Aberdeen – Grab This Book

Out For Blood – Deborah Masson

A young man, the son of an influential businessman, is discovered dead in his central Aberdeen apartment.

Hours later, a teenaged girl with no identification is found hanged in a suspected suicide.

As DI Eve Hunter and her team investigate the two cases, they find themselves in a tug-of-war between privilege and poverty; between the elite and those on the fringes of society.

Then an unexpected breakthrough leads them to the shocking conclusion: that those in power have been at the top for too long – and now, someone is going to desperate lengths to bring them down…

Can they stop someone who is dead set on revenge, no matter the cost?

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the opportunity to join the Out For Blood Tour.

Many years ago I lived and worked in Aberdeen. Just for a couple of years but long enough to form an opinion of the city. Since that time (after reading more than a few books set in Aberdeen) I think Deborah Mason has come closest to capturing the city I recognise. Particularly as Out For Blood highlights the divide between those that have and those that have not.

First up is the murder of a young man. He was the son of a successful businessman, one of the most influential players in the area, and his son had clearly enjoyed the comforts and privilege that came from being part of a successful family. His early death was shocking but DI Eve Hunter finds the reaction of the boy’s father to be rather strange.

Then we see the other side of the social spectrum. A young girl is found hanged, spotted by an elderly golfer in the early hours of the morning. Nobody reports her as missing and she has no identification on her. But her body shows signs of forceful damage which would not be connected to a suicide and there are other suggestions (no spoilers) which indicate a difficult and dangerous lifestyle.

Apologies for being slightly vague at this but I am going to be urging you to read Out For Blood and I don’t want to let too much slip.

Eve Hunter and her colleagues have two very different deaths to investigate but both will present a similar problem – a lack of information. They don’t know anything about the hanged girl, not even how she got to the spot where she took her life. The murdered boy is very well known but nobody seems willing to speak to the police about him. Even his family and closest friends seem to be actively avoiding Eve.

Undeterred Eve and her team will chase down any small clues they can find. Out For Blood is a very good police procedural in this regard and I very much enjoyed the opportunity to read a “proper police story” for the first time in a while.

With a team to command and a boss who has serious reservations about Eve’s temper and her ability to perform her job effectively (again no spoilers) there is a lot of politics for Eve to negotiate too. The chapters are nicely split between the two investigations, as the majority, and time is well spent further developing the backgrounds of the members of Eve’s team. As a reader it makes a story so much more rewarding when I start to engage with the characters – I felt Deborah Masson got this just right.

The two deaths in the story lead to a fascinating resolution in which the strength of friendships are tested and the limits of love will determine how some of the key characters will fare when the police come calling. It’s an extremely engaging read and as I am a bit late to the party on the Eve Hunter books I have now picked up the first book, Hold Your Tongue, to read soon too.

I do love a series with recurring characters and I very much hope Eve Hunter will return very soon. Don’t dawdle on these books (yes, like I did) get Deborah Masson on your bookshelves now.

Out For Blood is published in paperback on 10th December 2020 and is available in digital format now. The audiobook is also available and you can order in the format of your choice here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B085RBVZ2L/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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March 15

Burnout – Claire MacLeary

My husband is trying to kill me: a new client gets straight to the point. This is a whole new ball game for Maggie Laird, who is trying to rebuild her late husband’s detective agency and clear his name. Her partner, Big Wilma, sees the case as a non-starter, but Maggie is drawn in. With her client s life on the line, Maggie must get to the ugly truth that lies behind Aberdeen s closed doors. But who knows what really goes on between husbands and wives? And will the agency s reputation and Maggie and Wilma s friendship remain intact?

My thanks to Sara at Saraband for my review copy and the opportunity to join the blog tour.

A return to Scotland’s Granite City and the chance to join up with Harcus and Laird, Aberdeen’s newest Private Investigators.

Fresh from events in McIlvanney-prize-listed Cross Purpose we have a distressing new problem for our leading ladies to contend with. Sheena Struthers wants to engage Harcus and Laird to investigate her husband – she is convinced that he is trying to kill her and fears for her life. While Maggie is concerned and keen to help the distressed woman, Wilma is not so sure. Keeping an eye on the time and energies involved in domestic investigations she is keen for Maggie to ditch Mrs Struthers and concentrate on working more reliable and financially rewarding cases. The two disagree but Maggie is not prepared to turn her back on a woman who is calling for help.

In this post-Weinstein era and with #MeToo still very much in the public eye Burnout is an extremely important addition to the voices and stories which is helping lift the lid on unwelcome and unacceptable attitudes. While Sheena Struthers is insisting her husband is harming her there is little proof to support her claims and Burnout highlights the problems which victims (and prospective prosecutors) face.

As we read further into the book we read of a couple where the woman is unhappy and subjected to unwelcome attentions of her husband. His demands and desires totally at odds with her own but she sees no escape from his control. We don’t get to know who the couple are but reading their encounters was an uncomfortable and somewhat distressing experience. Yet Claire MacLeary is not done there, other relationships are subjected to scrutiny and she lifts the lid on the “secret” lives of a few characters. Readers are taken into the home of a young couple with a small child where the husband is oblivious to the exhaustion and unhappiness of his wife. Maggie’s daughter appears with a new beau in tow and Maggie is very unimpressed with the attitude of the boy towards her daughter. Even Big Wilma is going to have a few bumps in her relationship with her husband. We get to see some stark realities over attitudes, expectations and the desperation that can come from a lack of respect. It is all handled really well by the author who does not sugarcoat any of the issues she is addressing.

This is powerful storytelling but the focus is never lost on the investigations which are ongoing. The dry humour we expect is also very much in attendance and the larger than life Big Wilma never fails to disappoint – she even treats herself to a trip to a strip club for Ladies Night.

Harcus and Laird are quite unlike any other characters I am reading – they have self-doubt, worry about paying the bills, feel the world is almost on the brink of slipping away from them yet they have a will and determination to succeed and it makes them joyful to read.

Burnout is published by Contraband and is available in digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Burnout-Claire-MacLeary/dp/1912235110/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1521071707&sr=8-1&keywords=burnout+claire+macleary

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February 22

Cross Purpose – Claire MacLeary

When Maggie Laird’s disgraced ex-cop husband suddenly dies, her humdrum suburban life is turned upside down. With the bills mounting, she takes on his struggling detective agency, enlisting the help of neighbour Big Wilma. And so an unlikely partnership is born.

But the discovery of a crudely mutilated body soon raises the stakes… and Maggie and Wilma are drawn into an unknown world of Aberdeen’s sink estates, clandestine childminding and dodgy dealers. Cross Purpose is surprising, gritty, sometimes darkly humorous a tale combining police corruption, gangs and murder with a paean to friendship, loyalty and how women of a certain age can beat the odds.

My thanks to Sara of Saraband Books for a review copy of Cross Purpose

We first meet Maggie Laird when she is at her lowest possible ebb. Family life has been challenging of late as her husband had been forced to leave his job with the police after allegations of corruption. After scrabbling to make a success of a private investigator business we learn that he has died and left Maggie and their children with a pile of debt and no means to support themselves.

When you are not even left with a good name Maggie is determined to seek justice for her late husband – she knows the corruption charges are not to be believed. However, we realise that Maggie suffers from a lack of self confidence and it is going to take a monumental effort to convince herself that she is capable of gathering the evidence she needs to clear her husband’s name. Step forward Wilma…Maggie’s neighbour and she has more than enough confidence for both of them. The two women are like chalk and cheese but can they combine their talents to overcome the challenges which will face them?

In Cross Purpose Maggie and Wilma will visit some of Aberdeen’s least desirable areas and cross paths with a variety of unpleasant characters. There were some unexpectedly dark topics cropping up in Cross Purpose and it made for uncomfortable reading at times (but those are the stories I enjoy…the edgy and thought provoking ones).

It was refreshing to read a novel where the two principle characters are such contrasting personalities and seemingly finding it difficult to adjust to working together. Their unlikely partnership made this a rewarding read and seeing Wilma’s confidence grow and her self-assurance return was pleasing. But success comes at a price and over-confidence can be dangerous so those plot twists caused me some angst.

With lashings of authentic Aberdeen and a fast paced plot keeping the pages turning, Cross Purpose was a blast to read and is highly recommended.

Cross Purpose is published by Saraband Books and will be released on 23 February. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cross-Purpose-Claire-MacLeary/dp/1910192643/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487715826&sr=8-1&keywords=cross+purpose

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November 9

Talking Books with Steve Worsley

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to chat with AK Benedict about audiobooks. She had just released her fantastic new novel Jonathan Dark or the Evidence of Ghosts and had also written a Torchwood audio play for Big Finish productions – she was telling Captain Jack Harkness what to say! Our chat covered what it was like for an author to pass their work to a team to turn it into an audiobook. You can read that interview here: https://grabthisbook.net/?p=1419

Now I am delighted to be able to bring you the other side of the story. Today’s guest, Steve Worsley, is a narrator of audiobooks and has spent hours in a studio to give a voice to the books we listen to. Down the years I have listened to many, many audiobooks so I was keen to learn a little more about how the audiobooks come together.

My first question is never actually a question, this is where I ask you to introduce yourself and give you the opportunity to get a few plugs in!

I am Steve Worsley. I’m a Scottish actor/singer. Originally from Aberdeen but now living in Falkirk with my wife and step children. I sing with a rat pack vocal trio called Ocean’s 3. I also perform improvised comedy with an Edinburgh improv troupe called Men With Coconuts. We perform at the Edinburgh Fringe, Prague Fringe and currently have a residency at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh.

How do you become the voice of an audiobook?

For me it kind of happened by accident. I was working with another actor who specialises in voice over work. He mentioned that he had been asked to narrate an audiobook. It was Shatter the Bones by Stuart MacBride. He said he didn’t really fancy it as he was from Glasgow and the Stuart MacBride books were set in Aberdeen (my home town). I jokingly said I’d do it if he didn’t fancy it. He took me up on the offer and helped me record a short demo to be approved by the publisher (HarperCollins). To my surprise they did and before I knew it I was off to a studio in Manchester to record my first unabridged audiobook. On the back of that I approached another publisher, who as luck would have it had just listened to Shatter the Bones. I was immediately offered another audiobook. The rather wonderful crime thriller The Blackhouse by Peter May. Due to reader popularity I have now become the voice of all the Logan MacRae series of books by Stuart MacBride. Since then I have gathered together all the equipment needed to make a wee home studio, and now produce my own audiobooks through an online company called ACX where writers submit their novels, and narrators can then audition for the roles.

I know all books will vary in length but if you have narrated a story with a 10-hour running time how long may you have spent in a studio to get that recorded?

I usually spend about 3-4 days in a studio, reading from 9-5 with regular breaks. My longest book so far is The Missing and the Dead by Stuart MacBride which came in at just over 17 hours. That took about 4 days in a studio in London. That was a real challenge to complete as the studio had booked me for 4 days but then found out that the book was about 150 pages longer than estimated! Luckily I’ve been told by several sound engineers that my sight reading rate is unusually high. I can comfortably read about 150 pages in a single day. Of course home recording is a different matter as I not only have to read but edit the whole book myself. And I can only record when the kids are at school! It can take me up to 2 months to produce a home recording.

Do you need to be able to voice different accents?

Oh yes! The Stuart MacBride books were great for me as they are all set in my home town. Until I took over on book 7 his books had never been narrated by a native Aberdonian (except the two he did himself). But even in his books there are loads of different accents. Some of them particularly specific. One character spoke with a mix of Aberdonian and Brummie!!. I’ve also had to do American, regional English accents and few others from around the world. In The Blackhouse by Peter May the whole book was set in Stornoway and was littered with Gaelic phrases and names. That was a real challenge! Not to mention reading different gendered characters as well.

Is a book recorded sequentially?

Yes. You start at chapter 1 and keep going to the end.

(I think I know the answer to this but…) Can you just show up at a recording session and start reading or would you expect to have read the book beforehand?

I always read the book at least once (twice if possible) and allow time to makes notes. Unfortunately that it not always possible. Particularly with the big publishers. In the past I’ve received a manuscript on a Friday or Saturday and been in the studio on the Monday!

Do you ever meet any of the authors or get feedback from them?

I’m good friends on Facebook with Peter May. He lives in France. My wife and his daughter are also now best friends as they are both artists. Most of the authors I home record for live in the States but again we stay in touch through Facebook. I’ve been lucky enough to have had some lovely things said about my work from the authors. Which is not only an honour but a huge relief!! It can be pretty nerve-wracking being entrusted with someone’s baby!!!

Are you a reader? If so then what types of books do you enjoy?

I love to read when I can find the time. I like a bit of everything but have been a lifelong Stephen King fan. He truly is one of the great writers of the last century. I also love Clive Barker (I do love a bit of horror). And of course The Lord of the Rings gets an outing every few years. And if I am in the mood then you can’t beat Matthew Reilly for just pure entertainment and non-stop action.

Have you have to narrate books which you really didn’t enjoy (and I am not asking you to name them) but would that make the experience seem longer?

All I will say is yes and YES! However so far I have been very lucky to have read some wonderful books by extremely talented authors.

Steve – thank you! I have spent hours/weeks/days of my life listening to audiobooks have not given much consideration to all the work that goes into making that possible. As a skim reader (who doesn’t like to say much) I am in awe of how much work you have to do to bring us these audio delights.

You can find Steve’s audiobooks on the Audible website here: http://www.audible.co.uk/search/ref=a_pd_Crime-_tseft?advsearchKeywords=steve+worsley&filterby=field-keywords&sprefixRefmarker=nb_sb_ss_i_0_8&sprefix=steve+wo

More information about Men With Coconuts on this link: http://www.menwithcoconuts.com/

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April 27

22 Dead Little Bodies – Stuart MacBride

A short novel featuring Aberdeen’s finest investigative duo, Acting DI Logan McRae and DCI Roberta Steel.

CID isn’t what it used to be…

It’s been a bad week for acting Detective Inspector Logan McRae. Every time his unit turns up anything interesting, DCI Steel’s Major Investigation Team waltzes in and takes over, leaving CID with all the dull and horrible jobs.

Like dealing with Mrs Black – who hates her neighbour, the police, and everyone else. Or identifying the homeless man who drank himself to death behind some bins. Or tracking down the wife and kids of someone who’s just committed suicide.

But when the dead bodies start turning up, one thing’s certain – Logan’s week is about to get a whole lot worse…

My thanks to Killer Reads for my copy which I won in one of their fun (and frequent) competitions.

It is a new Logan McRae story and it is as good as I hoped it would be. McRae and Steel are back in fine form and 22 Dead Little Bodies brings their on their stories in this short novel.

There are two central investigations running through the book: a suicide ‘rescue’ in Aberdeen makes McRae a YouTube star, yet the man that he is trying to save has caused some problems for Police Scotland’s finest – they cannot locate his family.

McRae then has an unfortunate encounter with a serial complainer who wants the police to arrest her disruptive neighbour. Investigations reveal that the there is a deep rooted fiction between the warring neighbours – can DCI Steel really resolve months of fighting just by raising her voice to them?

Fans of Stuart MacBride can rest assured that this is a great fun read. There are the usual combination of laugh out loud moments and genuine moments of dark horror as Mr MacBride revisits the bleaker side of life too.

22 Dead Little Bodies is exactly what I enjoy reading and reminds me that I still have The Missing and the Dead waiting for me.

22 Dead Little Bodies is published by Harper and is available now in Hardback and digital format.

Stuart MacBride is on Twitter: @StuartMacbride

www.StuartMacBride.com

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