Black 13 – Adam Hamdy

It has been too long since I last had the opportunity to welcome a guest to my blog so I am utterly delighted to be joined today by Adam Hamdy, Co-Founder of the Capital Crime festival and author of the terrific Pendulum series.

There is a review of Black 13, Adam’s new thriller, further down this post. Before we get there I wanted to share this short Q&A, when you see which books and authors Adam makes reference to when contemplating his influences it may give you an indication why I was totally hooked on Black 13.

I would be keen to hear the novels which you feel shaped your own writing.

The authors who influenced me most growing up were John Wyndham, Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Alexander Dumas, Michael Crichton and Thomas Harris. More recently I’ve learned a great deal from the works of Anthony Horowitz, Mari Hannah, Deon Meyer, Kate Rhodes, Michael Connelly, Candice Fox, Peter James, David Mitchell and James Patterson. Individual novels that really stand out for me are The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, The Stand by Stephen King, Crimson Lake by Candice Fox, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, and Black Sunday by Thomas Harris.

What is it about each of those particular books which makes them memorable. Is it a plot device, the twist, a character journey?

The Count of Monte Cristo is a brilliant tale of revenge. Neuroscience is unlocking the secrets of our brains, and it seems that humans are born with an intrinsic sense of right and wrong. Studies carried out on groups of babies show they have a strong sense of justice. The righting of wrongs appeals to some ancient part of our minds and it may be why there is such a strong appetite for revenge stories in literature and on screen. The Count of Monte Cristo is a vengeance epic, packed with twists, turns and adventure. The scale and scope of The Stand was simply mind-blowing when I first read it as a teenager. It redefined what a book could be for me. I love Crimson Lake by Candice Fox. The story centres on two misfit investigators and the characterisations and their journeys were brilliantly executed. Cloud Atlas is a work of immense ambition. The plot device of multiple timelines all linked by an idea of past lives repeating the same journeys resonated because of the way David Mitchell brought the characters to life. Epic and imaginative, it’s one of my all-time favourites. Black Sunday was another book I read as a teenager. It’s a brilliant study of a man who perceives himself to have been wronged and the devastating consequences of his misguided quest for vengeance. Thomas Harris handles the ticking clock and the action brilliantly.

Which recurring characters do you look forward to reuniting with?

I’m currently working on the next book in the Private series with James Patterson, so I’m somewhat biased towards Jack Morgan, the main protagonist of the series. I’m also a big fan of Roy Grace, Peter James’ wonderful detective and I love Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch.

“What If” time…You receive a panicked telephone call from the director of a large book festival – travel carnage has meant all the guests for one panel will not make the event. You need to step in and discuss the works of one author – is there one body of work you could wax lyrical about to save the day?

I’d do a pretty good job with the Private series by James Patterson. I also have a good grasp of most of the authors I’ve mentioned above, but if I had to pick one, it would be Tom Clancy. Clancy’s American editor recently posted on Twitter challenging people to spot a mistake in the blurb of the most recent continuation novel, and I got it immediately. I devoured Clancy’s books as a teenager and have uber-nerd level knowledge of his work.

Many thanks to Adam for taking time to answer my questions.

The timing of Adam’s guest appearance today is not entirely coincidental as his new book, Black 13, is due to release next week. Publication date is 23 January. Thanks to the kindness of his publishers I received a review copy and I share my thoughts below.

Black 13 – Adam Hamdy

Black 13 is the brilliant first novel in the Scott Pearce series from Adam Hamdy. In this addictive and fast-paced thriller, ex-MI6 officer Pearce is about to show us that in a world where there is no loyalty to the nation state, it’s time to burn the espionage rule book.

An exiled agent. A growing threat. A clandestine war.

The world is changing beyond recognition.
Radical extremists are rising and seek to enforce their ideology globally.
Governments, the military and intelligence agencies are being outmanoeuvred at every step. Borders are breaking down. Those in power are puppets.
The old rules are obsolete. To fight this war a new doctrine is needed.
In a world where nothing is at it seems, where trust is gone, one man will make the difference.
Meet Ex-MI6 agent and man in exile, Scott Pearce.
It’s time to burn the espionage rule book.
Watch Pearce light the fire.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy of Black 13 and to Tracy Fenton a Compulsive Readers for the chance to join the Black 13 blog tour.

As we waved goodbye to 2019 and ushered in 2020 I was reading a very entertaining crime thriller. Just to be clear – I wasn’t reading as the bells chimed the New Year – the book I was enjoying was started on Hogmanay and I was about a quarter of the way through it. Well, one week later I was STILL a quarter of the way through that book as on New Year’s Day I picked up Black 13 by Adam Hamdy and I got hooked. Every opportunity I had to sit down with my book it was Black 13 I was seeking out – what a start to 2020’s reading!

Black 13 is an action packed adventure, the kind of tale which zips from action sequence to action sequence and you never feel the lead characters are safe. It is such a refreshing change of pace when I have been on a run of reading police procedurals and whodunnit murder tales. Suddenly I am caught up in a book where mid-conversation of the two parties may whip out a concealed blade and try to wipe out the other…this never seemed to happen to Inspector Morse. The unpredictability was very welcome.

Black 13 kicks off with an undercover operative trying to infiltrate a secure site. He is after information for his employers and as a highly skilled former operative he is confident in his abilities. However all does not go to plan and things do not end well. New talent is required and that is were Scott Pearce comes in.

Pearce has been working undercover for months but his work is undone in a matter of moments when a British lawyer tracks him down to the remote tourist spot in the southern hemisphere. The lawyer has been followed and led some very dangerous people to Scott’s door. Fortunately for Pearce is is also a “very dangerous” person and is able to escape and place some distance between his unknown pursuers and himself. But now Pearce needs answers and the lawyer is the only person who can provide them, can he get her safely back to the UK? That’s what it is going to take as until he sees her home in one piece the lawyer isn’t prepared to risk losing her new asset.

What follows is a relentless chase, a deadly game of cat and mouse where Pearce and his trusted colleagues must take on unknown enemies who have a reach and resources far beyond what a few lone operatives can muster. But Pearce is the best at what he does and he takes on everything that they throw at him.

As I mentioned, Black 13 was the first book I read this year and it was a real page turner. A summer blockbuster in the waiting, this is a must read for anyone who enjoys a thrilling action packed adventure.

Black 13 is published on 23 January 2020 by Macmillan and can be ordered in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook format. You can order your copy through this link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Scott-Pearce-Adam-Hamdy-ebook/dp/B07TGJQTJY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1578872770&sr=1-2

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November 7

Spare Me The Truth – CJ Carver

Dan Forrester, piecing his life back together after the tragic death of his son, is approached in a supermarket by a woman who tells him everything he remembers about his life – and his son – is a lie.

Grace Reavey, stricken by grief, is accosted at her mother’s funeral. The threat is simple: pay the staggering sum her mother allegedly owed, or lose everything.

Lucy Davies has been forced from the Met by her own maverick behaviour. Desperate to prove herself in her new rural post, she’s on the hunt for a killer – but this is no small town criminal.

Plunged into a conspiracy that will test each of them to their limits, these three strangers are brought together in their hunt for the truth, whatever it costs. And as their respective investigations become further and further entwined, it becomes clear that at the centre of this tangled web is a threat more explosive than any of them could have imagined.

I love thrillers like Spare Me The Truth. We have three seemingly unconnected characters and we follow their stories knowing that somehow their paths will cross. Three central protagonists also heightens the possibility that not everyone will come through the story unscathed. Will they all turn out to be victims? Is one of the characters going to cross another? What if one character can only achieve the outcome they want at the cost of misery to another? But as a reader, what I really need to know is: can the author juggle three big storylines and keep me reading?

Well if that author is CJ Carver then the answer to that last question is most certainly YES. Spare Me The Truth was an absolute blast to read.

From the opening chapters I was hooked on the dilemmas and confusion that Grace was facing. She had just lost her mother but a stranger approached her suggesting that her mother owed a lot of money – Grace had to make good on the debt. Grace realised that she knew little about the life that her mother may have led and now has to find a way to contend with a huge problem that she has inherited.

Dan Forrester is a tragic character. He lost his young son and the trauma of the incident has also robbed Dan of many of his memories – a defence mechanism to allow him to cope with the tragedy. Dan is getting by and slowly rebuilding his life until one day a chance encounter with a strange woman will lead him to question much of what he believes to be the truth. The woman clearly knows Dan well but he has no idea who she may be – how much faith can Dan place in the memories that his family and friends have helped him to rebuild?

Also integral to the story in Spare Me The Truth is Lucy Davis. A cop with a troubled past, she is keen to rebuild her reputation and regain the faith of her colleagues. Lucy believes she is on the trail of a killer, can she find the evidence she needs to prove she is correct and can she ensure that there are no more innocent deaths?

Spare Me The Truth was perfect escapism. I got drawn into the story and did not want to stop reading, this is exactly what I look for in a book!

Spare Me The Truth is published by Zaffre and is available in paperback and digital formats.

You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spare-Me-Truth-explosive-Forrester-ebook/dp/B01AC2JERU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1478545908&sr=8-2&keywords=cj+carver

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October 10

Last Days of the Condor – James Grady

Set in the savage streets and Kafkaesque corridors of Washington, DC, shot through with sex and suspense, with secret agent tradecraft and full-speed action, with hunters and the hunted, Last Days of the Condor is the bullet-paced, ticking clock saga of America on the edge of the most startling spy world revolution since 9/11.

My thanks to the team at No Exit Press for my review copy.

The press release for Last Days of the Condor suggests that this is a story for fans of Harlan Coben, David Baldacci and Homeland. Of the three the Homeland comparison was the best fit for Last Days – this felt like a spy story or counter espionage drama with plenty of action and drama to keep me reading.

The story follows Vin (Condor) he is a former agent/operative who has been retired from action. He survives daily routine by ingesting a cocktail of drugs but his skills and training are hard wired into his very being and he is ever alert to the possibility of threat. As we join Vin at the opening of Last Days of the Condor he is travelling home, we share his view of the street and understand how he assesses potential threats. He sees danger everywhere and is waiting to be killed – it is a very effective opening and sets the tone for the rest of the book. Vin believes he is being followed. On returning home he is checking his house for intruders when there is a loud thumping at the door – the reader cannot help buy into Vin’s conviction that he is about to die.

James Grady has penned a thrilling adventure – action sequences come thick and fast and we find that Vin is a dangerous person to be seen with. Despite his paranoia and lack of resources Vin is a worthy opponent and when he finds himself cornered his old survival skills kick in.

Caught up in Vin’s bad day is Faye. She is an active agent who had been sent to monitor Vin and ensure a once lethal force was adapting to civilian life. Faye can call upon her employers to assist when Vin comes under attack, however, can she be sure that she can trust those sent to help?

A slick thriller and a real page turner – after a run of more fantastical reads this was nicely grounded and all too realistic.

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