be talked about. My only disapoointment is that she is no longer alive to inspire future generations.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carré (1974)

Whether you have read the 1974 John Le Carré spy novel featuring George Smiley or have only seen the brilliant Alec Guinness as Simley in the BBC box set or Gary Oldman playing him in the 2011 film one cannot ignore the importance of the series or the character. John Le Carré is one of our modern day spy writers and the nuances in relation to complex social commentary at the time in Tink Tailor Soldier Spy was relevant as it had a lot of relevance in the light of Kim Philby’s deflection.

Why Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy as opposed to any other? The vivid characters and sketches of secret agents felt so true to life. The realism mad you feel that you were seeing what was going on from the inside. Whilst I was introduced to spy thrillers via Ian Fleming and I will always be a fan of the original Bond books. It was John Le Carré and specfically his Smiley series that made me appreciate the genre a lot more and seek out other authors. The books that made up the Karla Trilogy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy (1977) and Smiley’s People (1979) are amongst the best spy novels written. The icy atmosphere of the Cold War is brought brilliantly to life via a cast of memorable and characters who all have their own deep motivations for acts of loyalty, friendship, daring… and betrayal. It is really exceptional and the writing is superb and engrossing. If you want to read a spy novel without all the glamour then pick up Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

I made a conscious effort in my selection not to be solely crime fiction related. Despite what my family think I do read other books. Also some of the crime books that I would have wanted to include were published in the same decade. For example Casino Royale by Ian Fleming which was published in 1953. I had to make a choice. It could have easily have been the case that all five books were crime fiction but looking back on my selections I am pleased that I have included Chinua Achebe and Maya Angelou as they are both books that any self-respecting reader who wants to expand their reading to include black writers should have on their bookshelves. All the books that I have chosen hold important memories for me (aside from the fact that they should be read) and I can honestly say that if I am asked this question again it is likely that my suggestions would change especially if I am looking at a different decade.

I would be very much surprised if some of these have not already been suggested. If not hurrah! If they have then thank goodness as it clearly means that a lot of the books really do have a significance.

Thank you Ayo! Five exceptional selections and I am once again reminded I really must read Raymond Chandler one day soon.

If you want to visit the Library and see the titles which have been selected by previous guests then this handy wee link will take you there: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/GrabThisBookDecades

DECADES WILL RETURN

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October 15

Spook Street – Mick Herron

Never outlive your ability to survive a fight.

Twenty years retired, David Cartwright can still spot when the stoats are on his trail. Jackson Lamb worked with Cartwright back in the day. He knows better than most that this is no vulnerable old man.

‘Nasty old spook with blood on his hands’ would be a more accurate description.’The old bastard’ has raised his grandson with a head full of guts and glory. But far from joining the myths and legends of Spook Street, Cartwright is consigned to Lamb’s team of pen-pushing no-hopers at Slough House.

So it’s Lamb they call to identify the body when Cartwright’s panic button raises the alarm at Service HQ.

And Lamb who will do whatever he thinks necessary, to protect an agent in peril…

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley.

If you’re not reading Mick Herron then you are missing out on some of the finest storytelling currently being published. These are the spy stories for modern days, the cold war is long behind us and only the dinosaurs in the service remember what it was like when the spooks knew their craft, when missions took them overseas and their lives were in constant peril.

Despite being long retired David Cartwright still keeps his secrets close to his chest but his memory isn’t what it was and he gets so easily confused. His grandson River is also in the service but he blotted his copy book and now resides at Slough House – the dumping ground for agents no longer trusted to work in the field. They are under the supervision of Jackson Lamb – a dinosaur in more ways than one – and Lamb (if you haven’t met him yet) is a dangerous enemy and a terrible human being. He is also hilarous to read about.

David Cartwright is in danger, he is a loose end and someone is tidying house. A killer is sent to end Cartwright’s life but once a spook, always a spook and the dottery old man manages to get one up on his would be assassin. Now River has to find somewhere safe for his grandfather and try to work out what the Old Bastard did in his past which may put his future in peril.

Lamb will protect his team – not through any kind of affection for them – because Lamb would hate the idea of someone other than him making life miserable for any of his Slow Horses. When Lamb is in action nobody will be safe and it isn’t long before some familiar faces find him knocking on their door.

The Slough House books (Spook Street being book 4) will make you reconsider how a spy story should be told. Everyone is playing everyone else and everyone is only looking out for their own interests – except River who is worried about his grandfather. But River is about to discover that his grandfather has been keeping secrets from him too and when old secrets are unearthed it never ends well.

Chase scenes, gun battles, killers and politics – there’s a lot going on in Spook Street and Lamb’s team are right in the thick of it. I had this book waiting on me for quite some time, I am pacing myself with this series as I just don’t want to catch up with the latest releases and find there are no more books to look forward to. The anticipation is great but the enjoyment of reading a new Slough House book is unbeatable.

Spook Street is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01KXPVEJW/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i6

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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 11

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Rachel Amphlett

Rachel Amphlett has a new book out today (11th October) and I am opening the blog tour for The Lost Boy – my review is here. In addition to reviewing The Lost Boy, Rachel is also on my blog today making her Decades selections. You are probably thinking that this was great planning but, if you knew me, you’d know that was highly improbable.

As as much as I would like to claim it was all planned out, I had asked Rachel if she could become my Decades Curator a few weeks before I was given the opportunity to host a leg of the blog tour for The Lost Boy. I have been a fan of Rachel’s writing for a few years now and was keen to see which titles she would select when faced with my Decades challenge.

If you haven’t encountered Decades before today let me quickly explain what’s about to happen: I am trying to assemble a brand new library of unmissable books. Each week I invite a guest to join me and I ask them to nominate five books which should be added to my Library. However, publication dates are important as my guests can only choose one book per decade and they must select from five consecutive decades – so a fifty year publication span of their choosing.

If you want to see which books have previously been selected here is a handy link: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/GrabThisBookDecades

Let me now hand over to Rachel Amphlett to guide you through five exciting new Decades recommendations.

Before turning to writing, USA Today bestselling crime author Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as an editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, because that’s what she grew up reading. When she was 11 years old, her grandad gave her his copy of The Eagle Has Landed, and she’s been an avid fan of the genre ever since.

Her debut thriller, White Gold was released in July 2011 and features British secret agent Dan Taylor. The series established Rachel as an author to watch and spurned three more novels before Rachel turned her attention to a new character, Detective Kay Hunter.

The Kay Hunter crime thrillers are based in Kent and feature a tight-knit team of detectives. Praised by experts for their attention to detail, the books are also much loved by readers for their page-turning plots and devious twists with comparisons to TV shows NCIS and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

More recently, Rachel created a new crime thriller series based around the central character Mark Turpin, an Oxfordshire-based detective. The first book, None the Wiser, received critical acclaim from Adrian McKinty (The Chain) and Jo Spain (With Our Blessing, The Confession), with the follow-up book, Her Final Hour being praised by the creator of the DCI Banks series, Peter Robinson.

In addition to her detective stories, Rachel also writes the English Assassins series featuring female assassin Eva Delacourt, and a number of standalone crime thrillers, psychological thrillers and conspiracy thrillers.

A keen traveller, Rachel has both Australian and British citizenship.

You can find out more about Rachel and her books at www.rachelamphlett.com

Contact details: Email: info@rachelamphlett.com

Website: www.rachelamphlett.com

Twitter: @RachelAmphlett

Instagram: @RachelAmphlett

DECADES

The Eagle Has Landed, Jack Higgins (1976)

This is how I discovered “proper” thrillers when I was 11 years old. My grandad had a secondhand copy of it from 1976 and one rainy weekend when I was bored, he took The Eagle Has Landed off the shelf and said “Go and read this – I think you’ll enjoy it”. I’ve re-read it every decade since.

The Talisman, Stephen King and Peter Straub (1984)

This is one of my favourite Stephen King books. I think I’m on my fourth or fifth copy now because when I first discovered it, I kept loaning it out to friends saying “read this!” and then never seeing it again. I love Stephen King, and he’s one of the few writers I’ll willingly read even though some of his work is from the horror genre – I just can’t resist speculative fiction.

The Pelican Brief, John Grisham (1992)

When this was published, I was playing lead guitar in bands around Oxfordshire so I think I picked it up one Saturday afternoon in Blackwell’s or somewhere like that. I’d already read A Time to Kill and The Firm, but it was The Pelican Brief that resonated with me the most because the characters were so well developed. There’s so much depth to the writing as well so you’re completely immersed within the first couple of pages. It’s a masterclass in getting a hold of a reader and not letting them come up for air. Again, The Pelican Brief is a book I’ll re-read every few years or so.

The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly (2005)

I first discovered Michael Connelly’s writing in my early thirties while living in Australia and quickly devoured everything from the backlist in the space of about three months. It got to the point where I’d read everything in the bookshop I used to go in on my way home from work so they were ordering in copies for me. I wanted to include Angel’s Flight here too but I already have a 90s book, so I’m picking The Lincoln Lawyer because I love how Connelly approached introducing a new character to readers while remaining in Harry Bosch’s world. As with all his books, the scene-setting is so good, I feel like I know LA even though I haven’t been there yet.

I Am Pilgrim, Terry Hayes (2014)

I was instantly drawn to this book when it was published based on Hayes’ screenwriting credits, all of them part of my teenage years including Mad Max 2 and 3, Dead Calm, and Hotel Bangkok. It just doesn’t let up from the first page, and is an absolute masterclass in thriller writing. I’ve lost count how many people I’ve recommended this to over the years!

The Talisman is one of the few Stephen King books I have yet to read so I really *must* get around to recitfying that soon. This feature really does make my TBR pile grow each week. But as a booklover I don’t see that as a problem! My thanks to Rachel for five brand new books to add to my Library.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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October 11

The Lost Boy – Rachel Amphlett

Run. Don’t look back.

When a young teenager is stabbed to death at a busy fairground, Detective Mark Turpin is assigned the task of finding the boy’s killer.

But this was no random murder.

Mark knows the victim, and the man who ordered his death.

As he sifts through the young victim’s final days, he uncovers a powerful crime syndicate that will do anything to protect its interests.

Then tragedy strikes, and suddenly Mark isn’t just trying to solve a murder – he’s fighting for his own survival.

My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join this leg of the tour for The Lost Boy. I received a pre-publication review copy of The Lost Boy.

The Lost Boy is all about a police investigation, it is the work, detail, the interviews and chasing down leads. Turpin and his colleagues are driven to find the killer of a young teenager who arrived in town and never had the chance to leave.

The book opens with an instruction…”Run.” Matthew Arkdale is scared, he is alone and he is desperately trying to keep hidden from someone that is chasing him. Matthew is at a fairground, trying to hide in the crowds and escape his pursuer but the man hunting him is relentless and isn’t giving up.

Sadly for young Matthew he is about to run out of options. A brief confrontation, a knife and the teenager becomes a victim of a deadly crime.

It isn’t long before Matthews body is discovered and for DS Mark Turpin, who had been attending the fair with his kids, it is the end of a fun evening and the start of an intense investigation which will see Mark and his loved ones put into terrible danger. You see, Mark recognises Matthew as their paths crossed in the past and he knows who wanted Matthew dead. Somewhere in the background is a ruthless criminal who puts his own interests ahead of everthing else and doesn’t think twice about ending a life to ensure his own ventures can continue.

From the moment Matthew Arkdale dies the story switches to Turpin and the police. It is their book now, the investigation is everything and the officers tasked with finding a murderer are our only focus. The murder of a child is a hugely challenging time for the police and Turpin and his colleagues are shown to struggle with their emotions while they conduct their investigations. It’s handled extremely effectively by Rachel Amphlett and raised my involvement in the story. Can we read too many crime novels (absolutely not) but we can be guilty of forgetting the consequence of each character’s death as we, as readers, become fixated on the lead characters and the solving of the crime. Keeping the emotion about the tragedy of a young life lost as a big issue for the investigative team was paramount to my enjoyment.

In terms of the investigation its-self, I was hooked. We learn every new discovery as the police do. We see interviews, we get new evidence and we even chase up the labs to get blood and chemical reviews back as quickly as possible. Readers get to feel they are part of the team. Total immersion in the invesigation and I loved that.

For Turpin, knowing the victim and the man who ordered Matthews death means he too is at risk. This is the third Mark Turpin book and in previous outings he gained minor celebrity status when journalists featured his involvement in a successful police operation. Now Turpin’s personal details are easily obtainable and when the wrong people know he is a father and can also work out where he lives it isn’t just Mark Turpin who is in danger, his children and his partner are too. The stakes are high and the price of failure even higher.

I flew through The Lost Boy in just a couple of sittings. Rachel Amphlett’s words flowed over me as I became engrossed in this murder story and I experienced that bite of disappointment when I reached the end of the story, knowing I could easily have read more.

The Lost Boy is available now in paperback and digital format and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B096SJBTPZ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

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