Dreda Say Mitchell – Grab This Book

2014 – My Magnificent Seven

Although I have only been actively blogging for six months it is time for my end of year round up. A quick check of my blog finds that I have reviewed around 50 books in the last 6 months of the year. To select a top 10 from 50 seemed too many so I was going to do a top five. Until I started my list and I discovered that I wanted to include one or two more: Grab This Book’s Magnificent Seven was born.

So in no particular order I present the seven books that I enjoyed reading most (and the reasons why) during 2014.

Stalkers – Paul Finch

I was late to the party on Paul Finch’s brilliant Mark Heckenburg novels. The good thing about this was: by the time I read Stalkers there were two sequels and two more on the way.

Stalkers is a compelling thriller which pulls no punches and delivers shocks and twists in equal measure. I have probably recommended Paul Finch’s books to more of my friends than any other author this year – thus far I have had nothing but positive feedback from those that took my advice.

Stalkers Review

Doctor Who: Engines of War – George Mann

Cast your eye over my blog and you will find that Doctor Who books crop up fairly frequently. I make no apology for this, I have been a fan of the show for 35 years and I have been reading Doctor Who novels since the 1980’s. Not counting the books I read more than once, or the many audio plays, I think I have read around 350 different Who novels (although it is probably more).

For me, George Mann’s Engines of War stands out as one of the best that I have read. Ever. It features the Daleks, a new companion (Scarlet) and even better – The War Doctor. The Doctor has been fighting in the Time War, the Daleks fear him and the Timelords still cannot control him. His weariness of the War is telling and this is not a Doctor that can solve all the problems and just disappear in his TARDIS waiting for the next adventure. Mann catches the fatigue and frustration of the Doctor brilliantly.

If you enjoy Doctor Who and have seen John Hurt’s War Doctor in action then this is a must read. If you like an exciting good guy/bad guy story this is also for you, there is a great adventure to share. If you hate all things Doctor Who, this may not be the book for you. But I loved it!

Engines of War Review

Vendetta – Dreda Say Mitchell

Some books are in my list for personal reasons and some are here as they are stand out reads. Vendetta falls into the latter category. It was (without any doubt) one of the most entertaining books that I have read in recent years.

I cannot say enough good things about Vendetta and was thrilled to be able to participate in the Blog Tour when it was published. Dreda Say Mitchell penned a fantastic article Heroes to Die For which featured on my site. The combination of hosting the tour, having an exclusive article to feature and the book being one of my favourite reads of the year made this a memorable title for me.

Vendetta Review

Digital Circumstances – Brian Stewart

Summer 2014 was an amazing time to be in Scotland. We had the Edinburgh Festival (as we always do), the Book Festival (as we always do) but we also had Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games and the small matter of the Indy Ref – the world was watching.

Three out of the four events were spectacular successes – the fourth is subject to ongoing debate but 55% of the people were happy at the time!

During the height of all things Scottish I started reading Digital Circumstances, written and self-published by Brian Stewart. The story is (mainly) set in Glasgow and had a great mix of cybercrime and gangsters. As Glasgow is a city I know well and was very much in the public eye as I was reading Digital Circumstances – it just seemed a perfect read at the time.

A fun read and worth seeking out.

Digital Circumstances Review

Someone Else’s Skin – Sarah Hilary

A debut novel and the introduction of a principle character (Marnie Rome) which the author is planning on developing into an ongoing series. I have included this book in my top picks of the year mainly because it was a brilliant story which I got totally drawn into as I read.

However, Someone Else’s Skin holds the honour of being the book in 2014 with the best plot twist. It totally floored me and had me re-evaluating everything I had read up to that point in the story.

I read well over 100 novels this year, it would be very remiss of me to exclude the year’s ‘Jaw Drop’ moment from the list of my top books.

Someone Else’s Skin Review

An Evil Mind – Chris Carter

A fellow blogger contacted me asking if I could help him by reading a Chris Carter book (a task I felt reasonably comfortable accepting). He had been set a mission by the publishers: to find readers who had not read Chris Carter’s work and see if he could turn them into fans. I agreed to help and duly received a copy of An Evil Mind.

Click through to check my review for a more comprehensive summary, however, the addition of four new Chris Carter novels to my bookcase in the last few weeks should give a fairly big clue as to how much I enjoyed An Evil Mind. When drawing up a shortlist of possible titles to include in my Magnificent Seven, nothing came close to dislodging An Evil Mind from the list.

My thanks to Shaun on this one – take some time to visit his blog at: www.bookaddictshaun.co.uk

An Evil Mind Review

Red Rising – Pierce Brown

The book that broke my rules. Don’t get drawn back into Fantasy novels. Don’t start a series of books if the last books are not published yet. Don’t lend out your copies of your favourite books to friends as you know they will love it. Three copies of Red Rising later I currently only have my digital copy left – I MAY get some of my paperbacks back (eventually)!

This book made me want to read Fantasy novels again – this is after an 8 year hiatus where I have only really read crime and thrillers. A must read novel and worthy for inclusion in ANY list of recommended reads.

Red Rising Review

So there we have it – my best reading memories from 2014 and a brief explanation as to why these books stood out for me.

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December 1

Christmas Shopping Ideas 2014

The faint sound of sleigh bells is getting louder and it is around now that ‘present panic’ starts to set in. What to get a loved one at Christmas? Stuck for an idea for the office Secret Santa? As a book lover I always encourage people to give a book as a gift and I have a few suggestions which may help simplify your shopping.

I will start by recommending two thrillers, both of which I have seen on supermarket shelves in the last week. Vendetta by Dreda Say Mitchell is a brilliant, fast paced story which had me hooked all the way through. The story focuses on an undercover cop in London – in the opening chapter he wakes in a strange hotel room, he has been shot and there is a dead body in the bathroom beside him yet he has no recollection of how he got there. Fans of James Paterson will enjoy the writing style which uses short chapters and constant action points.

Second recommendation is Dead Man Walking by Paul Finch. Another policeman, however, this time the action takes place in the Lake District – it is winter and heavy fog has shrouded a Cumbrian village. Hidden in the fog is a murderer who likes to stalk his victims before he pounces – the only way they know he is nearby is that he whistles ‘Strangers in the Night’ as he closes in. With the villagers trapped and isolated- they are easy prey.

For those looking for something a bit more seasonal and don’t want half the cast killed off during the story then I suggest A Christmas To Remember by Jenny Hale. This story has been receiving fantastic praise since its release and is hitting the perfect balance of romance, humour and lashings of Christmas cheer. On a similar theme Snow Angels, Secrets and Christmas Cake by Sue Watson is equally charming Christmas fare.

If fiction is not your thing then I can highly recommend Our Zoo by June Mottershead. If you remember the BBC drama of the same name then you will likely recongise June’s name – she has lived and grown up around Chester Zoo, which was originally opened by her father. Our Zoo is June’s biography and gives her unique perspective of life with the animals.

For football fans there is one stand out stocking filler: Football Clichés by Adam Hurrey. If you have ever watched a football match on television this is for you…101 ways to describe a goal? Sorted. Diagrams of a player complete with Monkey on his Back and Wise Head on his Shoulders? Hurrey has it covered. Cleverly written and laugh out loud funny.

Finally for the craft lovers I have to give special mention to WTF Knits by Gabrielle Grillo and Lucy Sweet. A fun wee book full of the weirdest knitting and crochet efforts from around the world. Another stocking filler as this is a collection of photographs. Yet who knew that so many people would want to knit alien autopsies, a variety of poo shapes or the Bee Gees (complete with knitted chest hair)?

All books listed above are easily found online and the only one you MAY struggle to find in your local shops is the knitting one (which is a shame as it is such fun).

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November 7

Dreda Say Mitchell – Heroes To Die For

Heroes To Die For

What makes a great character or hero in a thriller? It goes without saying that if we knew the answer to that question we wouldn’t be writing or reading blogs – we’d be lying by our swimming pool with a banana daiquiri, feeling sorry for all those poor people out there. Of course, all those who write or read thrillers have their own ideas and we’ve got plenty of examples over the years to help answer the question. From Sam Spade and onto Jack Reacher, and on the big screen Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley character in ‘Alien’, heroes are all very different. But is it possible to find a common thread?

For those of us who write thrillers, this is more than a theoretical question, we have to get it right. You can develop the most ingenious plot based on the most original premise but if your characters don’t do it for the reader, it’s going back on the shelf. And there isn’t an easy answer to it; nothing’s more frustrating for a writer than seeing another author breaking all the supposed rules and then coming up trumps anyway (although that in itself should be a pointer). But if we can’t actually spot the ball, we can at least identify the ballpark.

One common feature is that we have to be on our hero’s side and they have to be basically sympathetic even, or especially, when they’re up to no good. It won’t work if we go into the final showdown and the reader’s thinking, “I hope the villain kills the hero, he’s got it coming…” In my new novel ‘Vendetta’, our hero Mac, breaks all the police officer’s rules and I hope the reader understand why. I want the reader whispering, “Yes, I get it; I’d do the same in his position…” Some thrillers take the reader by the arm and make them complicit in the murder and mayhem. There are of course gentle and self effacing investigators in the genre but I tend not to gravitate towards them as a reader.

And heroes can’t simply be heroic; they need their human and vulnerable side if readers are going to buy into them. Yes, of course, we want them to be able to flatten a half dozen bad guys waiting to attack them in a dark alley. But at the same time if they’ve got the perfect family, their pension all sorted out and no vices of any kind, it’s hard to get into them. Many readers are now getting a little fed up with the alcoholic cop ‘on the edge’ but there’s a very good reason why they became so popular in the first place. And there’s a very good reason why our characters tend to suffer a long, dark night of the soul. We want real people not cardboard cut-outs. In ‘Vendetta’, Mac has got his problems but hey who hasn’t? We want exaggerated versions of real life but we want real life in there too.

What goes for heroes is also true of villains. There are still a few evil masterminds who are planning to destroy the planet – in 24 hours of course – but they’re rare now. The charming serial killer, the morally ambiguous criminal, the murderer who did it for understandable reasons, tend to be the rule these days. Indeed the convergence of heroes and villains has become one of the features of 21^st century thriller writing.

But ultimately, what’s the test of the real deal when it comes to thriller characters? Well, if you’re sitting next to someone on the bus and they’re reading your book and they look up in horror because they’ve missed their stop, then you’ve got it right. And all the theorising about characters in the world isn’t going to change that.

VENDETTA by Dreda Say Mitchell is out now in paperback and eBook, published by Hodder, £6.99. For more information visit www.dredasaymitchell.com and follow Dreda on twitter @DredaMitchell

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November 7

Vendetta – Dreda Say Mitchell

Two murders. Two different crime scenes. One killer?

Mac wakes in a smashed-up hotel room with no recollection of what has happened. With his lover’s corpse in the bathroom and the evidence suggesting that he killed her, Mac is on a mission to uncover the truth and find the real killer.

But he’s in a race against time with less than a day to unravel the mystery. Still reeling from a personal tragedy Mac isn’t afraid of pain. Hot on his heels is tenacious Detective Inspector Rio Wray. Double-crossed and in the line of fire, Mac has to swim through a sea of lies to get to the truth.

But only Mac knows he’s been living a double life. Can he be sure he doesn’t have the blood of a dead woman on his hands.

Thank you to Hodder and the Bookbridgr team for my review copy.

Before I start my Vendetta review in full there is something that I need to get off my chest…

VENDETTA IS MAGNIFICENT!

Thank you – I have been holding that in for a couple of weeks.

No point in my being coy about this review, I loved Vendetta! It is a roller-coaster of adventure with undercover cops, Russian gangsters, nasty murders and has many unsavoury characters popping up all over the place. I have wanted to shout about how much I enjoyed reading it but had been holding off so I could time my review to coincide with Dreda Say Mitchell’s Blog Tour visit.

There is a cover quote from Lee Child ‘Breathless from the first word and thrilling to the last.’ Top author nails a review in one line. That is exactly how I found Vendetta. In the opening scenes our hero, Mac, wakes in a hotel room with a gunshot wound to his head and his girlfriend’s mutilated corpse in the bath. Did Mac kill her? He can’t remember but the police are outside and Mac does not want to stick around to answer awkward questions.

What comes next is a frenetic thriller as we follow Mac through the back streets and dark alleys of London while he tries to keep one step ahead of Detective Inspector Rio Wray and tries to catch up with a killer (assuming that killer is not Mac himself).

Short yet punchy chapters, fast paced narrative and an engaging story make Vendetta very readable and extremely enjoyable. I loved Dreda Say Mitchell’s characterisation of Mac and DI Wray, she puts her cast through the wringer and how they contend with their respective trauma and loss defines their actions through the book. Characters pushed to their limits take reckless chances which, in turn, leads to great entertainment for a reader.

I have read some great books this year but Vendetta stands out as one of the best. I tore through it and grudged any time that I had to tear myself away from Mac’s world. Also, I am glad the book was published this week as my review copy (and I) got soaked in an October downpour so it needs replaced. I want Vendetta sitting pretty on by bookshelf as it has earned its place as a ‘keeper’. Unsurprisingly I have awarded Vendetta a five star review.

VENDETTA by Dreda Say Mitchell is out now in paperback and eBook, published by Hodder, £6.99. For more information visit www.dredasaymitchell.com and follow Dreda on twitter @DredaMitchell

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