March 5

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Ian Patrick Robinson

I am inviting guests to select five books which they feel should be included in my Ultimate Library.  When I started this quest back in January all the Library shelves were bare so I recruited some guest curators to add the books – the only rules:

1 – Choose five books

2 – Only one book per decade over any five consecutive decades

I am told it is causing a great deal of soul searching.

So far we have had contributions from Sharon Bairden, Heather Martin and Chris McDonald – all their books are in the Library (here)

 

Today I am thrilled to be joined by Ian Patrick Robinson.  Returning visitors will know that Ian’s books have been firm favourites of mine and How the Wired Weep made it into my Top Ten reads of 2020.

Ian’s Batford books can be bought here: http://fahrenheit-press.com/authors_ian_patrick.html
or through his own website where you can also get the phenomonal How the Wired Weep: https://www.ianpatrick.co.uk/books

His new series (Nash and Moretti) can be found here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ian-Robinson/e/B08V37PGVX?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1614897678&sr=8-1

So I leave you in Ian’s company as he makes his five selections.

DECADES

My name’s Ian Patrick Robinson, a retired DS who now writes fiction. I wrote under the name Ian Patrick for my Batford series: Rubicon, Stoned Love and Fools Gold (Fahrenheit Press) as well as How the Wired Weep, which is a standalone of mine.

I have a new crime series out at the moment under the name Ian Robinson (The Book Folks) that follows DI Pippa Nash and DS Nick Moretti who investigate murder in London. Latent Damage is the first and Cover Blown is out on the 22nd February.

I try to bring authenticity to my work as well as a character driven storyline that draws on the experience of departments I worked within while in the police.

I thought the task of selecting five books across consecutive decades would be easy – I was wrong!

Here are my five choices starting at the latest and ending at the earliest. These aren’t my top five books, but I decided to use books I own as a physical copy. (There’s an anomaly later but I’m certain you’ll forgive me)

Each book explores a flawed character within a unique world. The very aim I try to achieve with my own novels. What this exercise has shown me is the influence literature has had on my own writing experience. Something I’d recognised but hadn’t fully appreciated.

As with all these things it’s subjective and anything I say here is my own opinion and to be taken as such.

Thank you, Gordon, for the invite and I’m very proud to be part of this venture.

 

2010 – 2020

Drive – James Sallis No Exit Press 2011

I’m using the film tie-in edition for this as it was published in 2011. Like the film of the same name this 191p novel is just superb. I watched the film before picking up the book and, as Rubicon has been optioned by the BBC for six-part TV series, I was interested to see how close they stuck to the book’s central lead. For me the book’s opening lines are incredible. I was drawn into the world of Driver (main lead) within the first paragraph. Trust me when I say it’s a skill to accomplish for any writer and Sallis just continues with this throughout. The tagline – GET IN. GET OUT. GET AWAY, is weaved throughout the book like a charm. It surfaces in Driver’s role as wheelsman for hire and in his personal life. It’s an emotional exploration of what it is to be human and how to survive in an uncertain world.

 

 

2000 – 2010

The Road – Cormac McCarthy – Picador 2006

This book blew my mind when I first read it. The setting is as desolate as the writing. McCarthy gets away with not using speech marks throughout the book and yet the story flows so well. The book explores the journey of father and son on a road following an apocalyptic event. McCarthy was asked what the event was, and his reply went something like – What happened doesn’t matter it’s what will they do now that does. To me it’s a masterclass in storytelling. I’ve sent this book to so many people and some get it, and others don’t. That’s the beauty of the prose. The flawed character for me was the father. Although he was doing all he could to protect his son McCarthy lets the reader know that the father is struggling in both mind and body and at some point, he will need to make a choice. Sometimes he will be right other times not so.

 

1990 – 2000

Fight Club – Chuck Palahniuk – Norton 1996

A different writer from the first two but a phenomenal one at that. In Fight Club Palahniuk explores masculinity. It examines our cultures obsession with fame, possessions, violence, recognition, ego, affirmation and mental health. I would hazard a guess it contains some of the most quoted lines from book and film for my generation. Jim Uhls wrote the script for the film and he did an excellent job of bringing Tyler Durden to life using many of the lines Palahniuk had written in the book. This book is probably one of my favourites as I own two signed editions of it. One is a limited edition that could only be purchased in the US and Canada. I begged a relative to get it for me.

The line from the book that has stayed with me is: It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we are free to do anything.

I was diagnosed with a rare form of muscular dystrophy around 2011 and had to retire from the police in 2015 when it became physically too much for me to manage. I have this quote on my desk and this book got me through some tough times. I’m now writing my ninth novel as a result. Books are powerful tools for hope and change. We should never underestimate a book’s worth at the right time in life.

 

1980 – 1989

The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro – Faber 1989

What a beautiful tale of unrequited love this book is. Narrated in the first person we’re taken on a journey of discovery through the eyes of Stevens an aging butler at Darlington hall in the fifties. I saw this as an exploration of love, friendship, missed opportunity, class and social conditioning. The setting is unique and in stark contrast to that of Du-Maurier’s Rebecca. I was taken to a time I didn’t know and felt alive within the world Steven’s inhabits. His dynamic with Miss Kenton is inspired and wonderfully told. A loving and sensual book that’s gentle on the mind but has stayed with me for so long. I read this again during the first lockdown for pure escapism.

 

1970 – 1979

Jaws – Peter Benchley – Bantam 1974

Last but by no means least, Jaws was probably one of the first books I appreciated reading as a youth. A change from Sven Hassell novels and I fell in love with the cover art. What boy wouldn’t fall for a book with the snout and teeth of a huge shark pointing towards a swimmer on the surface of the sea? This was another book I re-read during lockdown and I’m so glad I did. Here’s the thing with the book v the film – it’s not all about the shark! The shark story is secondary to the main tale of Chief Brody’s decaying marriage and how will he hold it all together while his wife has an affair? I found the book to be way better than the film for the human side of the narrative. It’s an exploration of one man’s grip on a life that’s falling apart. Benchley did a great job with this. Here’s the anomaly I mentioned in the beginning that you’ve forgotten if you’ve read this far – I don’t own a physical copy of Jaws only Jaws 2 written by Hank Searls.

 

 

Huge thanks to Ian for sharing these wonderful selections.  Linking them with the flawed character theme added an extra level of complexity to the challenge – I think if I asked some of my future guests to link their selections it may cause a bit of a backlash!

My personal completion ratio for these selections is just 20% – I read Jaws while I was in my mid-teens and was reading every horror novel I could get my paws on.

All five books will be added to The Library.

 

Decades Will Return

 

 

 

 

 

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December 31

My Favourite Books from 2020

Happy Hogmanay from a snowy Scotland.  As the sun sets for the final time on 2020 I think we can all agree that this has not been one of the better years.  Yet I look back on the previous 12 months with my bookish eyes and there were some great moments (mainly books I loved which offered escapism from our real-world dystopia).

Before everything stopped in March and we were no longer allowed out to play I had the joy of attending two events in Glasgow.  A special mention and my thanks to the Orenda authors who made the trip to Glasgow for the Orenda Roadshow.  Also to Elly Griffiths who hosted an afternoon tea and book reading in Waterstones in Sauchiehall Street.  Little did I know at the time that this would be the only events I would attend all year – both days were great fun and I took the teenager along too where he initially got a bit starstruck but also started his own collection of signed crime thrillers…I am so proud!

But I digress.  This post is my end of year wrap up.  The ten books which brought me the most joy and esacapism during the year.  Some were the right book at the right time. Some were great stories I could not put down and the others were titles I immediately put into the hands of someone else with a nod of “You MUST read this”.

 

10 – Curse The Day – Judith O’Reilly (Head of Zeus)

At a global tech gala hosted at the British Museum, scientist Tobias Hawke is due to unveil an astonishing breakthrough. His AI system appears to have reached consciousness, making Hawke the leading light in his field.

But when terrorists storm the building, they don’t just leave chaos in their wake. They seize Hawke’s masterwork, sparking a chain reaction of explosive events which could end the world as we know it.

Michael North, ex-assassin and spy-for-hire, must find the killers and recover the AI. But he can’t do it alone. Hawke’s wife, Esme, and teenage hacker, Fangfang, have their own reasons to help complete North’s mission – and together they unravel a dark and deadly conspiracy which stretches right to the top of the British elite.

Can North survive long enough to uncover the whole truth? Or is it already too late for humanity?

 

9 – Dark Highway – Lisa Gray (Thomas & Mercer)

An isolated highway in the middle of the desert—the perfect place to hide a secret.

LA-based artist Laurie Simmonds disappeared two months ago, her campervan abandoned on the isolated Twentynine Palms Highway, miles from anything—or anyone. With the police investigation stalled, her parents put all their faith in private investigator Jessica Shaw to find out the truth of what happened.

Jessica and her partner Matt Connor discover that two other women are missing, their disappearances connected to the same highway. When a link emerges between these women and a group of former college friends, Jessica feels certain they’re closing in on their target.

But no sooner do they follow this up than Laurie’s parents get spooked and drop the case. Jessica is blindsided but determined not to give up: three women are missing, and many more may be at risk. She can’t turn her back on them. But the more she pulls at the threads of the truth, the closer she comes to danger. Can she find out who’s behind these crimes before they come for her?

 

8 – Thirty-One Bones – Morgan Cry (Polygon)

When Daniella Coulstoun’s estranged mother Effie dies in Spain under suspicious circumstances, she feels it’s her duty to fly out for the funeral.

On arrival, Daniella is confronted by a dangerous group of expat misfits who claim that Effie stole huge sums of cash from them in a multi-million property scam. They want the money back and Daniella is on the hook for it.

When a suspicious Spanish detective begins to probe Effie’s death and a London gangster hears about the missing money, Daniella faces threats on every front. With no idea where the cash is and facing a seemingly impossible deadline, she quickly finds herself out of her depth and fighting for survival in a strange and terrifying world.

7 – One White Lie – Leah Konen (Penguin)

Imagine you’ve finally escaped the worst relationship of your life, running away with only a suitcase and a black eye – and you’re terrified what will happen if he finds you.

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

Imagine that they’re in trouble. That their livelihoods – even their lives – are at risk. They have a plan to keep all of you safe, but they just need you to tell one small lie.

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.

 

6 – The Resident – David Jackson (Viper)

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.

 

5 – A Dark Matter – Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books)

Meet the Skelfs: well-known Edinburgh family, proprietors of a long-established funeral-home business, and private investigators

When patriarch Jim dies, it s left to his wife Dorothy, daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah to take charge of both businesses, kicking off an unexpected series of events.

Dorothy discovers mysterious payments to another woman, suggesting that Jim wasn’t the husband she thought he was. Hannah s best friend Mel has vanished from university, and the simple adultery case that Jenny takes on leads to something stranger and far darker than any of them could have imagined.

As the women struggle to come to terms with their grief, and the demands of the business threaten to overwhelm them, secrets from the past emerge, which change everything

A compelling, tense and shocking thriller and a darkly funny and warm portrait of a family in turmoil, A Dark Matter introduces a cast of unforgettable characters, marking the start of an addictive new series.

 

4 – Stone Cold Trouble – Amer Anwar (Dialogue Books)

Trying – and failing – to keep his head down and to stay out of trouble, ex-con Zaq Khan agrees to help his best friend, Jags, recover a family heirloom, currently in the possession of a wealthy businessman. But when Zaq’s brother is viciously assaulted, Zaq is left wondering whether someone from his own past is out to get revenge.

Wanting answers and retribution, Zaq and Jags set out to track down those responsible. Meanwhile, their dealings with the businessman take a turn for the worse and Zaq and Jags find themselves suspected of murder.

It’ll take both brains and brawn to get themselves out of trouble and, no matter what happens, the results will likely be deadly. The only question is, whether it will prove deadly for them, or for someone else . . . ?

 

3 – How The Wired Weep – Ian Patrick (Independently Published)

The Wire crosses the pond.

Ed is a detective who handles informants. He recruits Ben, a young man, who is treading a dangerous path into the criminal underworld.
Ben’s unsure of where his loyalties lie. They have to find a way to work together despite their differences.

Both men are drawn into the world of Troy, a ruthless and brutal leader of an Organised Criminal Network.

Ben is torn between two worlds as he tries to walk the impossible line between criminality and helping Ed combat crime.
He lives in fear of discovery.

When your life is thrown upside down who do you turn to in order to survive?

Set against the backdrop of the 2012 Olympic Games, How the Wired Weep is a fast paced urban thriller where time is against both men as they attempt to serve their own agendas.

 

2 – Bobby March Will Live Forever – Alan Parks (Canongate)

WHO IS TO BLAME WHEN NO ONE IS INNOCENT?

The papers want blood.
The force wants results.
The law must be served, whatever the cost.

July 1973. The Glasgow drugs trade is booming and Bobby March, the city’s own rock-star hero, has just overdosed in a central hotel.

Alice Kelly is thirteen years old, lonely. And missing.

Meanwhile the niece of McCoy’s boss has fallen in with a bad crowd and when she goes AWOL, McCoy is asked – off the books – to find her.

McCoy has a hunch. But does he have enough time?

 

1 – King of the Crows – Russell Day (Fahrenheit Press)

2028, eight years after a pandemic swept across Europe, the virus has been defeated and normal life has resumed.

Memories of The Lockdown have already become clouded by myth, rumour and conspiracy. Books have been written, movies have been released and the names Robertson, Miller & Maccallan have slipped into legend. Together they hauled The Crows, a ragged group of virus survivors, across the ruins of London. Kept them alive, kept them safe, kept them moving.

But not all myths are true and not all heroes are heroes.

Questions are starting to be asked about what really happened during those days when society crumbled and the capital city became a killing ground.

Finally the truth will be revealed.

 

 

And there you have it – ten cracking books.  Bring on 2021 I am ready for new stories.

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September 21

How The Wired Weep – Ian Patrick

The Wire crosses the pond.

Ed is a detective who handles informants. He recruits Ben, a young man, who is treading a dangerous path into the criminal underworld.
Ben’s unsure of where his loyalties lie. They have to find a way to work together despite their differences.

Both men are drawn into the world of Troy, a ruthless and brutal leader of an Organised Criminal Network.

Ben is torn between two worlds as he tries to walk the impossible line between criminality and helping Ed combat crime.
He lives in fear of discovery.

When your life is thrown upside down who do you turn to in order to survive?

Set against the backdrop of the 2012 Olympic Games, How the Wired Weep is a fast paced urban thriller where time is against both men as they attempt to serve their own agendas.

 

My thanks to Emma at Damppebbles Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the tour for How The Wired Weep.  I purchased this book prior to accepting the invitation to join the tour.

 

I don’t really know where to start with this review – I loved this book and I am not sure how to convey some of the emotions I had while reading.

How The Wired Weep is an intense story, small core characters living on the front line of police and gang divide. The story is told from both viewpoints.  Ed is our police detective.  He has a contact within a gang who is feeding him important information.  He receives tip offs about where drugs are stashed, guns are moved around and other activities which the police will try to clamp down on.

Ed’s source is Ben (not his real name). Recently out of prison and keen not to return. He is an excellent driver and used by Troy (head of one of the London criminal networks) to run errands and pick up and deliver drugs and weapons.  Ben seems to be moving up in Troy’s trust as he gets more important tasks to complete. But the greater the task the greater the risk.

Ben drips info to Ed but is ever aware that to be caught means certain retribution.  Ed knows Ben is unreliable. He is a drug user and a criminal so it is a fine line the police need to tread to keep their source on the street while not digging too deep into what Ben may not be telling them about his daily activities.

Readers see Ed trying to keep Ben on yhe right side of the law where he can. We also see Ben’s reactions to Ed’s good intentions.  It is a fascinating dynamic and both men are deeply entrenched in the life of the other – even if they may not always see it as such.

Away from their interactions with each other Ian Patrick shows the intensity of Eds job against his home life. Ed and his wife are trying fertility treatment but the demands of work always seem to stop Ed having conversations with his wife. It is quite distressing to see her desperately trying to get their family together but Eds job getting in the way. Making this worse is that we also see how close Ed is to his colleagues and the trust and reliance they need to have in each other.  In terms of character development and authenticity everyone in this story feels solid and real – the life experiences we are seeing them handle make them so believable.

I can’t recommend this story enough. It is the police trying to manage the street but the street is too big and chaotic. It’s compelling and so vividly told that you will be hooked. Read this!

 

How The Wired Weep is available in paperback and digital format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08B64GXK1/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

 

 

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November 20

Stoned Love – Ian Patrick

Detective Sergeant Sam Batford has been lying low at a remote safe house in the highlands of Scotland. He’s doing his best not to attract the attention of the enemies he made, on both sides of the law, during his last under-cover operation but Batford knows he’s just killing time.

Inevitably the sharks begin to circle and as Batford is called back to front-line action in London he’s thrown into a deadly game of cat and mouse where it seems everyone is out to get him.

After having to endure a frustrating resolution to their previous undercover operation together DCI Klara Winter from the National Crime Agency is determined to prove that Batford has crossed the line into criminality and finally bring him to face justice.

All Sam Batford wants is to outwit his enemies long enough to stay alive and come out ahead of the game.

My thanks to Kelly at Love Books Group for the chance to join the blog tour.

 

After an outstanding debut appearance in Rubicon, Sam Batford returns for another outing in Ian Patrick’s Stoned Love. Another ripper lies ahead.

Batford has been hiding out in the Scottish Highlands, a terrific place to keep off radar. Events in Rubicon have made life tricky for Batford – he needs to lay low and shift some of the drugs he stole when we last met him.  But his escape to the country will be short lived as he is summoned back to London to take on a new assignment.

We are thrust straight into the action.  As Sam makes his way South he realises he is being followed and a pursuit through Edinbugh ensues. Ian Patrick writes a good chase scene and I felt the tension of Sam’s plight as I followed his dodging and weaving through the city.

On eventual arrival in London we see Batford being thrown back onto the front line. A new undercover assignment awaits and the chance for another profitable venture if he can pull it off. However there are dangers awaiting.  A contract on his life for crossing a drug dealer. His own police force have suspicion Sam is not being entirely honest with them. Plus Sam is haunted by ghosts from his past.

Keeping one step ahead of everyone around him will be a huge strain on Sam. Reading about Sam trying to keep one step ahead of everyone is extremely entertaining.  Once again Ian Patrick delivers an edge of your seat adventure – this is a terrific story and I highly recommend it to anyone that has ever enjoyed an action adventure tale.

More stories like this would be most welcome, this is a good’un.

 

 

Stoned Love is published by Fahrenheit Press and is available in paperback and digital format here: http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_stoned_love.html

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May 30

Rubicon – Ian Patrick

Two cops, both on different sides of the law – both with the same gangland boss in their sights.

Sam Batford is an undercover officer with the Metropolitan Police who will stop at nothing to get his hands on fearsome crime-lord Vincenzo Guardino’s drug supply.

DCI Klara Winter runs a team on the National Crime Agency, she’s also chasing down Guardino, but unlike Sam Batford she’s determined to bring the gangster to justice and get his drugs off the streets.

Set in a time of austerity and police cuts where opportunities for corruption are rife, Rubicon is a tense, dark thriller that is definitely not for the faint hearted.

 

My thanks to Fahrenheit Press for my review copy and to Emma Welton (Damppebbles) for the chance to join the Rubicon blog tour

 

On rare (but happy) occasions I sit down to write a review and cannot think of any way to convey just how much I loved the book I have just finished. Going forward I may refer to this predicament as The Rubicon Dilemma.

Rubicon is utterly brilliant and you should make sure you read this book as soon as possible.

Not sure what else I can add…

Okay some information about the book may help.  Sam Batford is working undercover for the Metropolitan Police, he is a wonderfully complex character who will do whatever it takes to complete his mission. But Sam is serving many masters and his motives and methods keep you guessing and you are never quite sure how he will behave next.

Sam is the main focus but we also keep track on DCI Winter – she wants drugs removed from the streets of London and will let nothing get in her way.  With the two leads operating in very different ways it is inevitable that Rubicon will deliver some delightfully twisted and tense situations for readers to enjoy.

Reading about Sam spinning so many plates and keeping up the facade of confident bravado is engrossing. Yet the readers also get sneak peeks at the pressures it brings on him when he is alone and his guard lowered.

There always seems to be something happening in Rubicon. Some books will see the story ebb and flow but with this story there never seemed a good point to put the book to the side (even when I *really* needed coffee). If you want a story which delivers dark, twisty entertainment then I cannot think of many finer examples. Ian Patrick delivers a wonderfully crafted tale of tension and intrigue and I just did not want to stop reading.

Top, top read. The purchase link is below – use it.

Rubicon is published by Fahrenheit Press and you can order a copy here: http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_rubicon.html

 

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