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The Resident – David Jackson

THERE’S A SERIAL KILLER ON THE RUN
AND HE’S HIDING IN YOUR HOUSE

Thomas Brogan is a serial killer. With a trail of bodies in his wake and the police hot on his heels, it seems like Thomas has nowhere left to hide. That is until he breaks into an abandoned house at the end of a terrace on a quiet street. And when he climbs up into the loft, he realises that he can drop down into all the other houses through the shared attic space.

That’s when the real fun begins. Because the one thing that Thomas enjoys even more than killing is playing games with his victims – the lonely old woman, the bickering couple, the tempting young newlyweds. And his new neighbours have more than enough dark secrets to make this game his best one yet…

Do you fear The Resident? Soon you’ll be dying to meet him.

My thanks to Viper Books for my review copy and for the opportunity to join the blog tour.

Thomas Brogan. Serial Killer. Star of The Resident. This is his story, no detective being tormented by an elusive character leaving cryptic clues to taunt the police. No reporter chasing down a story and stumbling across a killer’s legacy. This is Brogan, a dangerous killer who from the opening pages is on the run as his latest murders have been discovered too soon. Brogan is on the run and the police are hot on his tail.

Fortunately for Brogan (and for the story) he eludes capture by hiding in an abandoned house at the end of a row of terraced properties. Seeking a safe place to lie low he makes his way to the attic space and makes a fascinating discovery – he can access all four houses in the terrace by moving along the loft space. Brogan’s first thought – he can find more victims to have fun with.

How do we know Brogan’s thoughts? Well author, David Jackson, shares Brogan’s inner dialogues – he talks to himself (argues frequently). We hear Brogan’s thought process, his internal debates over the next course of action and his common sense telling him what he should and should not consider to be his next move. This works well for driving forward the story. If nobody knows Brogan is in the loft and Brogan doesn’t have his conversations with himself then it would be difficult for the reader to understand why Brogan is acting the way he does because Brogan has a plan and he plans to have some fun while he waits for the coast to clear.

There is nothing of interest in the abandoned house which Brogan used to access the loft space. The other three houses in the terrace offer much more interesting fare. There is the elderly woman who only gets visited by her carer each day. The arguing couple who seem best ignored and the young professional couple in the last house. They have so much potential for Brogan and he plans to mess with their heads before he ends their lives.

Brogan is not a likeable character and his actions when he comes down from the attic space into the houses below re-enforce what a loathsome character he is. He purposefully stirs up disharmony in the young couple’s marriage. He digs into their secrets when they are out and moves items around their house. He steals food from all the houses where he can but soon finds an easier way to get the grub he needs. Being Brogan this involves upsetting another character in the book but this means little to him as the end result works to his advantage.

Following Brogan’s activities had a very real “one more chapter” dilemma, I just didn’t want to take a break from the book. I am very much a fan of serial killer stories and The Resident has a very different feel from the “normal” murder tales because the reader travels with the killer. I powered through The Resident in very short time and was nicely caught out by a few of the unexpected details which arose. It’s different, it zips along at a cracking pace and I loved it. Five star thrills once again from David Jackson.

The Resident is published by Viper and is available in physical and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B083ZL59H9/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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July 24

One White Lie – Leah Konen

Imagine you’ve finally escaped the worst relationship of your life, running away with only a suitcase and a black eye.

Imagine your new next-door neighbours are the friends you so desperately needed – fun, kind, empathetic, very much in love.

Imagine they’re in trouble. That someone is telling lies about them, threatening their livelihoods – and even their lives.

Imagine your ex is coming for you.

If your new best friends needed you to tell one small lie, and all of these problems would disappear, you’d do it . . . wouldn’t you?

It’s only one small lie, until someone turns up dead . . .

My thanks to Sryia at Penguin RandomHouse for my review copy and the opportunity to join the tour.

Ooft.

Psychological thrillers sometimes aren’t quite what they are billed as. No real thrills, a bit predicable, never a sense of peril – essentially some books just don’t quite hit the mark for me. But One White Lie didn’t just hit the mark, it smashed it…maybe with the hammer that protagonist Lucy King carries around with her.

Ooft.

This story got me hooked – started reading in a hot bath, looked up 2 hours and 250 pages later in a decidedly cold bath. As a reader there is nothing better than finding a book which just keep you turning pages – One Little Lie did that for me. Always that nagging worry, doubt that what Lucy was experiencing was all it seemed, questions around why her new friends were shunned by the townsfolk where they lived. But I get ahead of myself.

We first meet Lucy as she is moving in to a new cottage in a small town on the outskirts of the city. She is clearly terrified and on the run from a controlling and aggressive partner and she needs a safe haven to sort out what to do.

Lucy meets her new neighbours, John and Vera. They are a few years older than Lucy but a strong friendship bond soon forms as the couple show her a kindness and compassion which she has been missing from her life for so long. For John and Vera Lucy represents a new friend in a town where they are deeply unpopular with the locals. For a long time Lucy tries to piece together snippets of gossip to determine why her friends are being held as outcasts. A nice layer of mystery for the reader as we only get snippets and rumour too.

Just as Lucy begins to relax in her new surroundings two shocking twists will threaten to destroy the sanctuary she has created. One way to ensure her continued safety is to tell One Little Lie to help John and Vera. That shouldn’t be too difficult a task should it? Unfortunately for Lucy one lie will lead to another and fate will play her a cruel hand further threatening her safety.

During all these issues Lucy is ever aware her ex is out there somewhere and he will be looking for her. So it is paranoia that Lucy believes someone has been in her home or has her ex finally caught up with her?

Stories build on the need to lie and sustain that lie places the protagonist under extreme stress and Leah Konen delivers that tension brilliantly. I really enjoyed One Little Lie – it ticked all the right boxes and I’d definitely recommend it.

One White Lie is published by Penguin and is available in physical, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07YTHYLC6/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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July 13

Watch Over You – M.J. Ford

The hunt is on. And this time, it’s personal…

When DS Josie Masters is called out to a house in North Oxford to investigate a serious incident, things take a personal turn. The body is Harry’s – her friend and former colleague.

Josie thought Harry lived alone, but evidence suggests he’d had a lodger – a young woman who has fled the scene.

And as more killings stun Oxford, the police discover the picture is more complicated than it appeared.

The young woman is on the run, and someone is following her – leaving a stack of bodies in their wake…

My thanks to Avon who provided a review copy through Netgalley

I have been back into police procedural reading this week with the entertaining Watch Over You. It sees lead character Josie Masters returning to work after her maternity leave and finding herself thrust directly into a murder investigation.

Thrust may not be the best word to use in this instance. Josie is determined she will not be stuck behind a desk on her return to duty so she takes the opportunity to get involved in active cases as soon as she gets into the squadroom. Unfortunately for Josie the first incident she attends turns out to be the death of a friend and former colleague. His body is found in his home, a nasty head injury appears the cause of death. Josie had bonded with Harry (the deceased) during her maternity leave and the pair often met for a chat in Harry’s local pub. Josie cannot let someone else handle this case.

While inspecting Harry’s house for signs of an intruder Josie and the Scene of Crime team find evidence to suggest Harry had a house guest. He never mentioned this to Josie and there is no sign of anyone else in the house now, yet the evidence is clear – Harry hadn’t been living alone. So where was this mystery (female) guest?

When questioned neighbours indicated they had seen a young girl in Harry’s house. There is also the suggestion that the girl had been angry and was spotted running away from Harry’s house on the day of the murder. Josie had a suspect but very little to go on other than knowing she was looking foe a young girl with long blonde hair.

Fate was to throw Josie a helping hand – but at a steep price. A double murder elsewhere in Oxford shows a link to Harry’s death. The link being the blonde girl. The police now know her name and it seems she may be connected to another case Josie’s colleagues have been working on, the death of a young drug dealer.

The body count is mounting up and Josie is no closer to finding the blonde girl. However there is a new added complication – the blonde may also be in danger. Can Josie find her to get the truth about Harry’s death before it is too late?

Watch Over You is a perfect pick for readers that want to be in the thick of an investigation. The story does have a few cut-away moments which set up some key background events, however it is very much Josie’s story. The death of her friend. Juggling baby and a busy return to work. Dealing with a difficult ex and reintegration with her colleagues. Plenty going on and the author balances the story well.

Watch Over You is published by Avon and is available in paperback, audiobook and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XZ6GRVL/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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June 1

Fair Warning – Michael Connelly

HOW DO YOU FIND A KILLER WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU?

Jack McEvoy is a reporter with a track record in finding killers. But he’s never been accused of being one himself.

Jack went on one date with Tina Portrero. The next thing he knows, the police are at his house telling Jack he’s a suspect in her murder.

Maybe it’s because he doesn’t like being accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Or maybe it’s because the method of her murder is so chilling that he can’t get it out of his head.

But as he uses his journalistic skills to open doors closed to the police, Jack walks a thin line between suspect and detective – between investigation and obsession – on the trail of a killer who knows his victims better than they know themselves…

My thanks to Alex at Orion for the opportunity to join the Fair Warning Audiobook Blog Tour. I received a copy of the audiobook from the publisher.

Michael Connelly brings back one of my favourite characters: reporter Jack McEvoy. His previous outings both saw him cross paths with killers and Fair Warning is no different.

McEvoy is working for consumer protection website Fair Warning. A close knit team who feed important stories to big newspapers but Fair Warning is in constant need of funding so they can’t be complacent. Stories need to be written.

McEvoy is about to publish a story about a school for training con men when the police arrive at his house. They have linked McEvoy to a murder victim, Tina Portrero. The police think McEvoy is a likely suspect and the chief investigator and McEvoy immediately clash. Jack knows the suspicions around his conduct are ludicrous but suspects the police have little to go on so are blustering.

Tina’s murder unsettled Jack, he remembers enjoying her company on a one night stand over a year ago but she didn’t want to see him again. Jack discovered there were unusual circumstances surrounding Tina’s death and after doing some digging determined there were other women who had died in a similar manner in different states.

Further digging determined that all the deceased women had submitted a DNA sample to a firm that helped them trace their lineage. But if the process was anonymous how was the killer able to identify a single type of potential victim?

McEvoy begins an investigation into the science and regulation of DNA labs and discovers there are no enforced checks or controls. Someone is using confidential information to target vulnerable women – McEvoy knows there is a story and a public safety issue he needs to investigate. Unfortunately he is a prime suspect in Tina’s murder and his boss does not believe Fair Warning can get involved. Jack has many challenges to face and now a killer knows Jack is on his tail.

I had the pleasure of listening to the Fair Warning audiobook. Audio narration sits almost entirely with Peter Giles who takes us through Fair Warning as Mcevoy. The only exceptions are the chapters where the narrative is with The Shrike and for these short sections Zach Villa takes the microphone. Both deliver very good performances. Giles sounds like I had imagined McEvoy would sound – an older, smokey or gravelled voice but also strong, confident and articulate. A seasoned reporter who is good at what he does but has been doing it for years.

Zach Villa sadly has very little air time as the killer isn’t given the opportunity to be subjected to any real scrutiny by the reader/listener. The Shrike casts his shadow over the whole book yet he is very much out of sight for most of the story.

The difference between the sound of Giles and Villas voice is quite noticeable and that worked well in audio. Using Villa rather than Giles for the killer allowed his character to remain apart from the investigation.

So to bring both elements together. The story was terrific, everything a good thriller should be and I can say with certainty it is one of the best books I have read for some time. The audio was really well delivered the casting is strong and with such fabulous material to deliver it makes the Fair Warning audiobook an essential addition to your audio library.

Fair Warning is available as an audiobook and in hardback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fair-Warning/dp/B082975V1M/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Michael+Connelly&qid=1590990022&s=books&sr=1-2https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fair-Warning/dp/B082975V1M/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Michael+Connelly&qid=1590990022&s=books&sr=1-2

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May 18

In Plain Sight – Marion Todd

A child’s life is at stake. Which of the residents of St Andrews is hiding something – and why?

When a baby girl is snatched from the crowd of spectators at a fun run, the local police have a major investigation on their hands. DI Clare Mackay and her team are in a race against the clock when they learn that the child has a potentially fatal medical condition.

As Clare investigates she realises this victim wasn’t selected at random. Someone knows who took the baby girl, and why. But will they reveal their secrets before it’s too late?

I was invited to join the blog tour of In Plain Sight by Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers.

When I completed my review of my favourite reads of 2019 I included Marion Todd’s See Them Run (the first Clare Mackay book) as the best debut I had read last year. I pre-ordered In Plain Sight as soon as I had finished See Them Run and when offered the chance to join the Blog Tour for In Plain Sight I leapt at the chance – this is a series which fans of police procedurals need to be reading.

Easy housekeeping first. In Plain Sight is the second Clare Mackay book, you can easily read it as a stand alone story. Clare left the police in Glasgow to move East and took up a role on the force at St Andrew’s. Anything else you need to know is deftly interwoven into the story by Marion Todd.

I consider myself fairly unflappable when I am reading. Having read numerous dark crime thrillers and grim horror tales for many, many years I find it quite easy to take on what I am reading without being upset by the content. However, In Plain Sight opens with the abduction of a baby from her pram and I found this more disturbing than many hack and slash horror tales. The prospect of a baby torn away from her parents chilled me and Kudos to the author here as the depiction of the aftermath and the reaction of the parents was brilliant.

Mackay and some of her colleagues were on the scene at the time. The abduction took place during a charity fun run and Clare was due to participate. The frenetic hunt for the baby, the hastily assembled (all hands on deck) squadron and the national appeals for help gives In Plain Sight an urgency which befits the need for a prompt resolution for this crime.

Clare and her colleagues have little to work on initially but the baby’s family may merit closer inspection. Her aunt has a history of drug abuse, the parents don’t seem to be coping (understandably) but is their behaviour suspicious?

A burglary at a chemist shop in nearby Dundee sees a rare drug stolen – one which is specifically needed by the missing baby. The search broadens and soon Clare has a murder to investigate which may be linked to the abduction…or is it? Are the police making links where there are none to be found? With the clock ticking and a baby missing everyone is under real pressure to get answers quickly.

I really enjoyed how Marion Todd executed In Plain Sight. A police procedural where the reader gets to experience the investigation in full. I shared the highs and lows of the case with Mackay and her colleagues and there was great character development built around the story too as we get to know Clare and her colleagues.

Two books into the series and the third on its way later this year. You don’t want to miss the boat with these books – really enjoyable and I don’t hesitate to recommend them.

In Plain Sight is published by Canelo and is available in digital download here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07ZGL6B1B/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

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April 4

30 Days in June – Chris Westlake

On the 1st day of June 1988, the residents of south Wales were thrown into a state of panic when a married couple were brutally murdered in their own home. The killer, nicknamed Spartacus by the media, did not flee the scene immediately; instead, he stayed to carve Roman Numerals onto his victims’ chests.

This was the beginning of a month-long killing spree, each murder taking a step closer to home.

Seventeen-year-old Jeffrey Allen was to be the final victim, on the final day of the month. Instead, he became the only survivor, and the only real witness. The killings ended as suddenly as they began. Jeffrey relocated to London, changing his name, and his identity, to Marcus Clancy. His past life became merely a dark secret.

On 1st June 2018, 30 years to the day since the first killing, a mysterious figure refers to Marcus by his old name, through closing lift doors.

Is Spartacus back? If so, has he returned to finish what he failed to do thirty years ago?

And so begins 30 days of terror for Marcus Clancy, culminating in dramatic fashion on the final day of June.

My thanks to Emma Welton at Damppebbles Blog Tours for the chance to join the tour today.

30 Days in June is a tense serial killer thriller with a few nasty spikes along the way. Not too dark but we are a long way from cozy! Nicely balanced for this reader

30 years ago (1988) a killer dubbed Spartacus committed a month long sequence of murders. His last intended victim, Jeffrey, survived but did not come out the incident unscathed. Jeffrey moved to London and changed his name – hoping to blend into the city and gain anonymity.

In 2018 Jeffrey (now Marcus) gets spoken to by someone who knows his real name. The fears come rushing back. Has Spartacus returned to finish the murder he planned three decades ago? If not Spartacus then who recognized Marcus as Jeffrey and what do they hope to gain?

Narrative is split between two time periods and the full story is slowly revealed to the reader with everything building nicely as we approach the end of the tale.

30 Days in June builds up towarss the finale so don’t come into this book looking for a murder second chapter. It’s a slow burn tale that rewards the reader in the telling rather than trying to blow them off the page with high octane adventures.

Serial killer stories are my favourite so I enjoyed 30 Days In June. Fun was had.

30 Days in June is available in digital and paperback format and you can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08283SZBZ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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February 27

Possessed – Peter Laws

When a blood-soaked man is discovered with the word Baal-Berith scored into his flesh, the bewildered police call on expert Professor Matt Hunter to assist. Before long, a gruesome discovery is made and Hunter is drawn into a frenzied murder investigation. With a fury of media interest in the case, and the emerging link to a documentary on demonic possession, Hunter is unable to escape a dark world of exorcism and violence . even when events spiral frighteningly out of control.

My thanks to publisher, Allison & Busby for a review copy of Possessed.

After a run of reading a run of crime novels it was a welcome change of tone to pick up Possessed and let some demonic possession into my reading.

This chilling tale puts Professor Matt Hunter back into the thick of the action as he faces the horror of a brutal murder and then the even more alarming prospect of a reality television show seeking to exorcise demons from a group of individuals who believe they are each possessed.

Matt is initially asked to assist the police after a suspect showing signs of “possession” is discovered to have carved the name of a demon into his own body. The suspect is identified and it is not long before Matt and the police find a body – brutally mutilated and abandoned in her home.

The suspect appears to have no self control and indicates all his actions are being controlled by a demon – one famed for murdering thousands of humans down the centuries. A local minister and friend of the suspect insists he knew of the possession and had tried to perform an exorcism. Matt maintains demons and possession cannot be real and the murderer must be ill and in need of medical care.

News of the horrific murder soon reaches the media and Matt is brought to the tv studios to provide the balanced viewpoint on discussions around the possibility of demons being real and the effectiveness of exorcism. During the course of the show a “famed” expert tries to conduct an exorcism on air. Matt ends the debacle but the show’s producer sees the potential in giving more airtime to a live exorcism.

Matt is approached again to participate in a documentary which will give him the opportunity to explain why demons cannot be real and exorcisms are not authentic treatments for people who may be in real need of medical intervention. Sadly for Matt the producers have not been honest with him in the nature of the show they planned and a reality tv show which plans to conduct full exorcisms live on air has been arranged.

Against his better judgement Matt agrees to provide scientific balance to the occasion. It should come as no surprise to fans of horror fiction that all does not go as planned.

I love an unpredictable horror tale and Possessed delivers the shocks, the chills and the nasty surprises I had hoped for. The use of a calm voice of reason (Matt) in a scenario of hysteria and drama is particularly effective and Peter Laws brings a devious mystery to the story which will keep readers guessing.

Horror fans should jump at the chance to read the Matt Hunter books – Possessed may just be the best of the series (so far). More like this please!

Possessed is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0749024674/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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February 22

Death Deserved – Jorn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger

Police officer Alexander Blix and celebrity blogger Emma Ramm join forces to track down a serial killer with a thirst for attention and high-profile murders, in the first episode of a gripping new Nordic Noir series…

Oslo, 2018. Former long-distance runner Sonja Nordstrøm never shows at the launch of her controversial autobiography, Always Number One. When celebrity blogger Emma Ramm visits Nordstrøm’s home later that day, she finds the door unlocked and signs of a struggle inside. A bib with the number ‘one’ has been pinned to the TV.

Police officer Alexander Blix is appointed to head up the missing-persons investigation, but he still bears the emotional scars of a hostage situation nineteen years earlier, when he killed the father of a five-year-old girl. Traces of Nordstrøm soon show up at different locations, but the appearance of the clues appear to be carefully calculated … evidence of a bigger picture that he’s just not seeing…

Blix and Ramm soon join forces, determined to find and stop a merciless killer with a flare for the dramatic, and thirst for attention.
Trouble is, he’s just got his first taste of it…

My thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for a review copy and to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the opportunity to join the Death Deserved blog tour.

To borrow a line from Taffy in the Captain Caveman cartoons….Zowie! Death Deserved is more than a little bit good.

As soon I started reading Death Deserved it was the only book I wanted to be reading this week. I normally juggle three or four titles at once but Death Deserved was the book I kept coming back to – nothing else got a look-in. I make no secret of the fact I enjoy serial killer stories and that’s very much what I got from Death Deserved, even if that may not have been clear from the start.

Sonja Nordstrøm was due to publish a book. As she reached her 50th year she wanted to lift the lid on a few secrets and scandals which she experienced or encountered during her highly successful athletics career. But on publication day she failed to show for an interview, most untypical behaviour for Sonja. She is nowhere to be found and when celeb journalist Emma Ramm arrives at her home to try to speak with Sonja she finds evidence of a struggle. The police are called and this brings Emma into contact with Alexander Blix.

Unbeknownst to Emma, Blix has previously encountered her family and that encounter changed the path of Emma’s life. Although she is unaware, Blix recognises her name instantly and decides he will offer her stories and tips from inside the resulting investigation. The leads Blix feed Emma gives her the opportunity to work outside celebrity stories and interact with the crime reporters. Sonja Nordstrøm’s kidnapping is very much the starting point of a fast paced and high intensity investigation which will see several celebrities meet a nasty end. It puts the police on a manhunt and we follow the investigation as they try to figure out the motive (and next victim) of a killer. Emma contributes to this too as her background seems to give her a different focus on how to view the unfolding events and the insights she can offer become a benefit to Blix.

I really don’t want to reveal too much of the actual plot but at the same time I want to rave about how good this story was and how much I enjoyed it. The best dilemma to be honest. When I want to reveal and discuss everything I loved about the book it means the book got under my skin and into my head. I want to put copies of Death Deserved into the hands of my friends and implore them to read it and then hope that they enjoy it just as much as I did (which I am sure they will). It’s a who-dunnit, a fast paced police procedural, it has great characters and the lead players are given time to grow and develop between the many twists and shocks the authors have sneaked into the chapters. So much fun to read and wonderfully executed (no murderous puns intended).

The story has been translated from Norwegian by Anne Bruce and she has done a magnificent job, the prose flows seamlessly the whole book was very readable. Some translated texts I encounter feel laboured, jarring or the dialogue stilted but none of these issues could be raised about Death Deserved. Indeed, it was not until I read the author acknowledgements at the end of the book that I remembered that I was reading a translated novel. Oh and the acknowledgments are fabulous – do not skip them!

Death Deserved was devoured in very short time. I loved the Blix/Ramm dynamic and I sincerely hope the authors feel it is worth revisiting. Soon would be good guys! Sooner if possible?

Death Deserved is published by Orenda Books and is available in Digital, Paperback and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XBW6SFN/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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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

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January 14

Her Last Goodnight – Michael Scanlon

Eddie stands at his door anxiously waiting for her to arrive, touching the box in his pocket for luck. He doesn’t hear the footsteps behind him until it’s too late…

Detective Finnegan Beck is called to a violent crime scene – a remote house near the rural Irish town of Cross Beg – where a dog lies whimpering beside his beloved owner’s body.

At first it looks like a burglary gone wrong. But Beck spots something his colleagues didn’t. The victim, Eddie Kavanagh, was wearing his smartest clothes. He’d brushed his hair. And, on closer inspection, a small velvet box containing an engagement ring is discovered in his pocket, along with a letter to a nameless woman, which seems to suggest she’s in danger.

Those who knew Eddie have no idea about a female friend though – there’s been no one in his life since a girl who he’d loved and who’d broken his heart decades before.

So who was the woman Eddie was waiting for? And did his connection with her ultimately lead to his murder? When a beautiful young woman is then found beaten to death, murdered exactly as Eddie had been, Beck has to ask – is the danger over? Or is it just beginning?

I received a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley.

The third book to feature Detective Finnegan Beck but my introduction to the series. It’s always a bit of a worry to jump into a series and not be sure if you need to know the background of the characters to enjoy the newest title. Having not read the first two books I can honestly say I didn’t feel there were aspects of the stories where I had no idea what was going on. Important facts and characters were introduced in what felt a natural way so I didn’t feel detail was being shoe-horned into the plot to ensure newbies like me could keep up. Naturally I will expect there are some subtle or less critical details which will slip by unnoticed and I have no doubt a returning reader will pick up on them.

Her Last Goodnight opens with a violent killing of an elderly man. He is in his good clothes, has an engagement ring in a box in his pocket and police find a letter to a lady-friend which suggests the victim (Eddie) was hoping to save someone from a life he did not feel she should be leading. Eddie’s friends are bemused – they had no idea he had a companion and the manner of his death is deeply shocking to the whole community.

Beck is an experienced police officer but Eddie’s death leaves him deeply troubled and Beck isn’t going to be on top of his game during this investigation. The reasons for his discomfort are revealed through the story and as Beck turns to a bottle to help him cope with events the author handles his situation very well. I found Beck’s situation upsetting and the support his colleagues tried to offer was heartening.

While trying to find a murderer Beck uncovers a seedier side to his small town and I was highly amused by the revelation of how two local residents would supplement their income. Their information led to a peek behind the curtains of a quiet suburban house where all was not as it seems.

But for Beck the real mission was to track down a murderer. For the murderer the stakes have been raised and more proactive action is required to keep their secrets safe. The one thing you can count on in a crime thriller – secrets will out.

I read Her Last Goodnight over 2 days, thoroughly enjoyed my introduction to a new series and will be picking up the earlier books to catch up. That’s a sure sign this was a hit with me – I want more.

Her Last Goodnight is published by Bookouture and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy of the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B081576NZB/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

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