Grab This Book – Page 38 – Helping readers find great books they may otherwise miss

Bury Them Deep – James Oswald

When a member of the Police Scotland team fails to clock-in for work, concern for her whereabouts is immediate… and the discovery of her burnt-out car in remote woodland to the south of Edinburgh sets off a desperate search for the missing woman.

Meanwhile, DCI Tony McLean and the team are preparing for a major anti-corruption operation – one which may raise the ire of more than a few powerful people in the city. Is Anya Renfrew’s disappearance a co-incidence or related to the case?

McLean’s investigations suggest that perhaps that Anya isn’t the first woman to have mysteriously vanished in these ancient hills. Once again, McLean can’t shake the feeling that there is a far greater evil at work here…

My thanks to Jennifer at the publishers for my review copy and to Anne Cater at Random Things Blog Tours for the chance to join the Bury Them Deep blog tour.

When a James Oswald book opens with an extract from a book of Myths and Legends which discusses the story of Sawney Bean you need to suppress a shiver of anticipation. Tony McLean clearly has a troublesome case awaiting.

For those not familiar with Sawney Bean and wonder why I anticipated a challenging time for Tony; the intro contains the following words “gruesome”, “incestuous”, nurtured on human flesh”, “burned” and “executed”. This is all before page one! James Oswald never shies away from the darker side of crime thrillers and for the 10th Inspector McLean novel he is not giving his hero any respite.

As the story opens we are with an unnamed woman venturing out as she prepares to participate in an activity she both anticipates and hates herself for seeking. We then cut to McLean as he also prepares for a major (and secret) cross-agency operation – the brilliantly named Operation Caterwaul. However Caterwaul cannot start until a key member of the Police Scotland team turns up and the normally dependable Anya Renfrew is missing.

Could Renfrew be the woman we observed in the opening chapter? If it is the same person then how will Tony and his colleagues track her down? As we read deeper into Bury Them Deep we learn woman we saw heading out in chapter one has placed herself in real peril and the chances of her surviving are slim. Very slim.

The police step up efforts to track their missing colleague but as they look into her life away from work they find they don’t really know her as well as they may have believed. Renfrew has been living a double life and McLean is going to have to take unusual steps to get to know her better. He will be distracted from this by the re-introduction of Norman Bale, a prisoner in a secure unit who also claims to be a childhood friend of McLean but a friend McLean believed died at a young age.

With numerous demands on his attention and a personal life which is not as robust and secure as he would like Bury Them Deep will challenge McLean in a way readers will love.

I am a big fan of this series and find it hard to believe we are already at book 10. James Oswald has built a cracking character base to surround McLean and he keeps the compelling stories spinning around their lives despite the darkness he pits them against.

I don’t want to discuss too much of the detail behind Bury Them Deep as the joy in reading this shouldn’t be dimmed by reading spoilers. It’s a wickedly dark tale and there are clues to the bigger picture which I totally missed until I reached the endgame. Love when that happens.

Highly recommended – James Oswald never fails to deliver the thrills and Bury Them Deep is excellent.

Bury Them Deep is published by Wildfire and is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07T6YDYPW/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Category: Blog Tours, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

February 11

The Sinner – Martyn Waites

Tom Killgannon, ex-undercover police officer and now in witness protection, is recalled to active service by a local police task force, headed by DS Sheridan. His mission is to befriend notorious child killer Noel Cunningham and find out where he buried the bodies of his final two victims.

The catch? Tom has to obtain that information from within Blackmoor prison itself.

Undercover and with no back-up, Tom soon runs into danger.

In the prison is convicted gangster Dean Foley. He used to run Manchester’s biggest gang, until Tom’s testimony put him away for life. He recognises Tom, and so begins a cat-and-mouse game as Tom fights for survival before Foley can get his revenge.

But why can’t Tom reach DS Sheridan and what is the real reason he has been sent to Blackmoor prison?

My thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the chance to join the blog tour. I received a review copy of The Sinner through Netgalley.

I’ve been looking forward to writing this review – books like The Sinner are why I started blogging all those years ago. I wanted to make sure my love for a story which had held me gripped from first page to last could reach a wide audience and hopefully as many people as possible will be on the lookout for this book.

First the housekeeping. The Sinner follows on from The Old Religion (also a cracking read) which introduced protagonist Tom Killgannon – there are minor spoilers if you read them out of order but only because it is necessary to introduce new readers to the characters in Tom’s life. The Sinner can easily be read and enjoyed without first reading The Old Religion.

Killgannon is a former undercover cop who is now in witness protection. A condition of his new lifestyle was that he had to remain available for further operations should the need arise. When the police come calling seeking his help Tom is resigned to his fate, however when he learns he will be required to go undercover behind bars at Blackmoor prison he does try to resist his assignment. As a former cop Tom has concerns he may be recognised if he goes into a prison – he is also not keen on the claustrophobic conditions he may face. The police are quick to assure Tom they have carefully checked to ensure nobody within Blackmoor will know him from his former life so he reluctantly agrees.

All does not go to plan and Tom finds himself face to face with Dean Foley, the gangster at the head of the organization Tom had infiltrated. Foley is a powerful figure within Blackmoor and it is not long before he learns of Tom’s arrival and a meeting between the two is inevitable. Tom is horrified his mission has been compromised so quickly and contacts his handlers to find out what went wrong with the planning. He needs pulled out of Blackmoor immediately or his life will be in danger.

Unfortunately for Tom his placement took lots of preparation and if he has not yet completed the mission he was chosen for then the urgency to remove him may not match his own. Tom is in a deadly race against time – get the info he was sent to discover, keep out of trouble and never let his guard down…

Given the introduction I wrote it should come as no surprise to learn that I loved The Sinner. The claustrophobic prison conditions, Tom’s personal battles against memories from his past and the real danger he faces from Foley and his minions. I am trying to avoid too many spoilers so will not go into detail on the perils Tom’s friends may be facing on the outside as they wait his return. Similarly the investigating cops have problems to deal with while waiting for Tom to report – that really threw me sideways as I hadn’t expected them to feature once Tom was in prison. It’s chapter after chapter of tension and excitement.

Simply put…The Sinner is the book I will be recommending for a good while to come. Easy 5 star score – go get it.

The Sinner is published in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KJJQF6F/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Category: 5* Reviews, Blog Tours, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

February 10

Never Look Back – A.L. Gaylin (Audiobook)

Some people deserve to die. Others never should have been born at all.

In 1975, 15-year-old April Cooper and her 18-year-old boyfriend embark on a weeklong killing spree that results in the deaths of a dozen innocent people in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley. Was April a willing accomplice or a victim herself, abducted by an obsessed psychopath and forced into committing horrible acts?

No one will ever know for sure, as April and Eric were apparently killed in a bloody shoot-out at the Death Valley compound of their final victims – a family of off-the-grid survivalists known as The Gideons.

In 2015, Robin Brennan’s parents have been involved in a shooting. Her father is dead, and her mother in a critical state, with Robin desperate for her to wake.

But when Jameson Malloy, the host of Closure – a true crime podcast investigating the San Gabriel Valley murder – shows up, Robin soon learns that her parents are maybe not who they say they are….

My thanks to Alex at Orion for providing the review copy of Never Look Back and to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the opportunity to join the audio blog tour.

Never Look Back is a clever, slow-burn tale where the author teases a tale of secrets and half-truths from her cast to keep readers guessing to the end of the book.

Quentin Garrison is producing a podcast called Closure. He appears a troubled young man and the Closure in the title is to be his personal closure. He wants to cover the story of the murder of his aunt – killed as a toddler during a shooting when now-notorious schoolgirl, April Cooper, and her boyfriend went on a prolonged crime spree in 1976.

His aunt’s death at a young age broke his mother’s spirit and that of her father, Quentin’s grandfather. Seeking to understand how April Cooper could have so comprehensively ruined his own life Quentin is shocked to learn that Cooper may still be alive despite the world believing she died in a fire in 76.

One of the key people who may be able to help Quentin get to the truth is Robin’s father – he studied behavioural psychology. Quentin seeks him out but before he is able to get the answers he seeks both Robin’s parents are attacked in their home. Her father dead, her mother critically I’ll in hospital, Robin begins to dig a bit deeper into who Quentin is and why he may feel her mother can help him trace a murderer who has been presumed dead for over 30 years.

Cooper herself does get a voice in the story as in 1976 she is writing a letter to her future child. It’s an idea one of her teachers had and one which Cooper really embraced. All the events which went down in history after her murderous spree had ended are narrated by Cooper to her future child in letter form. It allows the murderer to tell her side of the story and allows the reader to judge her actions independently.

As I mentioned – Never Look Back is a clever story and the author plants enough seeds of doubt through the narrative that I was never entirely sure which voices could be trusted at any time. That doubt and uncertainty kept me engaged though the book and the resolution was pleasing.

As with every audiobook the enjoyment (no matter how good the book) also relies upon the narrator – if you are investing 10 hours into a story then you need to be sure you are comfortable with the voice telling that story. Never Look Back has two narrators, James Fouhey and Jorjeana Marie. Marie takes the chapters dominated by female roles, Fouhey the male dominated chapters.

It felt Jorjeana Marie had more to cover over the course of the book as both April’s story and Robin’s are the majority of the focus. Quentin has a larger say when the podcast (and his investigation) is foremost. More of Jorjeana Marie’s voice was a decided bonus as I much preferred the chapters where she took the lead.

One peculiarity of the audiobook was the unexpected inclusion of additional sound effects in the opening chapters. One key element of the story gets additional background noises and incidental supporting sound behind the narrators voice. This is a bit of a rarity in the books I listen to (where normally all we get is the spoken word). The additional sound effects were initially startling but I was ready for their continued inclusion throughout the book. It wasn’t until the story ended that I realised the additional effects had stopped after the first ten minutes which made their brief inclusion all the more puzzling.

A slow burn audiobook needs its place in the day – nighttime listening was where I enjoyed Never Look Back the most. The easy drawl of the narrators was best suited to a quieter place and slower pace, it gave the story it’s best chance to shine.

Never Look Back – great story, well told. Audio best enjoyed in relaxed conditions.

Never Look Back is published by Orion and is available in audiobook, paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Never-Look-Back-brutal-mother-ebook/dp/B07KRLG18D/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1581285553&refinements=p_27%3AA.L.+Gaylin&s=books&sr=1-1&text=A.L.+Gaylin

Category: Audiobook, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

February 5

A Wash of Black – Chris McDonald

IT’S NOT LIFE THAT IMITATES ART. IT’S DEATH.

Anna Symons. Famous. Talented. Dead.
The body of a famous actress is found mutilated on an ice rink in Manchester, recreating a scene from a blockbuster film she starred in years ago.
DI Erika Piper, having only recently returned to work after suffering a near-fatal attack herself, finds she must once again prove her worth as the hunt for the media-dubbed ‘Blood Ice Killer’ intensifies.
But when another body is found and, this time, the killer issues a personal threat, Erika must put aside her demons to crack the case, or suffer the deadly consequences.

My thanks to Dylan at Red Dog Press for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

A police procedural that introduces a new leading character in the form of Erika Piper. I have high hopes for this new series from Chris McDonald as A Wash of Black did a lot of things I like from my thrillers.

First up. Not Cosy Crime. Let me be very clear these are on the dark range of crime fiction reading list. As a reader of both crime and horror titles I felt A Wash of Black had horror-esk elements which it is worth flagging.

Some readers may remember Book Club perennial favourites Michael Slade? Slade wrote crime/horror novels set in Canada – Headhunter, Ghoul and Ripper often got bundled together and sold through mail order book clubs (in the days before Amazon). The dark tone and graphic violence in A Wash of Black gave me happy flashbacks to the Slade books. This is very much a plus point for Erika Piper.

So leaving memories of Canadian crime behind let us join Piper in modern day Manchester. A woman has been killed on the ice at a run-down ice rink. Her body pinned to the ice with knives and her throat slit so she bled out where she lay. When the police arrive to investigate they discover the victim was an actress and the manner of her death mirrors the way she died in a horror movie she had made a few years earlier.

Investigation naturally centres on the film crew currently making the sequal and on the author of the books which the films are based around. However the suspect list will grow as the victim’s fiance is behaving oddly as too is a local media studies student who has an odd fixation on the film.

Piper has to contend with multiple challenging and uncooperative suspects. This is not helped by the fact she is just returning to work after a period of convalescence and her confidence has taken a battering. Watching her find her feet while simultaneously being wrong-footed by the investigation made for fun reading.

A Wash of Black is a very promising start to this new series and as a fan of dark thrillers (could you tell?) I will keenly await the next book.

Murder, movies and malevolence – what more do you need?

A Wash of Black is published by Red Dog Press and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1913331210/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Category: Blog Tours, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

February 2

Going Rogue – Neil Lancaster

Tom Novak is back.

When a spate of deadly terrorist attacks hit the streets of London, Tom finds himself thrust into the middle of a fight for the survival of all he holds dear.

When the attackers hit closer to home than he could ever imagine, Tom is forced to make a choice between his duty or his conscience. In doing so, he enters a series of increasingly dangerous worlds, in the darkest corners of humanity.

Can Tom and his colleagues get to the bottom of a plot which threatens the very fabric of society?

Will they stop the terrorists before it’s too late?

When faced with the ultimate choice, which way will Tom go?

After all, as Cameron always says: “Always do right, boy…”

My thanks to Emma at Damppebbles Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the blog tour and for ensuring I received a review copy of the book.

Over the last few weeks I have been mainly reading police procedurals or books which tell “life stories” pulling plot threads together into a surprise reveal rewarding the reader for engaging with the lead character and their predicament. This is not a complaint as these are very much the type of stories I enjoy. However, I also like a tale which gives a bit of high tempo/adrenaline filled action – one that keeps the pages turning themselves as the chapter flies by…one like Going Rogue!

The book opens with readers watching an act of domestic terrorism unfolding. We are with the instigator and we see him placing and priming the explosives which will target his victims. A direct attack on Muslims as they went to prayer, targeted only because their religion was not that of their murderer.

The aftermath of the tragedy sees Tom Novak called into action, he is a member of the Covert Policing Advice Unit and a highly effective member of the team. Novak is skilled in armed and unarmed combat, has tactical knowledge, is fluent in several languages and is prepared to work undercover to bring down the bad guys. In this case the bad guys he needs to speak with is in prison so Novak needs an alter-ego, a convincing back story and he also needs to get himself arrested.

I am reluctant to give too much detail about what happens in Gone Rogue as this is a brilliant action adventure which I’d strongly recommend you read. Novak manages to infiltrate the group which planned the bombing but he discovers this was just the first in a series of planned events. Now the challenge is not just to bring down the perpetrators but ensure no further bombings can be allowed to take place – in this he will have mixed success and the increased pressure on all those involved becomes increasingly clear. There comes a tipping point in the investigation when Novak’s inclusion in the team becomes an issue – he hasn’t shared one vital piece of information which he should have disclosed (but in doing so he may have missed the chance to be involved in any form). As a consequence of his failure to reveal key information Novak is removed from the investigation.

Novak will not accept being benched – particularly as he knows where to go to get to the head of the organization which planned the bombing. Left with only one option Novak and his colleague, Buster, are Going Rogue and heading to Eastern Europe to take down the culprits themselves. A move full of danger and one which will not go smoothly.

As I indicated at the start of my review, this is a full on action adventure and a terrific read. If you have enjoyed the Scott Mariani (Ben Hope) thrillers or Matthew Reilly’s Scarecrow books then I know you would enjoy Neil Lancaster’s Tom Novak books. Novak is more human and less bullet-proof than Reilly or Mariani’s heroes but his adventures are just as compelling.

Going Rogue is published in Digital and paperback format and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07YVLMKR2/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Category: From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

January 31

A Dark Matter – Doug Johnstone

Three generations of women from the Skelfs family take over the family funeral home and PI businesses in the first book of a taut, page-turning and darkly funny new series.

Meet the Skelfs: well-known Edinburgh family, proprietors of a long-established funeral-home business, and private investigators…

When patriarch Jim dies, it’s left to his wife Dorothy, daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah to take charge of both businesses, kicking off an unexpected series of events.

Dorothy discovers mysterious payments to another woman, suggesting that Jim wasn’t the husband she thought he was. Hannah’s best friend Mel has vanished from university, and the simple adultery case that Jenny takes on leads to something stranger and far darker than any of them could have imagined.

As the women struggle to come to terms with their grief, and the demands of the business threaten to overwhelm them, secrets from the past emerge, which change everything…

My thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for my review copy and to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours who invited me to join the Blog Tour

Throughout January (and before) I have seen readers and reviewers sing the praises of A Dark Matter. I knew I was closing out the blog tour today and anticipation was high. I was not disappointed – this is an amazing book and I was glued to it.

The Skelf family run a funeral home in Edinburgh. They also have a private investigator sideline – a terrific combination with so much potential for overlapping interests. Yet we meet the Skelf family at a difficult time. Jim Skelf has died and his family have built a funeral pyre to cremated his body. His wife Dorothy, Daughter Jenny and grand daughter Hannah are left to carry on both sides of the family business while mourning Jim’s passing. However it seems Jim had more than his share of secrets and it is not long before Dorothy begins to question how well she actually knew the man she spent most of her life married to.

There is so much going on in A Dark Matter that I struggle to identify which threads of the story I want to sing praise for as they are all magnificent. Hannah (the youngest Skelf) is concerned over the disappearance of her friend, she begins her own investigation as the police don’t seem interested. Her determination is inspiring.

Jenny is the link between generations and is caught up in the private investigator side of the business. She is the character I found most compelling as her “journey” seems the most rocky but she gets some brilliant kick-ass moments which had me punching the air in delight.

Dorothy is more about the funeral services and she is also most concerned with her husband and the secrets he seems to have kept. As with all families there are secrets but the Skelf’s seem to have cornered the market on dark secrets. There are many skeletons in their cupboards.

I mention there is lots going on in A Dark Matter but it doesn’t ever feel cluttered or out of focus. Doug Johnsone has pitched this perfectly – all the Skelf’s have drama, challenges and horrible truths to face and it will shape them in the books which I understand will follow this. I cannot wait to see what comes next.

A Dark Matter allows three generations to shine and to bond. Their investigations are funny and upsetting and reveal the darker side of our society these days. The funeral home scenes show respect and sympathy and some fascinating insights into what goes on behind the scenes at a time people are most vulnerable.

Worthy of all the praise that is lavished upon it – the first “Must Read” of 2020.

A Dark Matter is published by Orenda Books and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07X9X2J4X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Category: Blog Tours, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

January 30

Alice Teale is Missing – H.A. Linskey

YOU HAD A SECRET. ALICE FOUND OUT.

Alice Teale walked out of school at the end of a bright spring day.

She’s not been seen since.

Alice was popular and well-liked, and her boyfriend, friends and family are desperate to find her.

But soon it’s clear that everyone in her life has something to hide.

Then the police receive a disturbing package.

Pages from Alice’s precious diary.

Who could have sent them? And what have they done with Alice?

My thanks to Sriya at Penguin RandomHouse who provided me with a review copy and invited to join the blog tour.

Alice Teale is Missing – she left school late one evening after she had completed her after-school clubs. A teacher saw her leave the school grounds but Alice has not been seen since.

The police are investigating but the officer running the enquiry is offered (and grabbed) early retirement as part of the latest round of cost cutting. He gets out just before a tricky missing person has the opportunity to (maybe) escalate into murder investigation.

We meet DC Beth Winter, sent to join the investigation to assist Lucas Black – the experienced officer to guide Beth through her first major case. However Black has a reputation for being difficult to work with. A loner, bad tempered and with a huge incident in his service career which has caused colleagues to question his ability to continue in his role. Black and Winter are a brilliant pairing as events are viewed from Winter’s viewpoint so we experience her anxiety and frustration as she tries to show her value to a new colleague. Black makes this harder than she would like.

The missing girl, Alice, is a well known and popular figure in the small town where she lives…or should that be lived? There are rivals for her attention, best friends who rely upon Alice’s support, teachers who may have been paying her too much attention and the police soon learn of a mystery man who may have been in her home without anyone else knowing. Her family seem overwhelming and Alice’s life looks to be more busy than she could cope with. In short there are many possible suspects who may know about her disappearance and they all have a different opinion of Alice.

Readers know Alice kept a journal as we get to read Alice’s thoughts on many issues and the people in her life. Soon the police know them too as someone is sending pages from Alice’s journal to Black. The burning question is who? Is it Alice herself? Her abductor? Her killer? And why send the journal pages at all?

Alice Teale is Missing is a wonderful piece of storytelling. No gimmicks, no forced and unrealistic cliffhangers, H.A. Lindley can deliver suspense and page turning drama in the best way possible…just telling an engrossing story.

This is easily one of the finest police procedurals I have read for some time. Real world just slipped away as I got back to the pages with Winter and Black. Highly recommended – easy 5 star score.

Alice Teale is Missing is available in digital, paperback and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alice-Teale-Missing-H-Linskey-ebook/dp/B07PJ48XWG/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1580337703&refinements=p_27%3AH.+A.+Linskey&s=digital-text&sr=1-2&text=H.+A.+Linskey

Category: From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

January 28

Her Secret Past – Kerry Watts

Jean Angus pours the last of the lukewarm tea into her chipped cup, shivering as she looks outside into the dark night. Her eyes are drawn to a slow movement not far from her cosy farmhouse. She’s not expecting visitors. And as the back door opens with a bang, she doesn’t even have time to shout for help.

On a dark winter night, the bodies of Malcolm and Jean Angus lie cold and still in a pool of blood in their kitchen. Detective Jessie Blake is called in to find out what happened to the reclusive pair.

Searching the couple’s property, Jessie learns about a vicious dispute with a nearby land owner, Rachel Ferguson, and when Jessie looks into Rachel further, she doesn’t expect what comes up. Rachel isn’t the person everyone thinks she is and a previous murder conviction just made her Jessie’s prime suspect.

The small Perthshire town begins to gossip about the double murder and Jessie’s own past comes back to haunt her, when her abusive ex-husband begins to interfere in her new life. As the town starts a witch hunt against Rachel, Jessie is under pressure to find out what really happened in the farmhouse that night. Because if it isn’t Rachel, then who is the murderer living among them, waiting to kill again?

I received a copy of the book from the publisher through Netgalley.

Housekeeping first: this is not the first Jessie Blake story but it is the first I have read. Do you need to have read the earlier stoies? I didn’t think so – Her Secret Past stands well on its own and at no stage did I feel I was missing out on important information or was meant to know what had occurred previously.

Her Secret Past opens in pretty shocking style – a young teenage girl and her 19yo boyfriend have beaten her grandparents to death in a pre planned attack. We watch as things start to go wrong and their careful planning comes apart. Needless to say the pair are found out and prison awaits.

Spin forward to present day and we are at another murder scene and so too is Jessie Blake. Another unusual event – the grandson of one of the victims sitting at the table to eat a meal is also sitting beside the corpse of his grandfather – seemingly unperturbed by the brutal slaying which took place not long before. The boy is clearly on the spectrum but as the story develops it becomes apparent he is very focused on murderers and killers and this is a fascination which could cause some problems during the course of Jessie’s investigations.

The murder throws up a good number of suspects which kept me guessing and reassessing where I thought the story may go. The narrative switched nicely between Jessie’s current investigations and events from 20 years ago which followed that attention-grabbing opening scene. As readers may have guessed – the two stories entwined but not how I had anticipated and someone in the cast is playing a clever game.

The story is well paced and several chapters end on cliffhanger moments which are not immediately resolved on the next page. It keeps you reading but once or twice the effect felt forced and not really necessary.

All in, a good story, interesting cast of characters who mixed up the action well. I’d certainly look for more books in the series.

Her Secret Past is published by Bookouture and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0813N28BD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Category: Blog Tours, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

January 27

A User’s Guide to Make-Believe – Jane Alexander

WELCOME TO MAKE-BELIEVE. YOU CREATE THE FANTASY, THEY CONTROL YOUR MIND. Cassie worked at Imagen, the tech giant behind the cutting-edge virtual reality experience Make-BelieveTM, and she got to know the product well. Too well. But Cassie has been barred from her escape from the real world, and legally gagged by the company. Her dream job now seems to be part of a larger nightmare, and Imagen is not done with her yet. With Imagen holding all the cards, and personal and public freedoms at stake, how far will Cassie go to end the deception?

Immerse yourself in a near-future world akin to Black Mirror and Vox with an all-too plausible slant on reality and fantasy for our ‘connected’ times.

My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the opportunity to join the blog tour and to publisher Allison and Busby for sending me a review copy of the book.

Welcome to a world where virtual reality is real. Where people can escape the humdrum of their lives for short periods to live out a fantasy. They can fly, act how they wish, own flash cars or see the far flung corners of the world. Escapism at the cutting-edge of technology. The gift of another life is offered by Imagen – they have huge influence and are one of the most upwardly mobile companies in the world. By offering a subscription service to users they ensure repeat customers and a steadily growing client base – people can’t get enough of Make-Believe.

But people CAN get enough of Make-Believe. Too much. As it becomes addictive for some people, the limited time they are allowed isn’t enough for them and they want to use it more and more. The most determined find a way but invariably they are caught – so it is for Cassie. She worked for Imagen but when she got caught abusing her position she lost her job and lost access to the Make-Believe network. As the system captures and records a user’s DNA there is no way Cassie can forge a new identity and re-join Make-Believe. When we first meet her she is at a support group, mixing with drug users and alcohol dependents she chooses to sit in the group sessions but not to share details of her addiction (or of her suspension from the system).

At one meeting Cassie meets a kindred spirit. A young man who has also been abusing the system and spending too much time in Make-Believe. He too was caught and banned and now the couple are, against Cassie’s better judgement, a couple and together they are trying to work out why Imagen is showing a drop-off in income. Could the couple just be the tip of the iceberg and are there hundreds of users being kicked off Make-Believe for becoming addicted? If this was the case then how could it have been hushed up? If Imagen’s downturn is NOT due to addicts being removed from the service then why would their financial performance be dropping off? The company have explanations but Cassie isn’t buying it and she sets out to uncover the truth.

Pitting herself against big business is dangerous and Cassie is not the most stable of people. Her addiction has cost her the trust of family and friends and there are few with the skills or the inclination to help her get behind the scenes of Imagen. Jane Alexander sets up the situation perfectly. Cassie has weaknesses and vulnerabilities which she must overcome. Her reliance upon Make-Believe and what she begins to uncover about the product Imagen are so efficiently promoting to its subscribers is actually quite chilling. When we consider the rapid development of computers and the speed at which they have taken over our lives it is quite easy to believe there are improper and alarming decisions being taken behind the doors of corporate boardrooms.

This is a thought-provoking adventure. Not too far removed from reality but heavily influenced by the potential of virtual reality. Engaging reading and the story holds together well. Enjoyed this – a departure from my usual reads but a very welcome change.

A User’s Guide to Make-Believe is currently available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0749025107/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Category: Blog Tours, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

January 25

The Dark Phoenix Saga – Stuart Moore

One of the most popular X-Men epics of all time, revealing the birth of perhaps the deadliest force in the galaxy—Dark Phoenix

Piloting a shuttle through a deadly solar flare, Jean Grey saves the X-Men, but is possessed by one of the universe’s most powerful forces—the Phoenix. As she adapts to her new powers, the mutant team launches an assault against the clandestine organization known as the Hellfire Club. Once inside, however, Jean is tricked by the villain Mastermind into betraying her teammates. She becomes first the Hellfire Club’s Black Queen and then Dark Phoenix, as the power to destroy worlds bursts forth uncontrolled.

Shooting into deep space, Jean destroys an entire star system, then encounters a cruiser piloted by the spacefaring race the Shi’ar. When the cruiser is obliterated, the Shi’ar queen decrees that the Phoenix must die. But only the X-Men can hope to stop Dark Phoenix, and save Jean Grey.

I received a review copy from Titan Books

Currently streaming to a tv screen near you (and recently released on Blu-Ray and DVD) is the latest X-Men film: Dark Phoenix. To coincide with the release of the movie, Titan Books published the full prose novel of the Dark Phoenix Saga and it adds new depth and dimension to the original comic by Chris Claremont.

I first need to address the fact the movie seemed to receive mixed reviews – the first voices were not too flattering but I felt that as more people saw Dark Phoenix the perception shifted and the response seemed pretty positive. The original source material is a classic X-Men story and Stuart Moore’s novel of the story covers a lot of story, adds background and gives us more time with the characters we love and does a great job in bringing this much loved story to new readers. Also – it is a well established rule that the book is always better then the film!

We join the story just as the X-Men are facing imminent destruction. Only Jean Grey can save her friends but to do so will result in her own death. Jean knows she has only one option open to her and takes the heroic decision to make the supreme sacrifice to ensure the other X-Men survive.

Needless to say her death casts a long shadow and the X-Men take time to regroup and come to terms with the loss of their friend. Realising there are other mutants who may also need their help and guidance Storm and Colossus try to track down a young woman who has just come into possession of her powers – Kitty Pride. Unbeknown to the X-Men, Kitty has also come to the attention of Emma Frost. Ms Frost is Queen of the notorious Hellfire Club and she wants Kitty to come and learn under her guidance.

Dark Phoenix brings the X-Men into their first confrontation with the Hellfire Club and it is a great overview of how two powerful forces in Marvel’s universe became aware of each other. Clearly the characters are substantially developed in the comics and their original appearances don’t reflect the subsequent alliances which may be forged. However the book takes a good snapshot into a significant moment of X-Men history and gives much more background detail.

Here was where I found it a little strange – that expanded background. To take an iconic storyline and bring more detail and information to such a well known piece must have been a fascinating challenge. There were times I felt I was being treated to slightly too much additional detail and once I actually lost the thread of where we were in the narrative. But it was pulled back and the story progressed with me in tow.

Very much a story for the fans of the franchise. Despite being a big Marvel fan the X-Men has never been my favourite – just too many characters to keep track of down the years and I found it hard to dip in and out. But this book did what I wanted by delivering an exciting story with characters I knew well. Can’t ask for much more than that.

The Dark Phoenix Saga is published in Hardback and digital format by Titan Books. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/X-Men-Dark-Phoenix-Stuart-Moore/dp/1789090628/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1798QSFP0MP9H&keywords=dark+phoenix&qid=1559592020&s=gateway&sprefix=dark+pho%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-3

Category: From The Bookshelf | Comments Off