Zaffre – Grab This Book

The Silent Man – David Fennell

A father is murdered in the dead of night in his London home, his head wrapped tightly in tape, a crude sad face penned over his facial features. But the victim’s only child is left alive and unharmed at the scene.

Met Police detectives Grace Archer and Harry Quinn have more immediate concerns. Notorious gangster Frankie White has placed a target on Archer’s back, and there’s no one he won’t harm to get to her.

Then a second family is murdered, leaving young Uma Whitmore as the only survivor.

With a serial killer at large, DI Archer and DS Quinn must stay alive long enough to find the connection between these seemingly random victims. Can they do it before another child is orphaned?

My thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the opportunity to join the Blog Tour and to the publishers (Zaffre) for my review copy.

I read a lot of good books but The Silent Man is a great book and I had a blast following the action.

DI Grace Archer is a woman with a whole world of problems. She’s had a long-standing enemy in London gangster Frankie “Snow” White and things appear to be coming to boiling point. Having not read the previous books* I am presuming past events have seen Frankie White blaming Archer for an incident which caused him a great deal of pain and cannot be undone (no spoilers). Frankie White is gunning for Grace Archer and nothing is going to get in his way.

From the early pages of The Silent Man the readers see the ruthless nature of White, the extent of his reach and the sinister methods he is prepared to adopt to get to Grace and her family. David Fennell creates tension right from the very start of this book and I found myself considering every new character as a possible threat to Archer. It’s a highly effective way to ensure I kept reading – I want to pick up a book and feel I am living the story and that I care about what happens to the characters, Fennell nailed that in The Silent Man.

Archer is a likeable character, a good cop and has a loyal partner at her side. You’ll root for her to escape the attentions and machinations of Frankie White and you’ll will her to track down the dangerous killer who has been targeting people in their homes. Wait, what killer? There’s not been talk of a killer so far…

Yes indeed – not content with pitching Archer against her nemesis the author also has a really nasty serial killer on the prowl and he’s the titular Silent Man. The killer operates under the cover of darkness, entering the home of his victim, incapacating them and leaving their body with masking tape wrapped around their head and a distinctive image penned onto the tape. The police don’t have much to work on but their first victim wasn’t living an angelic life so their initial focus is on people who may have been holding a grudge.

Conducting a murder investigation while avoiding the increasingly direct and dangerous attacks from Frankie White will keep Archer stretched and stressed. There’s so much going on that readers will be kept breathlessly entertained. It’s books like The Silent Man that I love to read: no pacing issues, no plots which feel like padding, no messing about – this is a full throttle thriller and I’m very much here for it.

If you’re a crime fiction fan and you want a stone cold page-turner to keep you entertained then you should look no further than The Silent Man.

* I said I hadn’t read the earlier books by David Fennell – I am righting that wrong immediately. I have a copy of The Art of Death sitting by my bed which I will be starting just as soon as I finish this review.

The Silent Man is published by Zaffre and you can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-silent-man/david-fennell/9781804181737

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December 12

The Christmas Murder Game – A.K. Benedict

Twelve clues. Twelve keys. Twelve days of Christmas. But who will survive until Twelfth Night?

Lily Armitage never intended to return to Endgame House – the grand family home where her mother died twenty-one Christmases ago. Until she receives a letter from her aunt, asking her to return to take part in an annual tradition: the Christmas Game.

The challenge? Solve twelve clues, to find twelve keys. The prize? The deeds to the manor house. Lily has no desire to win the house. But her aunt makes one more promise: The clues will also reveal who really killed Lily’s mother all those years ago.

So, for the twelve days of Christmas, Lily must stay at Endgame House with her estranged cousins and unravel the riddles that hold the key not just to the family home, but to its darkest secrets. However, it soon becomes clear that her cousins all have their own reasons for wanting to win the house – and not all of them are playing fair.

As a snowstorm cuts them off from the village, the game turns deadly. Soon Lily realises that she is no longer fighting for an inheritance, but for her life. This Christmas is to die for… let the game begin.

My thanks to Eleanor Stammeijer at Bonnier Books for my review copy.

If you are thinking of gifting a book to someone this festive period and you know they are a fan of classic crime, locked room mysteries or love a story with some puzzles to work on as the story unfolds then AK Benedict’s The Christmas Murder Game is the book you should be wrapping for that person. If you are also a fan of those things then I would recommend getting a second copy for yourself. This one is FUN.

Okay maybe it isn’t fun for the victims in the story, all members of the same family who have been called to the family home, Endgame House, after the death of the family matriach. In years gone by all the children in the family would take part in the Christmas Game where clues were provided and had to be solved with presents at stake. Lily loved the games and knew Endgame House so well that she could easily solve the clues, however, she didn’t enjoy the tempers from some of the family members who fared less well so she shrunk into the background and let others claim the prizes.

Years earlier Lily vowed never to return to Endgame House after her mother died, leaving Lily to fend for herself at far too young an age. But it was her aunt’s dying wish that all the family (Lily included) return to Endgame House to pay the Christmas Game one last time as her death meant someone had to win the Game to win Endgame House. With a huge ancestral home going to the winner the former hotel is filled with squabbling kin who all want to best the other.

There will be daily clues and the chance to win keys. The correct key will open the door to a secret room hidden within Endgame House and for the winner the whole house. Lawyers have been consulted and the competition will be legally binding but only the family and a housekeeper will be resident during the twelve days of Christmas while the game plays out. The fact the guests all arrive as a heavy blizzard descends means they will all be trapped within Endgame House irrespective of how the rules were devised. Nobody can get in, nobody can get out so when one of their number is found dead there is only one possible truth – there is a killer in their midst who will stop at nothing to win the Christmas Game and take ownership of Endgame House.

AK Benedict has worked wonders with this story. It’s a Christie-esk murder tale. It’s Doctor Who’s Robots of Death (without the robots) and it’s a puzzle fan’s dream as there are anagram challenges and christmas books to identify which the author has peppered through each “day of Christmas”. I will confess to doing badly at those challenges but I had lots of fun trying (stress trying) to do well!

Lily shines through this story and she drives the narration. There are unexplained and unusual incidents, creepy noises from empty parts of the house and a murderer in their midst but Lily also has to contend with a return to the place of her mother’s death and that is hitting much harder than she had expected. Lily is beautifully written and I got much more invested into her plight than I ever did with the procession of characters Dame Agatha tripped out in her English Country Manor tales.

The Christmas Murder Game has the feel of a classic crime thriller but is very much a modern tale – when a Playstation was mentioned at one point it made me realise this wasn’t a book written in the Golden Age of crime fiction though I had that sepia tinted impression a number of times.

This is the perfect time of year to be picking up this book but don’t take too long and risk spoilers, the fun really is in not knowing where this story will take you. Charming with some nasty murders – great fun!

The Christmas Murder Game is published by Bonnier Zaffre and is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-christmas-murder-game/alexandra-benedict/9781838775384

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August 18

Control – Hugh Montgomery

Not all doctors are heroes . . .

Renowned surgeon Michael Trenchard locks his office door and prepares for a relaxing evening. But what follows is a living nightmare when later he is discovered in a locked-in coma, the victim of an auto-erotic asphyxiation.

It is left to Doctor Kash Devan, Trenchard’s young protégé, to uncover the truth. And what he discovers is chilling . . .

In his ruthless pursuit of wealth and success, Trenchard has left a trail of wrecked lives, and angry people, behind him. Which of Trenchard’s victims hated him so much that they wanted to ruin not only his reputation, but his life as well?

I received a review copy from the publisher. My thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the chance to join the blog tour.

There are far too few hospital based thrillers these days. I love a medical thriller and, like many others, I grew up reading Robin Cook novels so I knew I could rely upon a new hospital drama arriving once a year. Then the hospitals seemed to fade from the pages of crime novels (other than the morgues) and the courtrooms took over. So when I read the blurb for Control and realised the lead character was a junior doctor and the victim was his boss I had high hopes. I was not disappointed.

Control was exactly what I have been missing. A tense thriller set in a hospital where doctors and nurses are the key players and the patients could be suspects, witnesses or even a killer. Nobody is above suspicion and there are some very nasty twists in the tale to make readers aware as to how much you can be at the mercy of your medical staff.

Control had me hooked. The narrative is driven by Kash, a young doctor who finds himself working under the powerful and influential surgeon Michael Trenchard. Trenchard is very much the man in control of his staff but there are signs that his authority is not welcomed by everyone.

The early part of the story settles the reader into life at the hospital. Kash is run ragged coping with all his responsibilities and there seems little time for himself. Yet he finds a way to balance life with the unrelenting work demands and we see how young doctors are expected to cope in the modern NHS.

But before we get too comfortable with hospital life a dramatic incident. Trenchard is found in his office, barely alive, and it appears he has accidentally lost control during an auto-erotic asphyxiation. Kash is one of the first on scene and tries to save his mentor’s reputation but his efforts will be largely futile.

Kash refuses to believe Trenchard could have indulged in auto-erotic asphyxiation and he is sure the surgeon would not have indulged in his office at the hospital. As such Kash starts to ask questions and challenge the findings of the police. Unfortunately for Kash someone doesn’t want him to look too closely into what actually occurred.

Clever writing and some very nasty medical twists and turns made Control one of my favourite reads of the summer – highly recommended.

Control is published by Zaffre and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07M7KQKP9/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0

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May 14

Your Deepest Fear – David Jackson

‘Sara! Remember! Victoria and Albert. All I can say. They’re here. They’re-‘

These are the last words Sara Prior will ever hear from her husband.

As DS Nathan Cody struggles to make sense of the enigmatic message and solve the brutal murder, it soon becomes clear that Sara is no ordinary bereaved wife. Taking the investigation into her own hands, Sara is drawn into a world of violence that will lead her in a direction she would never have suspected.

For Cody, meanwhile, things are about to get personal in the darkest and most twisted ways imaginable . . .

My thanks to the publisher for my review copy which I received through Netgalley and to Tracy Fenton for the opportunity to join the blog tour.

Where to start with this beauty? David Jackson has delivered a storming read, darker than the average police thriller. Delightfully creepy moments are plentiful as he pits his lead character (Nathan Cody) against his mysterious nemesis – a masked stranger responsible for the death of Cody’s partner and for mutilating Cody himself.

This is the fourth Nathan Cody book. Cody is very much a man defined by his past and as such readers will benefit from reading the earlier titles (A Tapping At My Door, Hope To Die and Don’t Make A Sound). However, everything you need to know about Cody’s background is nicely covered in Your Deepest Fear so there is no chance you will fail to understand the significance of some of the bigger moments in this book.

Cody is investigating a brutal murder. The victim has been subjected to a prolonged attack prior to death which would have meant he suffered greatly before the end. There is nothing in the mans background which would have given cause for suspicion or may have brought him into contact with the ‘wrong types’. So why was this man chosen for such an unpleasant death?

The victim’s widow is also causing problems for Cody. She found her husband’s body after he had left a message/call for help on her answer phone. Contained in the message was a possible clue to identify his killers but she cannot work out what the clue means. At least that is what she is telling Cody.

Despite having a murder to solve Cody is distracted in Your Deepest Fear. This is because his own Deepest Fear is coming back to taunt him. The clowns. The terrifying clowns who tortured Cody and left him broken have returned. Their leader wants to play a game with Cody…the prize is the chance for Cody to discover the identity of his tormentor. But the game will be dangerous and Cody will have a high price to pay for the information he wants.

I don’t know if I can do Your Deepest Fear justice in a review without spoiling too much of the story. It is a wickedly good read. Cody is put through an emotional wringer yet the clowns always seem one step ahead of him. David Jackson has pitched the terror in the cat and mouse game perfectly.

Some books you just don’t want to put down. Count Your Deepest Fear on that list – it has a story guaranteed to draw you in. Simply brilliant.

Your Deepest Fear is released on 16 May 2019 and is published by Zaffre in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Deepest-Fear-darkest-thriller-ebook/dp/B07JWBG9X4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=david+jackson&qid=1557773893&s=gateway&sr=8-1

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July 1

Guest Post – Caz Frear (Sweet Little Lies)

Just before Grab This Book begins a summer break and I get a couple of weeks of reading catch-up I have one last post to share. First – an apology to Kaz Frear as this is a couple of days later than planned…sorry. But as I am not around to post any new features I am delighted that Caz’s guest post will be “front of house” for an extended period as I take a bit of a break.

So with no more delays I leave you in the safe hands of Caz Frear – there is more information on Sweet Little Lies below.

KEEPING FAMILY SECRETS

Not wanting to get too, “Eh, back in my day…” but to quote a well known book, and a less well known song (fist pumps to Queens of the Stone Age), there really is a lost art of keeping secrets these days. There’s almost a negative connotation to the word. Secrets have become synonymous with repressed emotion, the implication being that our fragile ‘snowflake’ hearts can’t take the weight of responsibility that secrets always carry and therefore we should be loud and we should be proud at all times. We should expose the secrets of those who do bad things and we should shout about the good folk from the treetops (ok, from Twitter.)

It can’t be denied that speaking your truth is where it’s at now. The confessional-style interview remains all the rage and if you’re a celebrity, you honestly haven’t made it onto the A-list until you’ve penned an ‘open letter’ where you spill your soul and usually your carefully PR-managed secrets. And then for the rest of us, all the non-celebrities, Jeremy Kyle still exists (somehow) as a forum through which we can all air our dirty linen in a sweltering studio somewhere in Norwich.

I jest, of course. But it does make me wonder if there’s no longer a place for secrets in this modern world? Are we all really itching to offload our baggage, expose our friend’s transgressions, and run down our high-streets belting out, “I am what I am”, free from the weight of the crushing secrets that inevitably turn our insides ugly.

Well, no.

Because everyone has family secrets. And these secrets are generally kept from the prying eyes of social media, daytime TV at all costs. People guard family secrets like the crown jewels And why? Well sometimes, tragically, it’s for despicably awful reasons – reasons of fear and shame and expectations of ostracisation if they ever broke rank. But usually it’s not that dramatic. It’s simply the belief that the sins of our father/brother/aunt/cousin/great grandma/niece somehow reflect badly on us too. So If dodgy cousin Derek once robbed a Budgens with a toy pistol and did 6 months inside, we worry that people might think our whole family is like that too.

‘The apple doesn’t fall from the tree’

‘Blood is thicker than water’

Yada-yada-bloody-ya..

In Sweet Little Lies, Cat is saddled with a monster family secret from a young age and it was so important for this to come out in her personality. How might she behave if she could never give voice to her deepest fears? Would she have an over-dependence on wine and junk-food – yes. Would she have trouble sleeping sometimes – yes. Would she have a slight desire to distance herself from her peers, the ‘nosy’ millennials who love to over-share and want to know every little thing about her – yes.

Would she be a neurotic, hateful, unpredictable ball of unmitigated angst – no. Absolutely not. She could have been, of course – she’s arguably got enough reason to be – but I have a firm optimistic belief that human beings are more resilient than that. Most people manage to blunder along with their pain, trying not to create more as they go, and making the best of the cross they have to bear no matter how heavy that cross can seem at times.

Because we all have painful secrets don’t we?

So be kind.

Sweet Little Lies – Caz Frear

WHAT I THOUGHT I KNEW

In 1998, Maryanne Doyle disappeared and Dad knew something about it?
Maryanne Doyle was never seen again.

WHAT I ACTUALLY KNOW

In 1998, Dad lied about knowing Maryanne Doyle.
Alice Lapaine has been found strangled near Dad’s pub.
Dad was in the local area for both Maryanne Doyle’s disappearance and Alice Lapaine’s murder – FACT
Connection?

Trust cuts both ways . . . what do you do when it’s gone?

Sweet Little Lies is published by and is available in paperback or for Kindle here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sweet-Little-Lies-gripping-suspense-ebook/dp/B01N5WKRUY/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

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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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