Rome – Grab This Book

A Cold Flame – Aidan Conway

Five men burnt alive.
In the crippling heat of August in Rome, a flat goes up in flames, the doors sealed from the outside. Five illegal immigrants are trapped and burnt alive – their charred bodies barely distinguishable amidst the debris.

One man cut into pieces.
When Detective Inspectors Rossi and Carrara begin to investigate, a terror organisation shakes the city to its foundations. Then a priest is found murdered and mutilated post-mortem – his injuries almost satanic in their ferocity.

One city on the edge of ruin.
Rome is hurtling towards disaster. A horrifying pattern of violence is beginning to emerge, with a ruthless killer overseeing its design. But can Rossi and Carrara stop him before all those in his path are reduced to ashes?

My thanks to Finn at Harper Collins for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

Another chance for readers to head to Rome and join Aidan Conway’s investigative duo Rossi and Carrara. We first encountered the pair in the excellent A Known Evil and I have been looking forward to seeing what A Cold Flame would bring.

Housekeeping first – reading A Known Evil is not an essential requirement before picking up A Cold Flame. Both books can easily be enjoyed as stand alone reads, however, as is the way of recurring characters there are comments and discussions which will mean more to returning readers. Both books make for great reading so returning readers will enjoy A Cold Flame just as much as those discovering the series for the first time will.

This is another tightly plotted police procedural and I got totally drawn into the investigation. I love a story which allows us to track the progress the investigating officers are making, watch them uncover clues and follow the leads which draw them closer to the criminals. What makes A Cold Flame more entertaining is that we get multiple viewpoints and narratives so readers can see what is happening before the cops.

As a fan of recurring characters in my reading I particularly like that Aidan Conway is brining Rossi and Carrara to life for me. They are people away from the crime scenes and I want to learn more about them…I particularly want to eat in the same places as they do as their dining choices always sound delicious!

A Cold Flame features a number of attacks on citizens of Rome. However the victims are not native Romans but immigrants to the city. A plot which sadly seems too possible in current times. It made the book more relevant and engaging than many of the stories I have read of late and I was often unsettled by what I was reading. I love when a book engages me in this way – you know the author has hit the correct balance.

In short – another gripping thriller which I thoroughly enjoyed. The characters and location made the story shine and there is a cracking read waiting for you here.

A Cold Flame is published by Killer Reads and you can order a digital copy now with the paperback due in September. Get your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cold-Flame-gripping-thriller-Detective-ebook/dp/B077SK69P8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532205084&sr=1-1&keywords=a+cold+flame

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March 9

A Known Evil – Aidan Conway

A serial killer stalks the streets of Rome…

A gripping debut crime novel and the first in a groundbreaking series, from a new star in British crime fiction. Perfect for fans of Ian Rankin.

A city on lockdown.
In the depths of a freakish winter, Rome is being torn apart by a serial killer dubbed The Carpenter intent on spreading fear and violence. Soon another woman is murdered – hammered to death and left with a cryptic message nailed to her chest.

A detective in danger.
Maverick Detective Inspectors Rossi and Carrara are assigned to the investigation. But when Rossi’s girlfriend is attacked – left in a coma in hospital – he becomes the killer’s new obsession and his own past hurtles back to haunt him.

A killer out of control.
As the body count rises, with one perfect murder on the heels of another, the case begins to spiral out of control. In a city wracked by corruption and paranoia, the question is: how much is Rossi willing to sacrifice to get to the truth?

My thanks to Sahina and the Killer Reads team for my review copy and the chance to close out the blog tour.

A Known Evil takes readers to Rome and drops us straight into the action. A killer is at loose in the Eternal City and detectives Rossi and Cararra are leading the investigation, we shall follow their progress as they hunt for The Carpenter.

With an early murder in the story to catch my attention it was not long before the stakes were raised higher – the killer strikes again and leaves another damaged body for the police to find. A cryptic note left on the bodies (written in English) gives the Italian police something to ponder and it seems the murderer may even be taunting them.

But everything is going to become much more personal for Rossi when his girlfriend is attacked and left in a coma. The couple’s relationship had seemed rocky in the lead-up to the incident and the long hours Rossi was working had been creating issues. However, when his involvement with a victim means Rossi will be sidelined from the investigation the story starts to evolve and move on from “just” a serial killer tale to a much bigger and more commanding drama.

Another murder victim is identified as the daughter of a prominent member of the justice system. The father of the victim mourns her death but Rossi suspects there may be more to the murder than initially meets the eye and he is not convinced the grieving father is sharing all his suspicions with the police. Twists and turns will follow and the investigation will become extremely political and some sinister players will emerge onto the scene.

A Known Evil is very cleverly crafted – starting out on relatively familiar territory and letting the reader enjoy a murder investigation but scaling up the scope of the story as the book unfolds. There are some tension filled moments, car chases through the tight city streets and the story rocks along very nicely (aided by short and snappy chapters which make ‘one more chapter’ so much easier to accept).

Crime fans who enjoy a political wrangle in their stories, conspiracy lovers and anyone that enjoys an engaging and clever drama – here is your next read.

A Known Evil is published by Killer Reads. The digital version is available now and the paperback shall be available in April. You can order copies here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Known-Evil-gripping-thriller-Detective/dp/0008281173/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1520552269&sr=1-1

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February 11

The Extremist – Nadia Dalbuono

On a hot summer’s morning in Rome, three public places — a McDonald’s, a preschool, and a café — come under siege from a group of terrorists who appear to be Islamic extremists. When word comes through that the terrorists will only negotiate with Detective Leone Scamarcio, no one is more surprised than Scamarcio himself.

The young man with frightened eyes who speaks to Scamarcio seems anything but in control. He says that Scamarcio is the only person he can trust to care about the truth. Then he gives Scamarcio an unusual list of demands, including that everything must be done without police or intelligence involvement, and within twenty-four hours — or the hostages die.

With his face on every TV screen, and with all of Italy on alert, Scamarcio must race against the clock and elude the grasp of the increasingly unhinged chief of intelligence, Colonel Scalisi, to meet the terrorists’ demands, and to uncover the truth behind the attacks. But, as Scamarcio follows the young man’s clues, he finds that every question seems to turn up five more, and, as usual for this son-of-a-Mafioso policeman, nothing is as it seems.

My thanks to Adam Howard at Scribe for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

The Extremist stars with an explosion of horror as the reader is witness to a terror siege in Rome. One of the terrorists makes a demand – he wants to speak with Detective Leone Scamarcio and nobody else will do. This is something of a shock to Scamarcio who is required to walk into the heart of the action with no protection, no back up and no idea why he has been summoned.

Even after speaking with a nervous terrorist Scamarcio is unclear exactly what is expected of him – he does know that his own unique background (a cop with mafia connections) is the reason he was sought out.

Scamarcio is set a challenge, recover a box from a garden far from where the action is taking place then come back and speak with the terrorist again. Not easy – as soon as he leaves the scene of the siege Scamarcio is expected to update his colleagues but he is not to speak of the task he has been set and to share the detail means he will not have the chance to get to that garden…he needs to escape from the police and go it alone.

The situation in Rome is critical and Scamarcio is racing against time to meet the deadline he has been set – if he fails then innocent lives will be lost. The challenges he faces will put him in peril more than once, he cannot trust anyone and it seems the terrorists may also be pawns in a more deadly game. You need to keep your wits about you whilst reading The Extremist, it gets twisty.

The Extremist is the fourth Leone Scamarcio thriller. Do you need to have read the earlier novels? Nope….but there is a lot going on in The Extremist and I suspect that returning readers will get great enjoyment from seeing how the characters move on while new readers get a high tempo adventure.

I usually have three or more books on the go at one time, while reading The Extremist I only wanted to focus on this one story. It is fast and furious and with many of the characters not being open with Scamarcio and playing their own game it needed my full attention to ensure I was keeping up with events.

I do enjoy when I can get my teeth into a gripping tale, when characters will have me questioning their motives and especially when I cannot predict where a story is heading. The Extremist was an intense read but I was hooked so I am happy.

The Extremist is published by Scribe and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Extremist-Leone-Scamarcio-Nadia-Dalbuono-ebook/dp/B077Y7DSP5/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1518302325&sr=1-3

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