May 30

Motherland – G.D. Abson

Motherland is the first in a gripping series of contemporary crime novels set in contemporary St Petersburg, featuring sharp and intriguing policewoman, Captain Natalya Ivanova.

Student Zena Dahl, the daughter of a Swedish millionaire, has gone missing in St Petersburg (or Piter as the city is colloquially known) after a night out with a friend. Captain Natalya Ivanova is assigned the case, making a change for Natalya from her usual fare of domestic violence work, but, because of the family’s wealth, there’s pressure for a quick result. But as she investigates she discovers that the case is not as straightforward as it may seem. Dark, violent and insightful, Motherland twists and turns to a satisfyingly dramatic conclusion.

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

It was an absolute treat to read Motherland. Before I started to read I knew that I wanted the story to convey the location and a cultural identity of Russia so I could feel immersed in the story.  It most certainly did that.  But I also hoped to get a cracking crime thriller to entertain me.  Motherland delivers that too.

Captain Natalya Ivanova is plucked from her latest assignment to give urgent attention to a missing student.  The missing girl’s father is a businessman with significant wealth behind him and urgent action is needed, with the pressure on Natalya to deliver a fast resolution.

I was not shocked to find that there are significant political pressures placed upon Natalya as she conducts her investigation. The modern day equivalent of the KGB are keeping an eye on Natalya and when they are not comfortable with the direction her enquiries are taking they will intercede. This added element of suspicion and scrutiny gives Motherland a satisfying edginess as you read the story – always the possibility that a spanner shall be thrown into the works to disrupt Natalya’s plans.

There were plenty of twists and clever plotting to keep me concentrating as I read. I tend to skim read many of my books but the detail in Motherland kept me glued to the page, didn’t want to skimp on the story and was worried about missing some subtle clues in the plot. When I focus more on a story it only helps enhance my enjoyment so much satisfaction was had.

I realise that in the first 5 months of 2018 I have read crime thrillers set in Rome, Berlin, Louisiana and now St Petersburg.  All seem so very far removed from my wee corner of Scotland but each book has had a distinctive voice and I have loved the variety of locations I am introduced to.  Motherland does a wonderful job of capturing the uniqueness of St Petersburg.

Once you get into the story you will appreciate that Natalya is built up to be a strong lead character with a real life away from her investigations.  You care more about the characters as they become more real to the reader, particularly Natalya, and you want to read her story (and hope that this will not be a stand-alone tale).

If you enjoy police procedurals and fancy a read which takes readers away from the more established stomping grounds of London, Oxford or Edinburgh then Motherland will deliver all the crimey fun you seek with a new backdrop to explore. Highly recommended.

 

 

Motherland is published by Mirror Books and is available in paperback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Motherland-gripping-thriller-Putins-Russia-ebook/dp/B077XPBDZV/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1527632672&sr=8-3&keywords=motherland

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May 30

Rubicon – Ian Patrick

Two cops, both on different sides of the law – both with the same gangland boss in their sights.

Sam Batford is an undercover officer with the Metropolitan Police who will stop at nothing to get his hands on fearsome crime-lord Vincenzo Guardino’s drug supply.

DCI Klara Winter runs a team on the National Crime Agency, she’s also chasing down Guardino, but unlike Sam Batford she’s determined to bring the gangster to justice and get his drugs off the streets.

Set in a time of austerity and police cuts where opportunities for corruption are rife, Rubicon is a tense, dark thriller that is definitely not for the faint hearted.

 

My thanks to Fahrenheit Press for my review copy and to Emma Welton (Damppebbles) for the chance to join the Rubicon blog tour

 

On rare (but happy) occasions I sit down to write a review and cannot think of any way to convey just how much I loved the book I have just finished. Going forward I may refer to this predicament as The Rubicon Dilemma.

Rubicon is utterly brilliant and you should make sure you read this book as soon as possible.

Not sure what else I can add…

…

…

Okay some information about the book may help.  Sam Batford is working undercover for the Metropolitan Police, he is a wonderfully complex character who will do whatever it takes to complete his mission. But Sam is serving many masters and his motives and methods keep you guessing and you are never quite sure how he will behave next.

Sam is the main focus but we also keep track on DCI Winter – she wants drugs removed from the streets of London and will let nothing get in her way.  With the two leads operating in very different ways it is inevitable that Rubicon will deliver some delightfully twisted and tense situations for readers to enjoy.

Reading about Sam spinning so many plates and keeping up the facade of confident bravado is engrossing. Yet the readers also get sneak peeks at the pressures it brings on him when he is alone and his guard lowered.

There always seems to be something happening in Rubicon. Some books will see the story ebb and flow but with this story there never seemed a good point to put the book to the side (even when I *really* needed coffee). If you want a story which delivers dark, twisty entertainment then I cannot think of many finer examples. Ian Patrick delivers a wonderfully crafted tale of tension and intrigue and I just did not want to stop reading.

Top, top read. The purchase link is below – use it.

Rubicon is published by Fahrenheit Press and you can order a copy here: http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_rubicon.html

 

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May 25

A Series Business – Sarah Hilary

Regular visitors will know that I love to read about recurring characters and watch their story develop over a number of books. This new feature, A Series Business, was created so that I could ask authors to discuss all their books and try to put the focus on the wonderful back catalogue available for readers.

Today I am thrilled to welcome Sarah Hilary back to Grab This Book. Sarah is the author of the brilliant Marnie Rome books which I have loved since I first read Someone Else’s Skin not long after I began this blog.

I never begin with a question. Could I ask you to introduce yourself and ask you to ensure you take full advantage of this opportunity to plug your books?

I’m Sarah Hilary and I’m writing the Marnie Rome series set in London. Marnie is a detective inspector with the Metropolitan Police, working with her detective sergeant, Noah Jake, to tackle crimes such as domestic violence, murder, kidnap and exploitation. In the latest book, Come and Find Me, Marnie and Noah are racing against time to find Mickey Vokey, a dangerous escaped prisoner with a history of violence.

 

As the purpose of A Series Business is to discuss the Marnie Rome books could you now introduce us to Marnie?

Marnie is a bit of a mystery to me, but that’s all to the good. I love exploring her character and uncovering her secrets as the series progresses. As a teenager, she was a wild child, getting tattoos, getting drunk, running away from home. She deeply regrets the pain she caused her parents during that period of their lives. After she left home, they fostered a young boy, Stephen, who went on to murder them when he was fourteen. Marnie is driven by guilt, grief and the need for answers from Stephen. But I’m careful not to let this backstory get in the way of her work. Marnie is calm and compassionate, and she has a very steely core.

 

Had it always been your intention to build a series around a recurring character? 

In a sense, yes. Once I knew who Marnie was — her complicated past, her need for redemption — I could see I needed time and many, many pages to take her on that journey. Each book has a separate crime, but Marnie’s backstory runs across the series.

 

Have you a character path mapped out and are you building up towards key events? Or is the future for Marnie still unclear, even to you?

No, I don’t even have a plot for each book! I abide by the rule that characters need to change, especially ones involved in police work which exposes them to trauma and stress. But I deliberately avoid knowing where a story will end. The fun for me comes from making discoveries as I write. Marnie has several times surprised me, which makes for great twists for readers too.

 

Have you written anything thus far in the series which you now wish you could undo?

No, thank goodness. But it does remain a chief concern of mine. I hate the thought of having written myself into a corner which might ruin a brilliant twist I’ve yet to dream up!

 

Do you include “spoilers” from earlier stories in subsequent books?  If I were to be reading out of order could I possibly learn of a character death or a murderer’s identity which was a twist in an earlier story?

I hope not. I take care to have just enough of a flavour of the earlier stories to intrigue a new reader, but I’d hate to give the twists away. That said, to appreciate the slow burn of Marnie’s character development — and her dance with Stephen towards the truth about her parents’ murders — I’d recommend starting at the beginning.

 

Do your characters age in real time, living through current events and tech developments or are they wrapped in a creative bubble which allows you to draw only on what you need for the latest book?

They age. But at the moment there is only around two years time difference between the six books in the series. Each one tends to take place within a few months of the last. This is partly because of Marnie’s character arc. Can you imagine picking up book six and discovering that it’s been a couple of years since book five and she’s sorted it all out with Stephen and moved on?!

 

Do you have ideas for a book which just don’t fit Marnie’s world?  Is there a standalone story crying out to be written?

Oh, yes. I suspect all writers are besieged by stories, all the time. I am working on a standalone after Marnie book six, in fact.

 

Can a Marnie Rome novel ever end in a cliff-hanger or does each book demand a resolution is achieved? 

The crime itself needs a resolution, I feel. There is an individual investigation in each book which is wrapped up in the final pages. But I have written quite a few cliff-hangers involving the central characters. Come and Find Me (book five) ends with a heart-stopping shock for one of the main characters.

 

 

Colin Dexter famously killed off Inspector Morse. Agatha Christie wrote Poirot’s death and then released dozens more Poirot stories before Curtain was published.  Will there ever be a “final” Marnie Rome story?

Possibly! But that depends on readers, and Marnie. If she keeps whispering her secrets to me, and readers keep wanting to find out more about her, I’d like to keep writing her stories.

 

Huge thanks to Sarah, I know I am not alone when I say that we really do want to learn more about Marnie!

You can order any of the Marnie Rome books through the following link:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sarah-Hilary/e/B009X3U5BE/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

 

Category: From The Bookshelf | Comments Off on A Series Business – Sarah Hilary
May 23

The Hand of an Angel – Mark Brownless

How far would you go to get a glimpse of the afterlife, and what would you bring back?

A shattering medical thriller with a heart-stopping climax.

Devoted family man and respected cardiologist Tom Boyand is obsessed with the near-death experiences of his patients. An obsession that leaves him dead on a table with his colleagues battling desperately to resuscitate him.

But Tom has pushed the limits of the experiment too far and he’s gone for too long, seeing more of the other side than anyone before.
They get him back but he isn’t the same person. And he’s not alone.

 

My thanks to Sam at Lounge Marketing (Lounge Books) for the chance to join this blog tour and for providing a review copy.

 

I cannot remember the last time I read a medical thriller, however, The Hand of an Angel made me appreciate how much I had missed them. Doctors playing God, patients suffering mysterious ailments and so many long corridors with many, many closed doors…love, love, love a good medical drama.  It is pleasing to be able to confirm that The Hand of an Angel is every bit a good medical thriller!

Tom Boyand is about to embark on the final journey. But he also plans to make it a return trip and live to tell the tale. In order to cheat death he has amassed a huge wealth of medical knowledge, assembled team of researchers and physicians who can help him “die” and then bring him back to life.  Everything will be carefully monitored, all done under controlled conditions and Tom hopes that he will remember exactly how it feels to die so that he can share the knowledge.

The first half of the novel draws readers into Tom’s world.  His project, his colleagues, his family and we get a very good idea as to the type of person that Tom is…a nice guy!

When the time comes to begin his experiment we are excited for Tom and his team and as a reader I was also keen to find out what he may experience after his death.  Suffice to say I was shocked by how the story changed – perhaps I should have read the blurb before reading…

Tom becomes a changed man.  His easygoing personality changes and he becomes paranoid, suspicious, aggressive and confrontational.  Having spent so much time getting to know Tom it is upsetting to see the changes he appears to be undergoing.  More so when when we see the impact it is having on his family and friends. Mark Brownless handles this change in dynamic brilliantly and it makes for gripping reading.

Unfortunately for Tom he has more pressing problems to contend with than a change to his moods.  He believes that he may not have returned from the dead on his own.  Tom keeps seeing the same strange figure in different places he visits…at work, at home and he cannot understand why other people don’t appear to notice.

What had been a great medical thriller now becomes a dark and sinister tale.  The change up in tension is marked and it had me flicking the pages like a demon (as it were) trying to reach the end of the book as quickly as I could so I could find out what happened. And Wow.

This story totally sucked me in – what more could a reader ask for?

 

The Hand of an Angel is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hand-Angel-Mark-Brownless/dp/1976248744/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1527016541&sr=8-1

 

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May 22

The TV Detective – Simon Hall

Dan Groves is a television reporter newly assigned to the crime beat and not at all happy about it.

Dan knows next nothing about police work or how to report on it, so when he persuades Detective Chief Inspector Adam Breen to allow him to shadow a high-profile murder inquiry it seems like the perfect solution. Sadly for Dan it soon becomes clear some members of the police force have no intention of playing nice with the new boy.

With his first case Dan is dropped in at the deep-end. A man is killed in a lay-by with a blast through the heart from a shotgun. The victim is notorious local businessman Edward Bray, a man with so many enemies there are almost too many suspects for the police to eliminate.

As tensions rise Dan comes close to being thrown off the case until the detectives realise that far from being a liability, Dan might actually be the key to tempting the murderer into a trap.

 

My thanks to Emma Welton for the chance to join the blog blitz and to Fahrenheit Press for my review copy.

The newsroom is meeting the squadroom in Simon Hall’s The TV Detective.  Dan Groves is the environment reporter for his local TV news channel. He loves his role and has developed a great reputation for reporting on contentious issues with a sympathetic understanding.

Dan finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time to avoid a new assignment from his demanding boss.  A man has been attacking prostitutes in the Plymouth area – Dan is sent out to see if he can secure an interview with someone who knew the latest attack victim.  A rash decision to secure the story sees Dan landing in hot water – the only way to avoid the wrath of the powers that be is to accept an immediate move to the Crime Beat (something Dan knows nothing about).

With no time to find his feet Dan finds himself dispatched to cover the latest hot news story.  Local businessman and all round bad-fellow has been shot in his car by person unknown.  Dan is to cover the police conference, see if he can establish any story leads from the scene of the crime and put out the best story which will ensure his network has the best coverage of the shooting.  Easy.  Or not so much.

Further shocks lie ahead for Dan when he learns that agreement has been reached for him to work alongside the chief investigating officer on the case, DCI Adam Breen.

Splitting his time between police station and tv studio we get to see Dan finding his feet in his new role. Shadowing the police and being allowed to contribute to discussions on suspects, motives and other case sensitive information.  As the story unfolds Dan begins to show his value to the police both as a sounding-board for suggestions and as a helpful (friendly) media voice.

The TV Detective is a very accessible and entertaining read.  Dan and Breen have good verbal sparring throughout the story as each man comes to understand the other and boundaries are established.  Away from the investigation we are also treated to Dan’s first attempts at online dating, some light relief from the murder tale and a fun way for the reader to understand the main character a bit better too.

The TV Detective is made by the characters, a small(ish) cast are all really well presented. Dan and Breen hold centre stage and the story is built around them but the supporting cast are also well defined and the author makes you want to know more about his cast – it keeps you reading.

 

The TV Detective is published by Fahrenheit Press and is available in digital and paperback editions.  You can order a copy here: http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_the_tv_detective.html

Category: Blog Tours, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off on The TV Detective – Simon Hall
May 20

The Lost Children – Theresa Talbot

TV journalist and media darling Oonagh O’Neil can sense a sinister coverup from the moment an elderly priest dies on the altar of his Glasgow church. Especially as his death comes as she is about to expose the shocking truth behind the closure of a Magdalene Institution. The Church has already tried to suppress what happened to decades of forgotten women. Is someone also covering their tracks?

DI Alec Davies is appointed to investigate the priest’s death. He and Oonagh go way back. But what secrets lie behind the derelict Institution’s doors? What sparked the infamous three-day riot that closed it? And what happened to the girls that survived the institution and vowed to stay friends forever?

From Ireland to Scotland.

From life to death.

This book was previously published as Penance.

 

The last line of the description of The Lost Children is important – this book was previously published as Penance and this review (after this paragraph) is also my previous review of Penance.  I wrote that review in December 2015, as many new people have started following my reviews since then I am re-sharing my review to reflect the new title for this cracking story.

 

I am going to struggle to do The Lost Children justice in this review. It is a fabulous book, it tells a story partly based around historical events which add a layer of heart-breaking tragedy, it is emotive, often funny and frequently shocking. You have to read it!

Central character Oonagh O’Neil is an investigative journalist and she has been looking into the closure of Glasgow’s Magdalene Institution many years prior to events in the main story. Oonagh believes that a local priest can help her uncover what went on behind the Institutions closed doors but before she can get the full story the priest dies during mass.

Oonagh refuses to give up on her investigation but pursuing the story is putting lives in danger (including Oonagh’s own). A rival journalist is digging the dirt on Oonagh and will stop at nothing to suppress her story if the payoff from other ‘interested parties’ makes it worth his while!

Events in The Lost Children are mainly played out in Glasgow in the year 2000 but at times the story drops back to the late 1950’s and we see how girls may have ended up in the Magdalene Institutions and (more alarmingly) what they endured while they were resident. The small time-shifts are handled really well, do not break the flow of the story, and add depth and context to the main plot which makes the endgame so damn effective.

A tricky read at times, the brutal reality is handled with sensitivity by Theresa Talbot. But she does not shirk away from confronting the unsettling subject matter and The Lost Children is a compelling story as a result.  Most definitely a story I am glad I have read – 5/5 review score was guaranteed when I realized that I was frequently thinking back to The Lost Children when I was meant to be working!

 

The Lost Children is published in digital format by Aria and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Children-gripping-thriller-hooked-ebook/dp/B0798S5LN1/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1526824832&sr=1-1&keywords=theresa+talbot

 

 

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May 20

Paperbacks From Hell: The Twisted History of ’70s and ’80s Horror Fiction – Grady Hendrix

An affectionate, nostalgic, and unflinchingly funny celebration of the horror fiction boom of the 1970s and ’80s

Take a tour through the horror paperback novels of two iconic decades . . . if you dare.

Page through dozens and dozens of amazing book covers featuring well-dressed skeletons, evil dolls, and knife-wielding killer crabs! Read shocking plot summaries that invoke devil worship, satanic children, and haunted real estate!

Horror author and vintage paperback book collector Grady Hendrix offers killer commentary and witty insight on these trashy thrillers that tried so hard to be the next Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby. Complete with story summaries and artist and author profiles, this unforgettable volume dishes on familiar authors like V. C. Andrews and R. L. Stine, plus many more who’ve faded into obscurity.

Also included are recommendations for which of these forgotten treasures are well worth your reading time and which should stay buried.

My thanks to Quirk Books for my review copy which I received through Netgalley

 

It is 2018 and if you were asked to name a few horror writers then it is likely that the name Stephen King would quickly be mentioned, perhaps James Herbert, Ramsey Campbell, Clive Barker and Richard Laymon – authors with healthy catalogues of work which fill the shelves in the Horror section of your local bookshop.

If you were to take a trip to a good second-hand bookshop and look for the Horror books then you are likely to find shelves packed with virtually unknown names. Book covers would feature inventive pictures of blood, fangs, monsters and demons, churches and spooky houses and each would be trying to give the impression that each is more terrifying than the last.  For a horror fan this could be the chance for a little shelf-browsing fun.  For Grady Hendrix I get the impression it would be one of the best ways to spend a day.

Paperbacks From Hell will take readers on a journey of discovery through the 1970’s and 1980’s as Grady Hendrix tracks the books, the authors and publishers and the stories which would shape horror writing for decades. Although the focus is very much on the 70’s and 80’s there is discussion around earlier books and as the book draws to a close there is a sign of where the genre was heading as the 90’s approached.

Readers will be familiar with many of the more popular titles: for example, reading about Rosemary’s Baby was fun – discovering how it gave life (no pun intended) to swathes of other imaginative tales was utterly fascinating.

Some of the titles which are discussed sound absolutely bonkers and kudos to the author for sticking with them!  There are dozens and dozens of books referenced in Paperbacks From Hell. Grady Hendrix writes with humour and obvious affection for the source material. He will provide plot synopsis and make observational judgements on whether the “surprise” horrific developments in these horror tales can carry the story.

Pages are filled with pictures of book covers. The subtle, the shocking, the classics and the over-the-top. Hendrix does not just focus on the stories and their authors but the artists get to share the limelight and we see their body of work. Also under discussion are the publishers who determined which books would fill the shelves and display stands across the lands. The social commentary of these decades shows how the narrative in horror tales changed and evolved over 20 years.

If you consider yourself a fan of horror stories then this is a brilliant read.  Not only do you see how the books you loved have come to be but you will also identify books you will feel you must track down to read. Really enjoyed the time I spent with Paperbacks From Hell and the paperback (which I spotted in my local bookshop last week) is gorgeous.

 

Paperbacks From Hell is published by Quirk Books and available in Paperback, Audio and Digital versions. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paperbacks-Hell-Twisted-History-Fiction-ebook/dp/B01NBO5GIH/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1526808922&sr=8-2&keywords=paperbacks+from+hell

 

 

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May 15

The Louisiana Republic – Maxim Jakubowski

New York, and the world, have been transformed by an unexplained global catastrophe now known as ‘the Dark. Once a modest researcher, has now become an involuntary detective.

He is recruited by her elder sister to find the missing daughter of a local gangster in a city in chaos where anarchy and violence are just a step away. He soon discovers the case is anything but straightforward and compellingly close to home. Compromising photographs and the ambiguous assistance of a young woman with ties to the criminal gangs lead him to New Orleans, which has seceded from the rest of America in the wake of the Dark.

A perilous journey down the Mississippi river, murderous hit women and sidekicks, and the magic and dangerous glamour of the French Quarter become a perilous road to nowhere and to madness in his quest for the amoral daughter, his own lost love and his sanity. Will he find the missing women or lose himself?

My thanks to Anne Cater and Random Things Blog Tours for my review copy and the chance to join the Louisiana Republic Blog Tour.

 

Been staring at a blank document for 10 minutes trying to find a way to begin a review of The Louisiana Republic…tricky…very tricky as this is the book which I loved for its striking difference to everything else I have read recently.

Okay, I think we are in.

The Dark has changed the modern world as we know it, a dystopian America is the setting for The Louisiana Republic and it is not a place for the faint of heart.  Savage criminal gangs are running rampant through the cities and there is more than one President (some may see this as an improvement on our present reality). Battles are being fought over key strongholds, libraries are revered (because of what the Dark is) and people are required to learn lost skills.

Into this mix steps a gorgeous femme fetale who wants to recruit the our lead character (a detective) to find her missing sister.  He should have said no, but that would have made a much shorter book. The missing sister is a legend among purveyors of specialist pornography. Before the Dark she was happy to pose for any picture which people would request and people had some very extreme requests.  Her father used his vast wealth to try to remove every trace of these images from the hands of strangers, he also disowned his daughter and most certainly does not want some private detective to find her. No problem – he has a number of employees who can deliver very persuasive messages!

I should probably make it clear that The Louisiana Republic is not going to be to everyone’s taste.  It is dark, violent, sweary, shaggy, though I think “erotic” is the official designation and dystopian thrillers are not to everyone’s liking. The deeper I got into The Louisiana Republic the more I lost the link to a releatable reality – and the more I enjoyed what I was reading. It is not easy to create a new world and breath such compelling life into the society you have built whilst also keeping the main story spinning along.

There are not many books like The Louisiana Republic but when a story like this comes along I cherish the opportunity it gives me to enjoy something so very different.

 

 

The Louisiana Republic is published by Caffeine Nights and is available in digital and paperback format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Louisiana-Republic-fantastic-distopia-erotica-ebook/dp/B07C5SJDHJ/ref=sr_1_8?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1526326337&sr=1-8

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May 13

A Mind Polluted – Martin Geraghty

His world falls apart…

Triggered by overhearing a confession from his mother’s lips when he was a young boy, Connor Boyd carries the burden of the secret through his life.

Is falling in love his saviour? Or will he embark on a journey down a self-destructive path which ultimately leads to his version of justice?

Will he concentrate on his future, or be consumed by his past?

 

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

Loose lips sink ships.  In A Mind Polluted it is loose lips which sink Connor Boyd. At age 13 he overhears his parents arguing. Not an uncommon incident, however, on this particular day he hears his mother voice a terrible truth which rocks Connor’s world and will change his destiny forever.

Shocked by what he has heard, Connor’s attitude and approach to life will radically change. He had previously been a promising student at school but he becomes troublesome and disruptive.  He will sneak out at night and hang with the “bad crowd” who will lead Connor further down a dark path.

His relationship with his parents will deteriorate to the point they can hardly recognise their son. He will not explain why he is behaving the way he is, but he firmly holds his mother responsible.

A Mind Polluted is a Glasgow based novel and the dialect and language reflect the city exceedingly well.  The loutish behaviour of the kids in the story is really well realized but most striking is the reader’s view of Connor.  He is a conflicted and complex character and we see his confidence, anger, neurosis, anguish, hopes, worry and fears.  The author will take readers on a harrowing journey and if you get caught up in the tale then Connor will make you angry, upset, elated and frustrated…it is a highly emotive tale to read.

If you are a fan of a strong character driven story then A Mind Polluted is one to seek out.

 

A Mind Polluted 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/Mind-Polluted-Martin-Geraghty-ebook/dp/B07B4G3H9R/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526204857&sr=8-1&keywords=a+mind+polluted

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May 11

A Series Business – Marnie Riches

Regular visitors to Grab This Book will possibly have worked out that I very much enjoy books which feature recurring characters. I love to see characters develop over time and I look forward to regular reunions with Jack Reacher, Charlie Parker, The Ankh Morpork City Watch and many, many others.

While writing reviews of new books I sometimes worry that we lose sight of the other books written by the author we are championing that day. This is particularly important where we are singing the praises of book 4 in a series but glossing over the earlier parts of what is essentially the same tale!

So A Series Business was born (with thanks to Kate at Bibliophile Book Club for the name). My hope is that I can chat with authors about writing recurring characters, planning for a long-game and give them a chance to showcase ALL their work and not just the latest release.

My first guest is Marnie Riches:

I never begin with a question. Could I ask you to introduce yourself and ask you to ensure you take full advantage of this opportunity to plug your books?

I’m Marnie Riches, the author of two best-selling crime-fiction series. Before I wrote crime, I wrote for children and penned the first six books in HarperCollins’ children’s series for 7+ year olds – Time Hunters. Before I wrote for children, I was a professional fundraiser but have also been a trainee rock star, a low-rent Sarah Beeny and a pretend artist. Before all that, I grew up on one of the roughest estates in Manchester but went to Cambridge University to study Modern & Medieval German & Dutch – a must for any author whose characters are continent-hoping Europhiles!

My debut thriller was The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die – the first outing for Georgina McKenzie, a criminologist and all-round kickass young woman who has come to navigate the international underbelly of the modern world in a bid to fight traffickers, gangsters and murderers. With some autobiographical nuggets hidden in her backstory, this series has grown to incorporate a further four titles, the latest being The Girl Who Got Revenge: a twisty, fast-paced tale where guilty war-time secrets collide with the horrors of contemporary people-trafficking and the hot topic of illegal immigration. My debut won a Dead Good Reader Award in 2015 for having the most exotic location, and it seems Amsterdam, Cambridge and London is a perennially popular trio of settings for crime-thrills, as readers have stayed with me for the ride.

My second series is set in Manchester and is a rather different gritty and gripping saga of Manchester’s crime families. Born Bad was released in 2017 and The Cover-Up followed in January 2018, bringing a slice of Mancunian gangland to the publishing world – and I’d know! I grew up in the armpit of north Manchester. What I don’t know about the city’s sink estates isn’t worth writing about.

 

As the purpose of A Series Business is to discuss the George McKenzie books could you now introduce us to George?

Georgina McKenzie is my response to Stieg Larrson’s character, Lisbeth Salander. I had read the Millennium Trilogy avidly at a time when I had been hoping to become a children’s author. But I found Scandi Noir and surly, no-bullshit Salander in particular so captivating that I decided back in 2010 that I would write my own response to Scandi Noir with my very own heroine. She would be so recognisably like every woman and yet, so much…better. George is from the mean streets of South East London but has shrugged off her urban-ghetto-beginnings to gain a Cambridge University education. Through sheer hard work and determination, she carves a career as a criminologist for herself – able to understand how the criminal mind works, thanks to her shady past. It is her Erasmus year in Amsterdam that first embroils her in a tricky case of serial murder. When she and Inspector Paul van den Bergen meet, their chemistry binds them instantly, and there begins a side-line for George where she is drafted in as a consultant to help the Dutch police on the trickiest of trans-national trafficking cases and hunts for dangerous killers. When a twelve year old Syrian girl is found dead in the back of a heavy goods vehicle in the Port of Amsterdam in The Girl Who Got Revenge, George is called on yet again to help piece together a terrible puzzle.

 

Had it always been your intention to build a series around a recurring character? 

Yes. I guess it must have been. I think when you have a character with such a rich backstory and complicated, dysfunctional family life (which may or may not be inspired by my own family *coughs*), further adventures simply present themselves. A good, believable lead character should always drive the plot and with George in the driving seat, it felt natural to buckle up for a journey that would take me to some unexpected places. I do love series and I think readers do too. After all, it’s great to finish a book that blew you away and find there are more to read!

 

Have you a character path mapped out and are you building up towards key events? Or is the future for George still unclear, even to you?

With the fifth George book having just published, the future for George is very unclear. The Girl Who Got Revenge is getting great reviews and has appeared only three years since the publication of The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die and The Girl Who Broke the Rules. In that time, however, George has aged by ten years. I felt that as I was ageing – and my life has been really fraught with melodrama over the last few years, so I feel like I’ve crammed a good decade of living into a shorter time-frame – George needed to age too. So, where I take her next will depend rather on what happens in my own life. George McKenzie is not me, but she and her stories rely on whatever mayhem is happening in my life to inform her fate, I’m afraid! Change is always afoot…

 

Have you written anything thus far in the series which you now wish you could undo?

No. Actually, I haven’t. I’m very happy with the path that George has been following. If Jo Nesbo can bring Harry Hole back for sequel after sequel, George can do anything, armed only with hairspray, blister plasters and sanitary products!

 

Do you include “spoilers” from earlier stories in subsequent books?  If I were to be reading out of order could I possibly learn of a character death or a murderer’s identity which was a twist in an earlier story?

I try hard to avoid spoilers to ensure that people can safely read the series out of sequence. My various editors have always pushed me to include more detail for readers coming fresh to the series, and I have resisted including too much for that very reason and also the fact that it feels like an information dump, to me. I do weave in just enough detail so that it’s easy to get a handle on who’s who, though. I allude vaguely to what has gone before but I hope I never reveal twists or identities. It’s a difficult stunt to pull off, five books in!

In my Manchester series, there is such a big twist at the end of Born Bad which informs the story of The Cover-Up that I had to work really hard not to ruin the experience for readers. The blurb on the back cover of The Cover-Up gives a momentus happening in Born Bad away, but it was just unavoidable! The main twist should still come as a surprise, though.

 

Do your characters age in real time, living through current events and tech developments ore are they wrapped in a creative bubble which allows you to draw only on what you need for the latest book?

No, as I mentioned earlier, George and Van den Bergen have undergone an accelerated ageing process. I have to say, it’s far more satisfying in terms of drawing the character arcs for the series if you move people’s personal relationships and ages on. You change as a person as you get older and that impacts on your relationships, your priorities and how you behave. The Manchester series follows a more realistic timeline, though. There was almost a year between the publication of those books and that’s about right for how time elapses for Sheila O’Brien, Gloria Bell and the lovely Leviticus Bell.

 

Can a George McKenzie novel end in a cliff-hanger or does each story demand a resolution? 

Well, I know readers don’t generally like cliff-hangers, but in a long running series, you have to put one in sometimes to keep yourself, as a writer, wanting more and to keep the reader hooked. I do tend to resolve each distinct story in the course of a novel, but it’s George’s journey that I can play games with because that’s a continuing and evolving thing. There’s an almighty cliff-hanger at the end of The Girl Who Walked in the Shadows. Naughty, I know, but I just had to!

 

Colin Dexter famously killed off Inspector Morse. Agatha Christie wrote Poirot’s death and then released dozens more Poirot stories before Curtain was published. Will there ever be a “final” George McKenzie story?

Having seen how other authors have killed off their main characters and have then had to back-track because their publishers have demanded a further instalment in the series, I would say it’s unlikely I’d ever kill George or Van den Bergen off. I love them too much. I have no compunction in axing characters from my Manchester series, because that’s how gangland works in real life. Gangs go to war and there are always casualties, after all. Manchester’s recent history is littered with anecdotes about players who have been gunned down in cold blood. But with George…I want to keep the door open for her. She’s too interesting and loveable not to!

 

Huge thanks to Marnie for taking time to join me today.  You can find all Marnie’s books through the attached link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marnie-Riches/e/B00WBJZ364/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1526028951&sr=1-1

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