October 9

The House by the Cemetery – John Everson

Rumor has it that the abandoned house by the cemetery is haunted by the ghost of a witch. But rumors won’t stop carpenter Mike Kostner from rehabbing the place as a haunted house attraction. Soon he’ll learn that fresh wood and nails can’t keep decades of rumors down.

There are noises in the walls, and fresh blood on the floor: secrets that would be better not to discover. And behind the rumors is a real ghost who will do whatever it takes to ensure the house reopens. She needs people to fill her house on Halloween. There’s a dark, horrible ritual to fulfill. Because while the witch may have been dead… she doesn’t intend to stay that way.

My thanks to Flame Tree Press for my review copy and to Anne Cater at Random Things Blog Tours for the chance to join this tour.

 

Just in time for Halloween we have a new release ideally suited for reading durint the dark autumnal evenings. John Everson’s The House by the Cemetery brings a great mix of chills, witches, ritualistic kills and at the heart of it all a house reputed to be haunted.

The scene is set perfectly from the prologue when we see a group of kids exploring the haunted house under cover of night – their trip is a dare and the house seems to be a haunted property marketed as a visitor attraction. However, it is night and the kids are in a place they are not meant to be so we can be sure all will not end well and a mystery is quickly established.

What I particularly enjoyed about The House by the Cemetery was that the author grabbed my interest in the prologue then takes a small step back to build up the chills and the creepy events. It is very effective and avoids the less subtle ‘schlock horror’ where every second chapter is a bloodbath. Constant build and increasing peculiarities gave the impression of a growing menace.

Our lead character, Mike, is renovating the haunted house – making it ready for paying visitors who will part with their bucks for a scare on 31 October. The longer Mike spends in the house the more he becomes aware of the odd and unpleasant incidents which are happening. Yet he presses on with his work, removing dead animals one morning and chatting with the young woman who comes to the house to chat with him and share some beers. You want to shout at your book to make Mike get the Hell away from the creepy property but he needs the cash and keeps coming back…can it end well for him?

John Everson has a very readable writing style and I poured over The House by the Cemetery. “One more chapter” is the best internal debate to have when I am reading late at night and it was  very much in evidence here.

Get yourself some Halloween reading and order a copy of The House by the Cemetery. Chills aplenty.

 

The House by the Cemetery is published by Flame Tree Press on 18 October and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Cemetery-Fiction-Without-Frontiers-ebook/dp/B07J2MQ5N8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1539029287&sr=1-1&keywords=house+by+the+cemetery

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October 8

Palm Beach Finland – Antti Toumainen

Sex, lies and ill-fitting swimwear … Sun Protection Factor 100

Jan Nyman, the ace detective of the covert operations unit of the National Central Police, is sent to a sleepy seaside town to investigate a mysterious death. Nyman arrives in the town dominated by a bizarre holiday village – the ‘hottest beach in Finland’. The suspect: Olivia Koski, who has only recently returned to her old hometown. The mission: find out what happened, by any means necessary.

With a nod to Fargo, and dark noir, Palm Beach, Finland is both a page-turning thriller and a black comedy about lust for money, fleeing dreams and people struggling at turning points in their lives – chasing their fantasies regardless of reason.

My thanks to Orenda Books for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

 

I have made this observation in the past…books set in small towns make for cracking stories. The character interactions which need to take place between a smaller cast in relatively few locations make for slick and engaging narrative.

Antti Tuomainen nails it in Palm Beach Finland. The cycle of characters, all trying to better their position in life, is terrifically presented. Dialogue is sharp and acerbic when it needs to be, dreamy and dozy when the inept enforcers are the focus and frustration is evident when nefarious plans come unstuck.

Loaded with dry humour I can see why the movie Fargo gets a namecheck in so many reviews. The comparison to the Academy Award winning film is apt but Toumainen makes Palm Beach Finland very much his own – it is just tricky finding a way to describe the clever and quirky tone of the story.

The blurb above outlines the story far better than I ever could. I just know that I really enjoyed reading about the characters who crossed paths at Palm Beach Finland.

There are murders, burglaries, arson and drug dealers but I can’t think of another crime novel quite like this one. Great fun!

 

Palm Beach Finland is published by Orenda Books and is available in digital and paperback format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Palm-Beach-Finland-Antti-Tuomainen-ebook/dp/B07DFQ2DVK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1538939700&sr=1-1&keywords=palm+beach+finland

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October 6

Ten To Try

Regular visitors will know that I love crime novels and action thrillers. You may also have realised that I particularly enjoy when authors write an ongoing series with recurring characters. As it has been a while since I wrote a blog post that didn’t just focus on a single title, I thought it would be fun to bring together a list of ten series which I particularly enjoy/enjoyed and maybe help introduce some great new stories to your TBR piles!

 

Sarah Hilary

Marnie Rome is one of my favourite recurring characters.  She is a London based DI, normally partnered with DS Noah Jake and Sarah Hilary seems quite happy to put both her lead characters through some significant traumas.

The latest book in the series, Come and Find Me, has just released in paperback and is my favourite of the series so far.

Sarah’s Amazon Page https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sarah-Hilary/e/B009X3U5BE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1538845664&sr=8-1

 

 

Michael Wood

DCI Matilda Darke is a Sheffield based cop. We first meet her in For Reasons Unknown and learn that she is trying to rebuild her life and her career after personal tragedy impacted on the case she was working on.  Michael Wood has created a great character in Darke but the supporting characters in her team make these stories even more enjoyable.

Michael’s Amazon page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Michael-Wood/e/B015CWYVFA/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1538845727&sr=1-1

 

 

John Sandford

I have been reading Lucas Davenport “Prey” thrillers by John Sandford since the early 1990’s.  Each new book is eagerly anticipated and there are now over 25 titles in the series. Sandford has also created a spin-off series which focuses on one of Davenport’s colleagues, Virgil Flowers, which frequently has cameo appearances for characters from the Prey novels.

Simon and Schuster are soon to bring the first book in the series Rules of Prey back into print in the UK for the first time in a number of years. Seek it out! https://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Sandford/e/B000AQ8P4W/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

 

Douglas Skelton

I couldn’t have a list of books without a Scottish author. I could easily mention Ian Rankin, Val McDermid or Stuart MacBride but I am going to recommend Douglas Skelton’s Davie McColl series. As much of my list will focus on police procedurals I love that Skelton’s recurring character, McColl, is not one of the good guys but a Glasgow gangster.

These are great stories on the darker side of crime fiction and how refreshing to have a recurring anti-hero.

Douglas’s Amazon page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Douglas-Skelton/e/B001K7TR10/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1538846474&sr=1-1

 

J D Robb

Futuristic thrillers from JD Robb sees Detective Eve Dallas tracking down killers in New York City. There are over 50 books in the “In Death” series and I am hooked. The supporting cast are brilliantly defined and the crimes are wonderfully varied from book to book.  I could read each of these books multiple times.

The JD Robb Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/J.-D.-Robb/e/B000APT7Y0/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1538846055&sr=1-2-ent

 

 

 

Marnie Riches

To surprise that Marnie Riches makes this list.  Her George Mackenzie thrillers have consistently received 5* reviews from me.  These are dark and engaging stories with a strong, no-nonsense lead character. Previously only available a digital releases the books are all now available in paperback and have just received a US release too.

Marnie’s Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marnie-Riches/e/B00WBJZ364/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

 

 

 

Paul Finch

The Mark Heckenburg series is a particular favourite of mine.  Paul Finch pulls no punches and his stories are as far from “cozy” as you could expect to find.  If you were to look up “page-turner” in the dictionary I am quite sure there would simply be a picture of a Paul Finch book.  If you like your crime fiction on the darker side then these are for you.

Paul’s Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paul-Finch/e/B0034PPAH6/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1538846181&sr=1-1

 

 

 

Terry Pratchett

If you think Terry Pratchett has no place on a list of crime story recommendations then you have clearly never heard of the Ankh Morpork City Watch.  Samuel Vimes is the ultimate “copper” and his officers include a 6 foot tall dwarf, a werewolf, a troll and a Nobby Nobbs (who has a note to confirm he his human). The Watch are first introduced in Guards! Guards! – just because there are dragons does not mean these are not crime stories!

Terry’s Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Terry-Pratchett/e/B000AQ0NN8/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

 

Angela Marsons

How do you know an author is doing something right?  Watch the reaction in the book blogging community when their new book is announced.  When an Angela Marsons book is announced the buzz in incredible, TBR lists are abandoned to get the new Kim Stone thriller read as quickly as possible.  It is hard to disagree with an army of readers who place these books at the top of their wishlists!

Angela’s Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Angela-Marsons/e/B00J6D3914/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1538846309&sr=1-1

 

 

Helen Fields

The “Perfect” series by Helen Fields is very well named. These Edinburgh based police thrillers see Luc Callanach leaving Interpol to come and work for Police Scotland. The timing of his arrival in Perfect Remains seems fortuitous as there are some very nasty things happening in Edinburgh.  Another series which favours a darker tons as Helen Fields seems to have a particularly vivid imagination and devises some gruesome crime scenes for her characters to investigate.

Helen’s Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Helen-Fields/e/B006M3SPSS/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1538846357&sr=1-1

 

 

By no means an exhaustive list but I limited myself to ten authors and everyone included has written books that have brought me hours of entertainment and reading escapism.

 

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October 5

Cover Reveal: Welcome To The Heady Heights – David F Ross

Another very special post today as I am delighted to host a cover reveal for Welcome To The Heady Heights by David F Ross which shall be published in March 2019 by Orenda Books.

First we have the blurb  – so we can know what to expect then that cover in its full magnificence:

 

Welcome to the Heady Heights – David F Ross (March 2019)

Welcome to the Heady Heights …
It’s the year punk rock was born, Concorde entered commercial service and a tiny Romanian gymnast changed the sport forever.
 
Archie Blunt is a man with big ideas. He just needs a break for them to be realised. In a bizarre brush with the light-entertainment business, Archie unwittingly saves the life of the UK’s top showbiz star, Hank ‘Heady’ Hendricks’, and now dreams of hitting the big-time as a Popular Music Impresario. Seizing the initiative, he creates a new singing group with five unruly working-class kids from Glasgow’s East End. Together, they make the finals of a televised Saturday-night talent show, and before they know it, fame and fortune beckon for Archie and The High Five. But there’s a complication; a trail of irate Glaswegian bookies, corrupt politicians and a determined Scottish WPC known as The Tank are all on his tail…
 
A hilarious and poignant nod to the elusivity of stardom, in an age when making it’ was ‘having it all’, Welcome to the Heady Heights  is also a dark, laugh-out-loud comedy, a heartwarming tribute to a bygone age and a delicious drama about desperate men, connected by secrets and lies, by accidents of time and, most of all, the city they live in.

Another fabulous Orenda cover and one that is guaranteed to catch your eyes when you see it in the wild.

 

 

 

 

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October 4

The Toy Thief – D W Gillespie

Jack didn’t know what to call the nameless, skeletal creature that slunk into her house in the dead of night, stealing the very things she loved the most. So she named him The Toy Thief…

There’s something in Jack’s past that she doesn’t want to face, an evil presence that forever changed the trajectory of her family. It all began when The Toy Thief appeared, a being drawn by goodness and innocence, eager to feed on everything Jack holds dear. What began as a mystery spirals out of control when her brother, Andy, is taken away in the night, and Jack must venture into the dark place where the toys go to get him back. But even if she finds him, will he ever be the same?

My thanks to Flame Tree Press for my review copy and to Anne Cater at Random Things for the chance to join the blog tour.

The latter part of 2018 has seen me reading more horror tales than I had anticipated. This is largely due to a wave of fantastic releases from Flame Tree Press – each book I read from their collection leaves me wishing another would not be too far away.

The Toy Thief sports a deliciously creepy cover and was a distinctly eery read.

This is Jack’s story, she is not the Toy Thief from the title but she is very much the star of the piece. Jack lives with her father and older brother – the family are ‘getting by’ but the loss of Jack’s mother (who died while giving birth to Jack) casts a long shadow over the family.

At age of 9 Jack becomes aware of a late night visitor to their home. A creepy encounter which Jack only became aware of due to a missing toy and a video camera accidentally left running.

The quest to find a missing toy and explain understand the images captured on camera will change Jack’s life (and the lives of her family) forever.

D.W. Gillespie gives us a tense take on innocence lost, unwordly terrors and family bonds. Another great find from Flame Tree Press.

 

The Toy Thief releases on October 18th and you can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Toy-Thief-Fiction-Without-Frontiers/dp/1787580474/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538523279&sr=8-1&keywords=the+toy+thief

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October 3

Corruption – Elizabeth Ducie

Out of fear. Out of greed. Out of evil. Corruption springs from many roots.

Teenagers fall prey to a deadly new drug craze sweeping across Russia. Pharmaceuticals destined for Africa turn up on the backstreets of Moscow, St Petersburg and Vladivostok. Regulator Suzanne Jones and her sister, Charlie, fight to stop the pushers before more kids die.

But will their discoveries mean a friend goes to prison? And are they putting their loved ones in danger?

With old adversaries and surprising new allies, the Jones sisters face their toughest challenge to date.

The heart-stopping final episode in the Suzanne Jones series of thrillers set in the sometimes murky world of international pharmaceuticals

 

My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Reads for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

It seems that Corruption is the third novel in the Suzanne Jones series. I had not realised that there had been two previous novels until I had finished reading the book so I can offer a firm assurance that you do not have to have read the first two books to enjoy (or keep up with) events in Corruption.

I started reading and had some initial concerns that I may not enjoy Corruption. The story is told from multiple viewpoints and I felt that we were flicking around a little too much and I struggled a little to follow events. However my concerns did not last long…after a short while the story settled into a more natural rhythm. Either I got more focused or the character introductions and scene setting needed to be quickly established to allow the story to flow.

Corruption is a cleverly plotted thriller with a satisfying number of twists and surprises which kept this reader engaged. Once or twice I thought I could tell where this story (which was riddled with lies, fraud and blackmail) was heading. Then a twist or unexpected event would change the course of the story and I was back to trying to second guess the author. I always enjoy when stories don’t pan out as I expect them to – keeps me reading!

The book has a pharmaceutical backdrop and, to my untrained eye, there was a pleasing level of authentic sounding information about the pharmaceutical industry. While I cannot know if it was accurate I certainly had no trouble believing what I was reading about practices within the industry and it allowed me to buy into the story.

An entertaining read. The characters were well defined with the bad guys very unlikable and our key players – the sisters – being given the opportunity to shine. A good balance of suspense and thrills and I can honestly say I did not foresee that ending!

 

Corruption is available in digital and paperback format and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corruption-Suzanne-Jones-Elizabeth-Ducie/dp/0956950892/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1538430414&sr=8-1

 

 

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October 1

The Syndicate – Guy Bolton

The hotly anticipated sequel to The Pictures. Guy Bolton’s unforgettable 1930s Hollywood fixer Jonathan Craine is thrust into the dark underbelly of the LA mafia, only to discover more secrets and lies

June 1947

Eight years have passed since the events of The Pictures.

Jonathan Craine has left his old life in Hollywood behind him, content to live out his days on a farm in rural California with his teenage son.

But when infamous mobster and Las Vegas founder Bugsy Siegel is killed at his home in Beverly Hills, Craine is forced to face his past once again.

Summoned to Las Vegas to meet mob head Meyer Lansky, Craine is given the impossible task of finding Siegel’s murderers. He has no access to crime reports, no police contacts and no one to help in his investigation other than an ageing hit man and a female crime reporter with her own agenda. But Lanksy’s orders aren’t to be ignored; if Craine can’t find Siegel’s murderers in five days, he and his son will both be killed.

 

My thanks to Oneworld Publications for my review copy

Guy Bolton’s The Syndicate is a bit of a belter. I was drawn into the murky world of gangsters and their power plays from the very first pages as we “witness” infamous mob boss Bugsy Siegel being gunned down.

The shooting of one of America’s most notorious characters clearly created ripples at the time and another mob boss, Meyer Lanskey, wants to know who murdered Siegel. He summons Jonathan Craine to undertake the impossible mission of finding a murderer.

Working under extreme duress Craine is pulled from his quiet secluded life, he had been working on his farm, back to the metropolitan buzz of Hollywood and Las Vegas. He has worked these urban pastures in the past but time away from the cities must place him at a disadvantage as he tries to piece together clues which may lead him to identify a murderer.

Craine first appeared in The Pictures, a book I have not (yet) read but will certainly be hunting down after the huge blasts of enjoyment I experienced while reading The Syndicate. At no point did I feel that I wished I had read The Pictures before picking up The Syndicate – everything I needed to know was made clear without the presumption I knew the key players.

Guy Bolton does a fabulous job of building the environment and detail in The Syndicate which makes everything that occurs seem so vivid.  I tend to jump between titles and read a couple of books at a time but The Syndicate held my attention and nothing else was getting a look-in until I had finished reading this one. I love when I get so caught up in a story – sign of a cracking read.

If you enjoy hard-boiled American crime thrillers then this book is perfect for you. Highly recommended.

 

The Syndicate is published by Oneworld Publications and is available in hardback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Syndicate-Guy-Bolton-ebook/dp/B079ZV7YLJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538342993&sr=8-1&keywords=guy+bolton

 

 

 

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September 20

After He Died – Michael J Malone

You need to know who your husband really was…

When Paula Gadd’s husband of almost thirty years dies, just days away from the seventh anniversary of their son, Christopher’s death, her world falls apart. Grieving and bereft, she is stunned when a young woman approaches her at the funeral service, and slips something into her pocket. A note suggesting that Paula’s husband was not all that he seemed…

When the two women eventually meet, a series of revelations challenges everything Paula thought they knew, and it becomes immediately clear that both women’s lives are in very real danger.

Both a dark, twisty slice of domestic noir and taut, explosive psychological thriller, After He Died is also a chilling reminder that the people we trust the most can harbour the deadliest secrets…

My thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for my review copy

After He Died – another brilliantly entertaining read from Michael J Malone. Imagine a life snuffed out too soon, a soul gone unexpectedly and where the deceased was spinning many plates and not sharing his plans with his nearest and dearest.

Imagine now a grieving widow mourning the loss of her one true love and that sense of regret that they had not tried hard enough to resolve small frictions  in their relationship.

Now imagine the funeral where a stranger approaches you at your most vulnerable moment and suggests you didn’t really know the man you married, the man you are mourning, the man just put into the ground. Welcome to Paula Gadd’s world.

As Paula tries to understand who her husband really was and why parts of his life are unknown to her she will face the ultimate dilemma…who can she trust? Family and friends, even random strangers, will all give their opinions on Paula’s husband but they will try to protect her from unpleasant truths. Or are they purposefully lying and distorting events? Paula cannot know but she can see that more people are dying. That her house is not the safe fortress that she imagined or that she herself may not be in danger.

This is one of those stories where assumptions are dangerous, surprises keep coming and the characters spring from the pages as they are entirely believable and wonderfully defined.

If you enjoy a thriller which delivers twists and turns and icy chills then this is the giant slalom read for you. Cracking stuff from an author who knows how to hook his reader.

 

 

After He Died is published by Orenda Books and is available in digital format and paperback from 20 September 2018.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/After-He-Died-Michael-Malone-ebook/dp/B07DFPCLNK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1537220938&sr=1-1

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September 19

The Hangman’s Hold – Michael Wood

Your life is in his hands.

In the gripping new serial killer thriller from Michael Wood, Matilda Darke faces a vicious killer pursuing his own brand of lethal justice. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons and Helen Fields.

There’s a killer in your house.
The Hangman waits in the darkness.

He knows your darkest secrets.
He’ll make you pay for all the crimes you have tried desperately to forget.

And he is closer than you think.
DCI Matilda Darke is running out of time. Fear is spreading throughout the city. As the body count rises, Matilda is targeted and her most trusted colleagues fall under suspicion. But can she keep those closest to her from harm? Or is it already too late?

 

Book 4 in the DCI Matilda Darke series and one of the few books I have been keeping an eye out for. Despite the volume of crime thrillers which are released each year – one or two crime series do stand out for me in the publication schedules and command urgent reading on release. Michael Wood’s Matilda Darke series is in my select band of “must read new books”.

A significant factor in my love of these stories is Darke herself.  She is something of a car crash and carries more emotional baggage than most.  Her back story has been well defined in the first three novels and returning readers will enjoy how the author builds on the past events to twist the knife in Matilda’s recovery progress.  Fear not New Readers as everything you need to know is deftly explained by the author to ensure you can read The Hangman’s Hold as a stand-alone thriller (though you will want to go back and catch up on the earlier books).

Serial killer stories always fare well at Grab This Book as they are my favourite crime thrillers. Sit me down with a good serial killer tale and I will lose myself in a book for hours. The Hangman’s Hold is a good serial killer tale – a VERY good serial killer tale.

The clue is in the title so it is no great shock to find that the murderer leaves his victim hanging from a traditional hangman’s noose. He targets his victims to ensure the people he kills “deserve” to die – at least they do in his opinion and as the Hangman is delivering judgement on his victims there will be no leniency shown.

The reader gets a close look at the crimes and Michael Wood also ensures we see the impact the killers actions have on the families of the deceased. A very powerful and effective way of bringing us fully into Matilda’s world as she tries to find a way to prevent more deaths and catch the killer.

From very early in the story the actions of the murderer will strike close to Matilda and her friends. As events unfold Matilda becomes a target for the Hangman, he taunts her and the suggestion is made that the killer may be known to her – who can Matilda trust and could mistakes she has made in the past place her in danger today?

My anticipation for The Hangman’s Hold was entirely justified. I chewed this one up and immediately had the wistful realisation that there will not be another Matilda Darke novel for a wee while. These books are a treat – go read them.

 

The Hangman’s Hold is published by Killer Reads and is available in digital and paperback format. You can (and should) order a copy through this link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hangmans-Hold-gripping-thriller-Matilda-ebook/dp/B07CQ972JC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537218191&sr=8-1&keywords=the+hangmans+hold

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September 18

Hunter’s Revenge – Val Penny

Hunter by name – Hunter by nature: DI Hunter Wilson will not rest until his friend’s death is avenged.

DI Hunter Wilson is called to the scene of a murder. He is shocked to find the victim is his friend and colleague, George Reinbold.

Who would want to harm the quiet, old man? Why was a book worth £23,000 delivered to him that morning? Why is the security in George’s home so intense?

Hunter must investigate his friend’s past as well as the present to identify George’s killer.

When a new supply of cocaine from Peru floods HMP Edinburgh and the city, the courier leads Hunter to a criminal gang, but Hunter requires the help of his nemesis, the former Chief Constable, Sir Peter Myerscough, and local gangster, Ian Thomson, to make his case.

Hunter’s perseverance and patience are put to the test time after time in this taut crime thriller.

 

My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to join the blog tour.

 

Hunter’s Revenge is the second in The Edinburgh Crime Mysteries series and follows on from the events depicted in the first book: Hunter’s Chase.  I came to Hunter’s Revenge without having first read Hunter’s Chase and I did feel that I would have benefited from reading the first book before tackling Hunter’s Revenge.  While the author does explain the key details that a new reader will need to know to follow the friendships and dynamics, there were a few instances where I felt I had missed something or that I was reading a spoiler from the earlier book.

But that should not detract from the fun to be had with Hunter’s Revenge.   A colleague of DI Hunter Wilson has been gunned down in his own home. The killer escaped undetected but the clinical efficiency which they displayed when committing the murder suggests a professional hit.

The background of the dead man is something of a mystery to the police, despite their long association with him and some digging into his past will be required.  Readers get a head-start in this regard as the prologue takes us back to Eastern Europe some decades ago and a tragic accident which will define a life and end more than one.

This is a complex multi-layered tale and we get more to ponder than a single murder.  Drugs are causing unwelcome problems in Edinburgh prison and the police will need to use all resource available to try to stem the influx of the produce.

The dynamic between the characters was pleasing and there was a good level of dark humour on display – something I find important in my Scottish crime fiction!

Good reading in Hunter’s Revenge and I enjoyed the time I spent with this one.

 

 

Hunter’s Revenge is published by Crooked Cat Books and is available in digital and paperback format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hunters-Revenge-Edinburgh-Crime-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07DY8WHZQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1537120711&sr=1-1

 

 

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