Lori Anderson – Grab This Book

Deep Dark Night – Steph Broadribb

Fearless Florida bounty-hunter Lori Anderson travels to Chicago to trap the head of a notorious crime family, in a high-stakes, nail-biting mission that sees her trapped in one of the city’s tallest buildings during a blackout…

A city in darkness. A building in lockdown. A score that can only be settled in blood…

Working off the books for FBI Special Agent Alex Monroe, Florida bounty-hunter Lori Anderson and her partner, JT, head to Chicago. Their mission: to entrap the head of the Cabressa crime family. The bait: a priceless chess set that Cabressa is determined to add to his collection.

An exclusive high-stakes poker game is arranged in the penthouse suite of one of the city’s tallest buildings, with Lori holding the cards in an agreed arrangement to hand over the pieces. But, as night falls and the game plays out, stakes rise and tempers flare.

When a power failure plunges the city into darkness, the building goes into lockdown. But this isn’t an ordinary blackout, and the men around the poker table aren’t all who they say they are. Hostages are taken, old scores resurface and the players start to die.

And that’s just the beginning…

My thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for my review copy and also to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the chance to host today’s leg of the blog tour.

Bounty-Hunter Lori Anderson returns for a fourth outing in Deep Dark Night. She has her partner, JT, alongside her and the kick-ass duo are going to need to be at their very best as they are working off the radar to assist an FBI agent to bring down the head of one of Chicago’s crime families.

If you haven’t had the chance to read any of Broadribb’s previous books in the Lori Anderson series you need not fret as Deep Dark Night works extremely well as both stand alone thriller and a great introduction to the series. I am sure there will be many first time readers who will love Deep Dark Night as much as I did and will take the opportunity to catch up on the first three books. A good decision!

But what to expect from Deep Dark Night? Does Agatha Christie meets Die Hard sound intriguing?

Lori and JT find themselves involved in a high stakes poker game. The game is hosted by Cabressa, gangster and general bad guy, the other players are equally dislikable types who can afford the big purse needed to have a seat at this game. The event is being held in the penthouse suite in a Chicago skyscraper. Lori has a seat at the table so she can stake a valuable set of chess pieces which Cabressa badly wants. The chess pieces and Lori’s buy-in purse is provided by the FBI. They will be watching through high tech surveillance equipment and Lori feels safer knowing they have her back.

Unfortunately things do not go to plan. Citywide blackout sees the penthouse going into lockdown. The Panic Room features in the penthouse are activated. Air conditioning, lighting and temperature controls are impacted. Nobody can get in and, more importantly, nobody can get out. So when a recorded voice addresses all the occupants of the penthouse and accuses each of harbouring a dark secret. Tensions are high. The voice announces one of their number is a police informant, another is a murderer and most alarmingly one is HERRON. A rival gangster who has been undermining many of Cabressa’s business opportunities. The voice commands the poker players work out which of their number is the mysterious Herron. If they fail the room they are locked in will lose light then air and they will all suffocate within 90 minutes.

A whodunnit (whoissit?) In the style of Christie. But the shades of Die Hard creep in too as we have 10 desperate individuals fighting for their lives in a skyscraper. The body count will be high.

At this point I should switch the alliteration button on. Deep Dark Night is a pulsating page turner, a rip roaring race against time, a breathtaking blockbuster of a book. You get the gist?

I am very much a fan of this kind of action adventure tale. The mysterious Herron figure remains undetected for a long time but several likely candidates emerge, not least Lori who is a stranger to all the other players and very much a possible candidate. One thing is certain – Herron isn’t surviving the encounter so nobody can risk being accused of being Herron.

Great fun to read. Brilliantly paced and decidedly nasty in places – Deep Dark Night is another great read from Steph Broadribb. Give it a go and join #TeamLori

Deep Dark Night is published by Orenda Books and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XBWTW6X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

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January 7

Deep Down Dead – Steph Broadribb

Lori Anderson is as tough as they come, managing to keep her career as a fearless Florida bounty hunter separate from her role as single mother to nine-year-old Dakota, who suffers from leukaemia. But when the hospital bills start to rack up, she has no choice but to take her daughter along on a job that will make her a fast buck. And that’s when things start to go wrong.

The fugitive she’s assigned to haul back to court is none other than JT, Lori’s former mentor – the man who taught her everything she knows … the man who also knows the secrets of her murky past. Not only is JT fighting a child exploitation racket operating out of one of Florida’s biggest theme parks, Winter Wonderland, a place where ‘bad things never happen’, but he’s also mixed up with the powerful Miami Mob. With two fearsome foes on their tails, just three days to get JT back to Florida, and her daughter to protect, Lori has her work cut out for her. When they’re ambushed at a gas station, the stakes go from high to stratospheric, and things become personal.

My thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for my review copy and the opportunity to join the blog tour.

There has been a real buzz of anticipation around Deep Down Dead. Early reviews were glowing and a glance at the back cover of the book lets us see over 2 dozen authors singing the praises of Steph Broadribb and her debut thriller.

I now know why – it is an absolute corker of a read.

Perfectly paced. Edgy. Tense and with a lead character you will want to root for. Deep Down Dead delivers the thrills and keeps you reading, it will grip you as it has that elusive “one more chapter” magic.

Deep Down Dead introduces Lori Anderson. She is a bounty hunter working out of Florida. She is also mother to 9 year old Dakota who is recovering from serious illness and has accrued some sizeable medical bills for her mother to contend with.

Lori needs work but the only bounty available is going to be challenging – if she accepts the job then she needs to bring in a fugitive called JT (the man that trained her). Lori is successful as she has followed the lessons that JT taught her, but it is a shock to her to learn that he has broken his own personal code and fallen foul of the law. Can she outfox her tutor, track him down and bring him to the police? If she does then she needs to do it with Dakota in tow as her baby-sitter has just left town. Taking a child to track down a fugitive should be a no-no but Lori knows JT of old and knows that he would never harm her daughter. Would he?

Lori’s trip to recover JT is going to be fraught with danger. She will need to be at her kick-ass best to keep one step ahead of the enemy that she doesn’t even know is looking for her. But Lori is smart, feisty and packs a taser which will drop anyone in their tracks…you just know it is going to get messy.

Deep Down Dead was practically inhaled once I started reading. I usually juggle 3 or 4 books at once but when I began to read this nothing else got a look-in until I had finished. Utterly captivated. Nice work Steph, I am ready for more from Lori when you get a chance…

Deep Down Dead is published by Orenda Books and is available in paperback and digital format now. You can order copies by clicking here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deep-Down-Dead-Lori-Anderson/dp/1910633550/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483750394&sr=8-1&keywords=deep+down+dead

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October 7

Deep Down Dead: Steph Broadribb – Countdown

If you want to write then you should read…oft quoted words of wisdom. So imagine what may happen if one of the most respected crime fiction bloggers turned her hand to writing a thriller.

Now imagine a publisher with a phenomenal drive, an uncanny eye for spotting amazing stories and the desire to ensure these wonderful stories find their way into the hands of readers.

Now imagine what may happen if these two ever got together!

DEEP DOWN DEAD by Steph Broadribb (published by Orenda Books) will release on October 15th and I cannot wait!

Here is today’s teaser extract from Deep Down Dead…

Too close to punch, I hooked my right leg around his left, and pulled hard to bring him down. He was too quick. One solid punch to my ribs pushed the breath right out of me. I gasped, doubled over, gulping for air. I clawed at my pocket for the pepper spray. Got a hold of it and pulled it out. The can felt cold, slippery. I couldn’t grip it. Heard it hit the ground.

Failed.

Deep Down Dead is published by Orenda Books on 15 October 2016 and you can order a copy here.

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