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Strangers – Paul Finch

Unknown, alone, and fearing for your life.

As PC Lucy Clayburn is about to find out, going undercover is the most dangerous work there is.

But, on the trail of a prolific female serial killer, there’s no other option – and these murders are as brutal as they come.

Lucy must step into the line of fire – a stranger in a criminal underworld that butchers anyone who crosses the line.

And, unknown to Lucy, she’s already treading it…

My thanks to Helena at Avon Books for my review copy and the opportunity to be the first leg on the Strangers blog tour

I suspect that one observation shall crop up quite frequently when Strangers is reviewed…No Heck. But what is it that makes Heck so good? Well it’s Paul Finch of course! So when I heard that Lucy Clayburn would be the lead character in Strangers I was actually really pleased. New characters means new opportunities, new adventures and a blank canvas for an author to take a very different approach – one that would not work for the characters we may already associate with that author.

As it turns out that is exactly what we get as Lucy Clayburn is going undercover on the streets to pose as a working girl. No matter how good Heck may be I just cannot see him pulling off that role!

The good news (not that it comes as a surprise) is that PC Lucy Clayburn is a fabulous character. There are so many spoilers to avoid but I can say she has a dubious reputation in her role which has put a blight on her career to date. Lucy has a wonderfully “punky” attitude which I immediately warmed to and when she is driven to do the best in her role and prove her worth to her colleagues she is a force to be reckoned with.

As we have come to expect from Paul Finch’s books the streets are full of some really nasty bad guys and in Strangers I am delighted that this theme continued. A female serial killer is murdering and mutilating men and the police have very little to work on. Lucy is recruited to join a team of undercover officers who will pose as prostitutes in a bid to win the confidence of other street girls who may give some clues towards the possible identity of the killer.

But for Lucy a different opportunity arises when she is given some information which could bring the police closer to closing down the activities of some of the worst members of the North West’s criminal underworld. Lucy is desperate to redeem herself in the eyes of her bosses and agrees to put herself right into the heart of the gangster operations.

What she finds, and the consequences of her actions, make for a 5 star thrill-fest. One of those stories which you just do not want to end and one where you feel that no characters are absolutely guaranteed to still be alive come the last page. The best kind of story!

Paul Finch writes books I want to read. If you like crime fiction of the highest calibre then look no further.

Strangers is published by Avon and is available now in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Strangers-Paul-Finch/dp/0007551312/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1474496962&sr=1-1&keywords=strangers+paul+finch

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

September 21

Exclusion Zone – J.M. Hewitt

On 26th April 1986, reactor four exploded at the factory in Pripyat, Chernobyl.

At the same time teenager Afia Bello vanished from her home without a trace.

The damage from the nuclear fallout is examined over the following weeks, months and years by Afia’s younger sister Sissy, as she unwittingly uncovers clues relating to her sister’s disappearance, and the secret life that Afia kept hidden from her family.

In the summer of 2015 Private Detective Alex Harvey is hired to investigate the disappearances that have been occurring within the exclusion zone.

He can think of only one person to bring along with him to help; Ukrainian national Elian Gould.

Elian – who was adopted at birth – has her own reasons for accepting the job; namely to search for her own family history which has always been a mystery to her.

But the remaining citizens of Chernobyl are hiding their own secrets and with a darker force at work, the missing person’s case suddenly turns into something much more serious…

I received a copy of Exclusion Zone from the author. But as she had very kindly signed it for me I bought another copy so I could keep the signed one good!

Not going to mess around on this one – it is a 5* read and I loved it.

Chernobyl as a setting is fabulous for a crime thriller – the place where nobody wants to go. A place where time stands still. And a place where evil can seemingly thrive without consequence. The scenes in the book that take place in Chernobyl are extremely dark, darker than I had expected (but this is a good thing). A killer is hunting victims and revelling in their capture. His crimes are escaping the attention of the authorities and he keeps his base of operations mobile to reduce the chance of capture. We know this as throughout Exclusion Zone the narrative will swing away from our hero, detective Alex Harvey, to focus on the murderer – we follow the escalation in his crimes.

I mentioned Alex Harvey – he is the star of the show (and hopefully many more shows to follow) he has been engaged to investigate the disappearances that have been taking place in the Exclusion Zone. To assist with his investigations he recruits the services of Elian Gould, a secretive young woman who will prove to be both a help and a hindrance to Harvey as his investigations take him to the edge of the exclusion zone and the mysteries that lie within.

The narrative swings between past and present with a story spanning around 3o years. It is handled brilliantly and the story flows really well – time leaping in a novel can sometimes jar or feel clumsy, not so in Exclusion Zone. The characters we meet are really well defined and you will cheer, cry and despair at how they fare (did I mention the dark edge?)

As I stated at the start of this review I loved Exclusion Zone. If you are looking for an engrossing story set in a distinctive (and fabulously described) environment with a decidedly nasty bad guy then this is a book you need to read.

Exclusion Zone is published by Endeavour Press and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Exclusion-Zone-J-M-Hewitt/dp/1530118778/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1474395377&sr=1-1&keywords=exclusion+zone

I would also recommend catching up with JM Hewitt chatting all things Ukraine with Alex Shaw – they joined me earlier this year and you can see their full conversation here: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=1577

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

September 18

Fahrenheit Press 1st Birthday Competition

In just one year Fahrenheit Press have been challenging the conventional norms of publishing and shaking things up in their own unique way. Oh and they have brought some phenomenal books to the attention of crime fiction lovers. To celebrate their 1st birthday Fahrenheit Press are giving me the chance to find one lucky competition winner who will receive a 2016 subscription to their Book Club – this means you will get a copy of all the books they release this year (a prize of more than 50 books).

So who are Fahrenheit Press and how do you win the books?

Well if I look to Twitter then their bio should give you a good starting point: “Crime Fiction Publishers. Bad seeds. Debasers. Renegades. Your mother probably warned you about us“.

A quick look to the Fahrenheit website and we get a bit more detail:

Fahrenheit Press are a brand new publishing house founded by international publishing veteran Chris McVeigh.

“We’re intent on doing things differently and we’re building a publishing company that’s heavy on curation and deadly serious about marketing.”

After many years helping the world’s biggest publishers build authors and create best-selling titles we’ve decided the time is right to step out from behind the curtain, set up our own publishing house and do things the way we think they should be done. We definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but that’s just the way we like it. If we’re not ruffling some feathers, we reckon we’re doing something wrong.

How are they changing things? Well they managed to persuade Amazon to list a book with no title, no author and no description – the book was initially marketed on trust. They also managed to persuade Amazon to include a NSFW word in a book blurb (another first). Their Twitter feed is lined with some very frank exchanges, they share sales figures and for God’s sake never ask Chris about Millport as you risk him sharing too much info.

Right – you want to win some amazing books?

I needed a competition which would sit with the Fahrenheit ethos so decided it should be fun but also reflect their “bad seeds” approach. So I just need you to answer this – TELL ME HOW YOU BROKE THE RULES…

It can be funny/painful/awkward or inappropriate. If it is criminal I don’t want to know (remember the fun part of this question).

Comments are enabled on this post – gimme your best shot. Winner will be notified after the competition closes.

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September 15

Holiday Reads – Part 4

Summer is always a busy time, the long Scottish summer evenings mean that my kids get to stay up a bit later, which then means less time for me to sit with the laptop and catch up on my reviews. To attack the review backlog (and ensure I still get to share my thoughts on the books I have been reading) I am doing a series of shorter posts which will cut back on my waffle and cut to the chase. Or perhaps that should read Cut to the Bone…

Cut to the Bone – Alex Caan

What I got wrong with Cut to the Bone was that I read it by the pool on my holiday. It is a dark thriller and deserved a more appropriate atmosphere to really set the mood of the story.

A vlogger has gone missing her fans are distraught (and there are many thousands of them). Investigations led by DI Kate Riley uncover some dark truths of life away from the camera for the darlings of You Tube. We are treated to an engaging tale of internet survival of the fittest, tech talk and cyber trickery all help to make this a quite distinctive story.

Cut to the Bone is a strong police procedural, with a diverse and fascinating ensemble of investigating officers. Alex Caan does not shirk away from graphic and upsetting situations for his characters and this carries the story along leaving the reader constantly wondering where trouble will land next.

On a personal note I had a bit of trouble differentiating between the characters as I read (again I am blaming the holiday distractions) so I would recommend giving Cut to the Bone the full attention it deserves. Not having a memory like a goldfish will also give you the edge over me!

I have no qualms recommending Cut to the Bone to the crime readers and I hope that Alex will bring Kate Riley back for more.

Nomad – James Swallow

This is a story which opens with a bang and keeps the reader gripped throughout.

Marc Dane works for MI6 – although he normally operates from behind a keyboard providing tech support to the advanced tactical units of his team – he is also quite handy at looking after himself. This comes in very handy when the operation he is engaged in suddenly goes horribly wrong and his team are wiped out.

Marc has to escape the area before his position is discovered and then try to piece together what may have gone wrong.

Nomad is pure action adventure. If you like your stories fast paced and are a fan of the Bourne stories or Homeland then you are in for a treat with this book.

The Woman in Cabin 10 – Ruth Ware

The most Agatha Christie-esk book that I have picked up for many a year.

Lo Blacklock comes home and finds herself confronted by a masked intruder in her home. Badly shaken and more than a little traumatised by the incident Lo (a journalist) finds herself on assignment on a luxury yacht. Can she keep herself together and relax in the splendour of one of the most exclusive cruises money can buy? Can she successfully grasp the opportunity to enhance her career by interviewing the multi-millionaire that owns the boutique cruise ship and submit a suitably gushing article for her bosses?

Well possibly not. On the first night on board Lo thinks she sees the woman in the cabin next to her throw a body overboard. However, next morning Lo discovers that the cabin next door is actually empty and that all the guests and crew are fully accounted for. But Lo knows that there was definitely a woman in the “empty” cabin – Lo had spoken with her. Did she imagine seeing a body? Did she imagine meeting a woman in the empty cabin? Did someone wipe away the bloodstain that Lo thinks she saw? And most alarmingly for traumatised Lo…has someone been in her cabin?

Ruth Ware totally hooked me with this story, a traditional whodunit that I could not read fast enough.

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September 13

Corpus – Rory Clements (cover reveal)

Rory Clements is the bestselling author of the John Shakespeare series of Tudor spy thrillers and today I am thrilled to be able to share the cover of his next thriller: CORPUS.

Due for release on 26 January 2017 from Bonnier Zaffre this is our first chance to see what Mr Clements has in store for us this time around…

An eye-catching cover – love the deep red.

Also – while I am no historian, I am pretty sure the Tudor period was over by 1936 so I am very intrigued to see what lies ahead.

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September 12

Apprentice in Death – J.D. Robb

The shots came quickly, silently, and with deadly accuracy. Within seconds, three people lay dead at Central Park’s ice skating rink. There’s a sniper loose on the streets of New York City, and Lieutenant Eve Dallas is about to face one of the toughest and most unsettling cases of her career.

Eve knows that only a handful of people could have carried out such an audacious but professional hit. Even more disturbing: this expert in death has an accomplice. Someone is being trained in the science of killing – and they have a terrifying agenda of their own. With a city shaken to its core, Eve and her team are forced to hunt not one but two killers. Worse still – this talented young apprentice has developed an insatiable taste for murder…

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

Eve Dallas 43. That’s not her age – that is the number of full novels that she features in (and there are also a number of short stories). I’ve read them all, more than once in most cases…I love these books. As much as I love them I am aware that there are some stories which I enjoy more than others – there are books where the characters are developed but the “in Death” element is not as gripping as I would like.

So where does Apprentice in Death sit in the collection? Happily it is one I will be revisiting, a really strong addition to the series and one of the more chilling stories.

A sniper is terrorising New York. Three dead at Central Park and no apparent link between the victims. Dallas and her team have to analyse the murders, work out why they were targeted and ensure that the sniper does not strike again. It’s a race against time novel and J.D. Robb always does these well – she can easily convey the urgency and Dallas’s frustration over lack of progress. We see how she pulls in the resources of her team, husband Roarke is on hand to lend his unique skills and financial weight, Dr Mira to analyse the psychology, dependable Peabody and even “Dickhead” the lab tech – all present and correct as you would expect when Dallas is on the case. One of the strengths of the series is that the author has had so long to develop her supporting cast that regulars such as Eve’s oldest friend Mavis can be dropped to cameo role – we don’t need to see all the players in every book as we know they will return soon enough.

The sniper story takes an unexpected twist after a second attack takes place. This really raises the stakes and we get a proper look at one of J.D. Robb’s coldest killers to date. There were scenes which totally chilled me, a killer without compassion and Dallas unpicks their behaviour, lays out how their evil streak was nurtured and gives examples of how they terrorised others. It was often an uncomfortable read but it was handled expertly by the author and the reading was compelling.

Away from the murders regular readers will enjoy some interchanges between Dallas and Summerset – their relationship is going to hit an unexpected dynamic in Apprentice in Death…will things ever be the same again?

Apprentice in Death is published by Piatkus and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Apprentice-Death-J-D-Robb/dp/034941081X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473720998&sr=1-1&keywords=apprentice+in+death

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September 10

Bloody Scotland – Day 1

The first evening of Bloody Scotland has drawn to a close and already attendees have been treated to some brilliant panels. Laughter rang around Stirling’s Albert Halls as first Stuart MacBride and Caro Ramsay then Mark Billingham and Christopher Brookmyre shared one star reviews, bad use of Doric in a foreign country and Caro and Stuart gave pointers on how to hide a dead body.

But there were serious matters to take care of before the panels began. The weekend kicked off with the award of the McIlvanney Prize. Opening speeches from Jenny Brown welcoming everyone to the Golden Lion, the new home of Bloody Scotland for 2016. Then came the Provost of Stirling who pitched the delights of Stirling to the assembled and encouraged everyone to buy a home in Stirling (having previously owned a home in Stirling I can agree this is not the worst place in the world to live). Then a real treat as Hugh McIlvanney came to the microphone to read from William McIlvanney’s Laidlaw.

Then came the announcement, the winner of the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of 2016: Christopher Brookmyre for Black Widow.

With the festival formally open it was a dash in the rain from the Golden Lion to the Albert Halls. A full auditorium for the opening two events and attendees all received a free book courtesy of festival sponsors Bookdonors. It is just possible that I selected my seat mainly because there was a Lee Child book available – the chance to sit with Douglas Skelton, Mark Leggatt and James Oswald was a delightful bonus.

Two full days of activities left and tickets are still available full details at www.bloodyscotland.com

Category: From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

September 7

The Last One – Alexandra Oliva

TWELVE CONTESTANTS

When Zoo agrees to take part in a new reality TV show, In the Dark, she knows that she will be tested to the limits of her endurance. Beating eleven competitors in a series of survival tasks deep in the forest, living on camera at the extremes of her comfort zone, will be the ultimate challenge before she returns home to start a family.

A GAME WITH NO END

As the contestants are overcome by hunger, injury and psychological breakdown, the mind games, tricks and hazards to which Zoo is subjected grow dark beyond belief. This isn’t what she signed up for: the deserted towns and gruesome props, the empty loneliness. Is this a game with no end? And what is happening away from the cameras’ gaze? Discovering the truth will be just the beginning…

I received my review copy from the publishers, Michael Joseph, through Netgalley

Imagine a reality tv show where the show and reality blur to the point that a contestant does not know where the show ends and the real world begins. That is The Last One – a game show overlaps with a national disaster and Zoo (our heroine) does not know that the world will never be the same again.

The Last One is cleverly written with narrative jumping from “present day Zoo”, struggling to survive on her own in a remote wilderness to win the prize in a survival game show. Then we are switched to “Zoo first joining the show”, finding her feet through the early challenges, sussing out the other competitors and learning the skills which she will need when the programme send her into the wilderness on her own.

Each of the contestants are defined by their jobs – Zoo, Waitress, Doctor. I really enjoyed the sections of the book where the competition was played out. Alexandra Oliva brilliantly describes the scene, plays out the challenges, shows the character interaction then as an aside includes a paragraph to show how the producers will twist an incident, manipulate the viewing public and give some extra “drama”. It really emphasised the game show scenes so even when Zoo is learning how to light a fire there is entertainment foremost in the chapter.

But away from the game there is a very serious real life drama unfolding. Early in the story the reader is made aware that something is very wrong. References are made to members of the production team who will not see how a challenge finishes. A scene is recorded but will never be aired. People are dying yet Zoo is oblivious, she is playing the game and she is going to follow the rules and she is going to win! No matter what OTT challenges the production team are throwing at her.

The Last One is a tense thriller which takes the familiarity of a game show and asks “what if everything went wrong”. A really enjoyable read with just the right amount of nasty to keep everything unpredictable.

The Last One is available now in Hardback and digital format and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-One-Alexandra-Oliva/dp/0718182502/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472897836&sr=8-1&keywords=the+last+one

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September 5

Matching The Evidence (Major Crimes Vol 2) – Graham Smith

Carlisle United are playing Millwall and the Major Crimes Team are assigned to crowd control as punishment for their renegade ways. Typically, DI Harry Evans has other ideas and tries to thwart the local firm’s plans to teach Millwall’s notorious Bushwhackers an unforgettable lesson.
Meanwhile an undercover cop is travelling north with some of the Millwall contingent. His mission is to identify the ringleaders and gather evidence against them.
Three illegal immigrants have been transported to Carlisle and are about to meet their new employers.
Nothing is as it seems for Evans and his Major Crimes Team as they battle to avoid a bloodbath while also uncovering a far more heinous crime.

My thanks to Graham, Caffeine Nights and the indefatigable Noelle Holten for the chance to join the blog tour.

Last summer I reviewed the first volume of Graham Smith’s Major Crimes Team (Lines of Enquiry) and despite not being a fan of short stories I found that I liked that collection which were bound by a common thread. Lead character Harry Evans had a tough time of it in that book and it seems that life is not getting easier from him.

Between Major Crimes volumes 1 and 2 there was Graham’s Snatched From Home events from Snatched and Lines of Enquiry are mentioned in Matching the Evidence and some spoilers will present themselves for those who plan to read all three books. However, Matching the Evidence can be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone.

The bloody football and the clever title may have been a clue that there is a football theme to Matching the Evidence. A North vs South head to head with notorious Millwall fans heading to Carlisle intent on causing a ruckus. As punishment for events that took place prior to MtE Harry Evans and his team are roped into duty to thwart any trouble. With his soon-to-be replacement shadowing his investigations Harry has his work cut out to identify and locate the local football socials who feel they need to show their Southern counterparts that North is better than South.

Away from the football we read of three illegal immigrants who have arrived in England for new employment opportunities. This was the element of the story I particularly enjoyed, their journey and employment prospects made for concerning reading and I loved how Graham Smith handled their predicament and reflected their excitement at a fresh start in a new country.

Two very different stories in one nicely worked book.

Matching the Evidence is published by Caffeine Nights and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Matching-Evidence-Major-Crimes-Team-ebook/dp/B01JJ5D1AC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473101031&sr=8-1&keywords=matching+the+evidence

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September 2

GJ Minett (The Hidden Legacy) – My Writing Commandments

The Hidden Legacy has been gathering rave reviews since it first released as an e-book earlier this year. The paperback edition released on 25th August and is now finding its way into the hands of many new readers.

I am delighted to welcome the author of The Hidden Legacy, GJ Minett, to the blog today to share his 5 writing commandments.

Five Writing Commandments I Live By

Here we go. In no particular order, and with no guarantees that I manage to live up to any of them:

GET OFF SOCIAL MEDIA, FOR GOD’S SAKE!

This used not to be a problem. For years I resisted the siren call of Facebook and tweets were something I welcomed through the bedroom window. Nothing … NOTHING was going to tempt me to goo over pictures of puppies and kittens or start taking an interest in what someone had for breakfast. Then I got a book deal. First meeting with my editor, I told him confidently: I don’t do social media. His response: you do now.

Now I find it desperately difficult to ignore it. I can be approaching the most dramatic moment in the chapter and it will suddenly occur to me that I haven’t checked for 20 minutes to see whether so-and-so has responded to my last tweet or how many places my novel has risen or fallen in the Amazon rankings.

TURN IT OFF. Turn off the notifications, the beep alerts, the silly little pings that whisper insidiously in your ear that if you don’t check now, you’ll miss out on something momentous. If you don’t, you’ll never get anything done.

Tell a story

People read novels for a variety of reasons. Not many though, I would hazard a guess, will have picked up your novel because they want to have a personalised agenda thrust down their throat. Very few will be expecting to dive into a dictionary to look up every fifth word because you’re so keen to demonstrate the extent and complexity of your vocabulary. Just tell the story and avoid trying to be too clever.

Give them characters they can believe in

Not only that, make them characters they will care about. It’s only a personal preference but I tend to start with a character rather than a detailed plot. I carry them around with me in my head for a month or two, developing them while I exercise, asking myself how they would react to a news item on TV. I draw up checklists of what they eat, read, wear for different occasions and at different times of the year, what their guilty secrets and deepest fears might be. Then, once I have them clearly defined in my head, I start thinking about the situation I want to put them in and the dilemma or crisis I want them to confront because without conflict of some sort there is no real story.

Appeal to the senses

Ellie, one of my fellow workshop students on the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Chichester, was an invaluable help to me whenever I started to ‘plot-trot’. She would send work back to me complaining that she felt excluded from what I was writing. She felt like a detached observer, denied the opportunity to empathise as much as she would have liked, because I wasn’t giving her enough to get hold of. “Put me in the scene,” she would implore me. “What can I see? What can I smell, hear around me? Let me touch things.” I needed frequent reminders and was grateful for them. The scene in The Hidden Legacy when Ellen first visits the cottage has attracted a certain amount of favourable comment and a lot of that is down to the advice I received. Bring the senses into play and include your reader at every opportunity.

Trust your instincts, but …

There must be thousands of novels I’ve considered and not written. Ideas keep popping into my head and out again. Sometimes though an idea comes back and that’s usually a sign for me that it has legs, as they say. We might be able to go somewhere with it.

By and large I trust my instincts about whether it’s the right story and also regarding the quality of what I’m producing. I’m far from infallible though and it’s at times like this that you need the right people around you.

A while ago I dashed off a second book to follow on the heels of The Hidden Legacy. I persuaded myself it was good enough. It wasn’t … and fortunately my agent, Peter Buckman, told me to put it in a drawer, chalk it up to experience and write a better one.

And when I completed Lie In Wait, even though it had sneaked past this redoubtable gatekeeper, I received several pages of notes from my editor, Joel Richardson, with suggestions as to things I ‘might like to consider’. It’s not exactly a different book now but it is a much better one.

So … 5 commandments that work for me. I hope they do the same for you.

The Hidden Legacy is available in paperback and digital formats and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hidden-Legacy-Gripping-Psychological-Drama/dp/1785770144/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472772377&sr=1-2&keywords=gj+minett

Lie in Wait released on Kindle on 25th August 2016 and can be ordered by clicking through on this link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lie-Wait-gripping-crime-thriller-ebook/dp/B01F91HUPC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472772442&sr=1-1

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