Tag: thriller

Imagine that your husband has two other wives.

You’ve never met the other wives. None of you know each other, and because of this unconventional arrangement, you can see your husband only one day a week. But you love him so much you don’t care. Or at least that’s what you’ve told yourself.

But one day, while you’re doing laundry, you find a scrap of paper in his pocket — an appointment reminder for a woman named Hannah, and you just know it’s another of the wives.

You thought you were fine with your arrangement, but you can’t help yourself: you track her down, and, under false pretenses, you strike up a friendship. Hannah has no idea who you really are. Then Hannah starts showing up to your coffee dates with telltale bruises, and you realise she’s being abused by her husband. Who, of course, is also your husband. But you’ve never known him to be violent, ever.

Who exactly is your husband, and how far would you go to find the truth? Would you risk your own life?

And who is his mysterious third wife?

My thoughts:I got a bit confused when the plot switches up towards the end but the main bulk of the plot focuses on Thursday and her investigations into the rest of husband’s life.She seems quite lost in her life, despite having a job and her family, she doesn’t seem to have any friends.The plot ratchets up as she goes in search of Hannah and starts questioning the arrangement she agreed to when she got married.When the twist came I wasn’t prepared for it and the ending definitely left me a little puzzled. What was true? What was really going on?*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

A witness with no victim. A crime with no crime scene…

When crusading journalist Lydia Wright is sent a video of an apparent murder on a London train, she thinks she’s found the story to revive her career. But she can’t find a victim, much less the killers, and the only witness has disappeared. Wary she’s fallen for fake news, she begins to doubt her instincts – until a sinister call suggests that she’s not the only one interested in the crime.

Michael Stringer deals in information – and doesn’t care which side of the law he finds himself on. But the murder on the train has left him exposed, and now he’ll stop at nothing to discover what Lydia knows.

When their paths collide, Lydia finds the story leads through a nightmare world, where money, power and politics intersect … and information is the only thing more dangerous than a bullet.

A nerve-shattering and brutally realistic thriller, Blood Red City bursts with energy and grit from the opening page, twisting and feinting to a superb, unexpected ending that will leave you breathless.

Reynolds is the author of four novels, including the Charlie Yates series. His 2015 debut, The Dark Inside, was longlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger, and was followed by Black Night Falling (2016) and Cold Desert Sky (2018); the Guardian have called the books ‘Pitch-perfect American noir.’

A lifelong Londoner, in 2020 Orenda Books will publish his first novel set in his hometown, Blood Red City.

Rod previously worked in advertising as a media buyer, and holds an MA in novel writing from City University London. Rod lives with his wife and family and spends most of his time trying to keep up with his two young daughters.

My thoughts:

This was a clever, twisty turny story, with lots of smart writing and a compelling plot. As Wright and Stringer get drawn into a dangerous conspiracy and risk their lives to uncover the truth about the man on the tube, who is behind it all and how far will they go?

I gobbled this book down in one sitting, it really gripped me and the familiar settings (I live on the Northern line and know most of the places, like Brent Cross, pretty well) helped me visualise the events.

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

Scientists claim their new sports drug will boost the performance of every athlete in the world. The Lambeth Group send scientist, Gavin Shawlens, to investigate the claim.

The product is stolen, top athletes disappear, and the research team are unaware that their product has a dangerous side effect. Gavin must stop the sports drug launch before more people die.

When Gavin disappears – Zoe Tampsin searches frantically to find him before he becomes the next victim.

As if Zoe hasn’t got enough on her plate. Past events in Gavin’s life catch up with him. A powerful US general decides that Gavin must die to prevent exposure of a 60-year old secret capable of world-changing and power-shifting events.

The chase is on…

I was born and brought up in Glasgow, Scotland. I studied biochemistry, and I’ve worked in several Scottish universities where I did research on enzymes, and taught biochemistry. After thirty years of teaching and research I retired my academic pen, and took of a mightier fiction pen.

I live in central Scotland with my wife and we enjoy reading, writing, and walking in the hills.

The Lambeth Group books follow the secret government investigations of agent Zoe Tampsin. A strong female protagonist with courage, determination, and guile. She is assisted by specialist consultant, Gavin Shawlens.

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My thoughts:

This was a pacy, engaging thriller with a science-y edge. As the Lambeth Group go undercover at a university to find out who is producing potentially lethal performance enhancing drugs they open a whole can of worms. As enemies and supposed allies start to descend, it’s a race against time.

Even though I haven’t read the preceding book it was easy to get into the plot and connect with the characters. Zoe and Gavin are an engaging pair of protagonists and the plot wasn’t too complicated, especially as I’m no scientist!

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

What if the unthinkable became a reality? What if technology could be used against you?

A software program has been stolen from the digital vaults of the CIA. It is capable of bridging the gap between A.I. and human consciousness, making a person do whatever the controller wants, creating a potentially terrifying new world. The organisation responsible has racist, right-wing views and a perverted desire to reduce population growth by culling it using the software. Only the rich and the powerful can be part of Asclepius. The software is uploaded to the brain via eye movement using a smartphone, leaving open the possibility for entire countries to be controlled remotely.

Alex Brown, newly-appointed to the B5 Intelligence cell of British intelligence while hunting for the serial killer Dale Broc who has kidnapped her daughter, has been assigned to the case and now has to choose. Will she save the country or her daughter?

Hypnos is the second novel in the Alex Brown series. Author Jon Biddle brings extensive medical knowledge coupled with military and law enforcement experience that combines to produce an exciting sequel to The Harvester.

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Jon spends his days smashing out people’s hip and knee joints, and his nights writing medical thrillers.

A veteran and a medical professional who spends 45 hours a week in the OR, Jon brings considerable medical and military/law enforcement expertise to the crime thriller genre, evident by the attention to detail in his six books.

Jon’s writing is dark and eclectic, provoking and deviant. He surrounds himself in the white glow of pureness, with one foot always in the dark. The dark always surrounds us, but Jon has a knack of making his readers ask “Could this happen to me?”

There is nothing too dark for Jon to write about. He has no level, base, or filter, and will get into your head and “scare the living daylights” out of you.

Jon lives in the south-west of England with his childhood sweetheart, Sam, and two Springer Spaniels. With full-time medical responsibilities in his day job, Jon spends 15-20 hours a week writing for his growing online audience. His new medical thriller, The Harvester, was released in 2019 as the first of six books in the Dale Broc series.

Find out more about Jon Biddle, including his new releases and regular short stories, by going to http://www.jonbiddle.uk and joining the mailing list.

My thoughts:

This is a weird, and at times, confusing, thriller. There’s a lot going on, plots that don’t really go anywhere, details that don’t add anything to the story and I got a bit annoyed with some of it.

Now, that may be because I haven’t read the previous book and the continuing storylines from that meant nothing to me. It may also be that two of the male characters had the same first name and I got a bit confused by that.

However, it was a clever, deep state conspiracy, intelligence service thriller with lots of guns and explosions, as well as complicated high tech doomsday software.

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

Hayley Chill isn’t your typical West Wing intern. Ex-military and as patriotic as she is principled, she is largely vilified by her peers and lauded by her superiors – it’s a quick way of making enemies. It is Hayley who finds the body of the White House chief of staff, Peter Hall, on his kitchen floor having died from an apparent heart attack. It is also Hayley who notices a single clue which suggests his death was deliberate, targeted. That he was assassinated. Unsure who to trust, Hayley works alone to uncover a wideranging conspiracy that controls the furthest reaches of the government. And Hall is just the beginning – the president is the next target. Hayley must now do the impossible: stop an assassination, when she has no idea who the enemy is, all while staying hidden, with Peter’s final words to her ringing in her ears: Trust no one. Because the Deep State will kill to silence her. And they are closing in.

***

It is entrenched. It is hidden. It is deadly.

Who can you trust?

Chris Hauty is a screenwriter who has worked at all the major movie studios, in nearly every genre of film. He currently lives in Venice, California, in the company of a classic Triumph motorcycle and a feral cat. Deep State is his first novel.

My thoughts:

This is a clever, twisty turny thriller. The twist at the end in particular is pretty jaw dropping.

Well written, pacey and gripping.

I really liked the little asides telling you about how some of the characters end up, they were entertaining little snippets that broke the tension in the plot and helped you focus on all the political intrigue and sneaky double dealings.

I’ve passed my copy onto my Grandad who loves a good thriller and likes to ring me up to tell me his favourite bits.

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

Can you ever really know your neighbours?

When human remains are found in a ground floor flat, the residents of Nelson Heights are shocked to learn that there was a dead body in their building for over three years.

Sarah lives at the flat above and after the remains are found, she feels threatened by a stranger hanging around the building.

Laura has lived in the building for as long as she can remember, caring for her elderly father, though there is more to her story than she is letting on.

As the investigation starts to heat up, and the two women become more involved, it’s clear that someone isn’t telling the truth about what went on all those years ago…

 

My thoughts:

This reminded me of the film Dreams of a Life with Zawe Ashton, which was about a woman who died alone and nobody noticed for three years, it was based on an actual person’s tragic end.

The thought that no one in your life would notice you’d disappeared is harrowing, can you imagine not a friend, family member, colleague, neighbour or even the postman noticing you’d basically vanished from your own life?

This book made me feel a bit sad, loneliness is a huge problem in this country, it’s one of the reasons we check in on our elderly neighbour, and reading this made me pop round just to be sure she was ok.

But the person whose remains are discovered in the book did have friends, did have family, they just weren’t very good at checking in and keeping in touch.

The writing is clear and concise, Sarah makes a great investigator/protagonist. It was really interesting to read and despite the sad moments, it was not a weepy book.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.