Tag: crime fiction

The last book in the JT Ellington series, set in 1970s Bristol, featuring PI turned school caretaker Ellington.

Drawn back into the world of criminals and life under the radar by an old acquaintance in the police, Ellington is asked to look into the disappearance of a young Indian man who disappears hours before his wedding.

Ellington uncovers links to the underworld and gang kingpins, murders and secrets around every corner. His own family become targets as someone works against him to keep hidden things hidden.

The author has had a fascinating career history, including a stint as a PI himself, lending realism to his writing.

I enjoyed this book, I have been in a crime thriller kind of mood of late, and this did the trick.

Well written, clever and pacey, I was drawn swiftly into the world Ellington is so determined to leave.

*I was gifted this book to take part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

Tom is a successful author, but for the first time in his life, he has writer’s block. His main distraction is an online admirer, Evie, who simply won’t leave him alone. Evie is smart, well read and unstable; she lives with her sick father and her social media friendships are not only her escape, but everything she has. When she’s hit with a restraining order, her world collapses, whilst Tom is free to live his life again, and to concentrate on writing. But things aren’t adding up. For Tom is also addicted to his online relationships, and when they take a darker, more menacing turn, he’s powerless to change things. Because maybe he needs Evie more than he’s letting on. A compulsive, disturbingly relevant, twisty and powerful psychological thriller, The Closer I Get is also a searing commentary on the fragility and insincerity of online relationships, and the danger that can lurk on the other side of a screen…

Paul Burston is the author of five novels and the editor of two short story collections. His most recent novel The Black Path, was a WHSmith bestseller. His first novel, Shameless, was shortlisted for the State of Britain Award. His third novel, Lovers & Losers was shortlisted for a Stonewall Award. His fourth, The Gay Divorcee, was optioned for television. He was a founding editor of Attitude magazine and has written for many publications including Guardian, Independent, Time Out, The Times and Sunday Times. In March 2016, he was featured in the British Council’s #FiveFilms4Freedom Global List 2016, celebrating “33 visionary people who are promoting freedom, equality and LGBT rights around the world”. He is the founder and host of London’s award-winning LGBT+ literary salon Polari and founder and chair of The Polari First Book Prize for new writing and the newly announced Polari Prize.

My thoughts: no spoilers here, this is a twisty, compelling thriller. Well paced and clever, I read this in one sitting. If you like smart psychological thrill rides then do yourself a favour and get a copy.

A body, briefly glimpsed at the bottom of an abandoned mineshaft, vanishes when the police investigate.

Jared, recovering from an almost fatal injury and addicted to painkillers, knows he saw something terrible in that mine… but he has no evidence, and fears he’s losing his grip on reality.

A girl is attacked so savagely she can’t be identified, and dumped late at night in an isolated campground.

She’s alive, but only just.

Becca, tossed out of university and just let go from her dead-end job, is certain she knows who the victim is. But no one will believe her, and she can hardly even trust herself.

Kay, recently widowed and coming to terms with life on her own, suddenly finds herself forced to get involved.

For years she and her husband fostered difficult children – including Becca, whom trouble follows like a stray puppy. And now Becca seems to be in the worst trouble of her life.

And then Jared and Becca meet.

Becca, strong-minded and fiercely independent, is confident they can figure out what’s going on. She pulls Kay into the mix, knowing they’ll need all the help they can get…

because the police don’t believe them.

And more girls are vanishing.

Separately, Kay, Becca and Jared believe their lives have hit rock bottom. But drawn together under extraordinary circumstances, they’ll discover the strength to fight back… and ultimately rebuild their lives from the ruins.

Danuta Kot grew up with stories. Her Irish mother and her Polish father kept their own cultures alive with traditional tales they shared with their children. For many years, she worked with young people in Yorkshire who were growing up in the aftermath of sudden industrial decline. She uses this background in her books to explore some of the issues that confront modern, urban society: poverty, alienation and social breakdown, using the contexts of the modern crime novel. She has previously written under the names, Danuta Reah and Carla Banks. Danuta was also a former chair of the Crime Writers’ Association. She now works as a senior education consultant, work that involves travel to establish education and training in other parts of the world. She is a regular academic speaker at conferences and literary festivals, and has appeared on radio and television.

My thoughts:

I think I’m starting to prefer not-cops investigating crimes. They have to be smarter, more resourceful and use their wits, rather than relying on back up and the ability to shout “Stop, police”.

Becca and Jared definitely fall into this category, they have no back up, no way to convince the police to help them. Both have reasons to stay away from the authorities, but they’re smart and capable.

I couldn’t work out how all the disparate threads tied together, something I’m usually quite good at, and there were some truly shocking moments.

If you like a clever thriller, complete with twists you won’t spot, then this is the book for you.

*I was gifted this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

At the peak of her career as lead singer of a legendary 1980s indie band, Meredith Vincent was driven off the international stage by a horrific incident. Now she lives incognito in a cottage on the grounds of Minstead House, an old stately home, whilst working in the gift shop. Her past is behind her and she enjoys her new life. But a series of inexplicable and unsettling incidents have started to happen around her – broken china, vandalised gardens… And when a body is found in the gardens of Minstead House, Meredith realises that someone is watching, someone who knows who she is and who wants to destroy her…

A dark, riveting and chilling psychological thriller, The Final Stage is a study of secrets and obsessions, where innocent acts can have the most terrifying consequences.

Over her eighteen-year writing career, Louise Voss has had eleven novels published – five solo and six co-written with Mark Edwards: a combination of psychological thrillers, police procedurals and contemporary fiction – and sold over 350,000 books. Her most recent book, The Old You, was a number one bestseller in eBook.

Louise has an MA (Dist) in Creative Writing and also works as a literary consultant and mentor for writers at http://www.thewritingcoach.co.uk.

She lives in South-West London and is a proud member of two female crimewriting collectives, The Slice Girls and Killer Women.

My thoughts:

This was such a good book I read it twice. Having read some of Voss’ previous work I knew I was in for a treat and I was not wrong.

Having read so many thrillers and watched so many crime shows (thanks dad for getting me into all this!) I am usually pretty good at figuring out whodunnit, but I was genuinely scuppered by this one. I had no idea who it was that was stalking Meredith and the final twist had me shouting “no way!!”

The writing is so sharp, the characters strong and well drawn. Honestly it was a treat to read.

*I was gifted a copy of this book in order to take part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

This is the fifth book in the Grace Macallan series, but the first one I’ve read.

Written by a retired senior police officer with an extensive career, this book delves deep into the gangs and criminal conspiracies in Scotland’s underworld.

Grace Macallan is working in Counter Corruption, investigating dodgy officers like DI Janet Hadden who is running her own schemes involving some dangerous men.

I found this book really enjoyable and well written; the plot is well paced and draws you into the narrative.

The characters are well drawn, you even end up feeling sorry for one of the criminals; I don’t think he deserved what he got!

*I was gifted a copy of this book in order to take part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

A bomb detonates in Bradford’s City Park.

When the alert sounds, DC I Harry Virdee has just enough time to get his son and his mother to safety before the bomb blows. But this is merely a stunt.

The worst is yet to come.

A new and aggressive nationalist group, the Patriots, have hidden a second device under one of the city’s one hundred and five mosques. In exchange for the safe release of those at Friday prayers, the Patriots want custody of the leaders of radical Islamist group Almukhtareen – the chosen ones.

The government does not negotiate with terrorists. Even when thousands of lives are at risk.

There is only one way out.

But Harry’s wife is in one of those mosques. Left with no choice, Harry must find the Almukhtareen, to offer the Patriots his own deal.

A.A. Dhand was raised in Bradford and spent his youth observing the city from behind the counter of a small convenience store. After qualifying as a pharmacist, he worked in London and travelled extensively before returning to Bradford to start his own business and begin writing. The history, diversity and darkness of the city have inspired his Harry Virdee novels.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this novel, it’s a compelling, well paced thriller that has several unexpected twists. The characters of Harry and his wife Saima are brave, resilient people. Dhand mixes the traditional terrorist thriller with modern themes and worries – the friction between Muslims and the wider community being one of them.

I haven’t read any of the other books in this series but I will be looking out for them in my local library when I next want a thriller to read.

*I was gifted this book in return for taking part in the blog tour. However, all opinions remain my own.

She thought she would never go back…

Ailsa Calder has inherited half of a house. The other half belongs to a man who disappeared without a trace twenty-seven years ago. Her father.

Leaving London behind to settle her mother’s estate, Ailsa returns to her childhood home nestled amongst the craggy peaks of the Scottish Highlands, accompanied by the half-sister she’s never taken the time to get to know.

With the past threatening to swallow her whole, she can’t escape the claustrophobic feeling that the house itself is watching her. And when Ailsa confronts the first nighttime intruder, she sees that the manor’s careless rugged beauty could cost her everything…

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Lexie Elliott has been writing for as long as she can remember, but she began to focus on it more seriously after she lost her banking job in 2009 due to the Global Financial Crisis. After some success in short story competitions, she began planning a novel. With two kids and a (new) job, it took some time for that novel to move from her head to the page, but the result was The French Girl, which will be published by Berkley in February 2018 – available to pre-order on Amazon now!

When she’s not writing, Lexie can be found running, swimming or cycling whilst thinking about writing. In 2007 she swam the English Channel solo. She won’t be doing that again. In 2015 she ran 100km, raising money for Alzheimer Scotland. She won’t be doing that again either. But the odd triathlon or marathon isn’t out of the question.

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My thoughts:

There are a few things I really enjoy in a book; creepy houses, families full of mysteries, legends and myths that vary depending on the teller.

The Missing Years have all this.

This book was just the right amount of sinister and weird for a thriller, there is something about the more remote regions of Scotland that is made for twisted narratives.

The ending’s twist I definitely didn’t see coming and I’m usually pretty good at spotting them.

This is the author’s second book and I think if she keeps writing like this, there’s a great career headed her way.

* I was kindly gifted the book to review but all opinions remain my own.

John Smith is a man who solves problems, just don’t try to stop him.

He is in Las Vegas trying to track down a missing woman, which should be a simple job. But he soon discovers he is not welcome, and there are those who want to make sure he leaves the city fast, in one way or another.

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John Smith is a man who solves problems, just don’t try to stop him. As a favour to an old friend in the FBI John returns to West Texas. But there is now a whole new town and way of life that has sprung up since he was last there ten years previously. He soon finds out he is in the middle of some very rich men who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

As a favour to an old friend in the FBI John returns to West Texas. But there is now a whole new town and way of life that has sprung up since he was last there ten years previously. He soon finds out he is in the middle of some very rich men who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

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About the author

Residing in London, Ian Jones lives with his wife and daughter, a cat Gloria, tortoise Gary and three fish; Daphne, Velma and Scooby. He currently works at a Taiwanese hardware company, looking after Europe and works as an Electrician in his spare time. Ian Jones has been writing since he was twenty years old, though he mostly wrote black comedies and seemed unable to finish a complete novel. Fortunately, ten years ago, Ian Jones tried his hand at writing thrillers and published his very first novel, The Handsome Man. Since then he has had many other books published via Kindle Direct. Lost in Vegas is actually the second book that he wrote.

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My thoughts:

I enjoyed North of the Rock more than Lost in Vegas. LiV was more of a formulaic missing person with gangsters story but NotR was really intriguing as PI John Smith gets drawn into a complex conspiracy in small town Texas. It was really twisty turny, with moments where I really couldn’t figure out what might be going on. Theres a real web of lies and money criss crossing back and forth and shadowy figures manipulating everything. The writing is sharp and pacey, the story clever and surprising. If you like complex thrillers full of people with their own agendas then these books will suit you.