Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie.

This edition published 20th April 2017 by Harper Collins. First published in 1933.
 

From the cover of the book:

When a man plunges down a cliff, two adventurous young friends decide to find his killer…

While playing an erratic round of golf, Bobby Jones slices his ball over the edge of a cliff. His ball is lost, but on the rocks below he finds the crumpled body of a dying man. With his final breath the man opens his eyes and says, ‘Why didn’t they ask Evans?’

Haunted by these words, Bobby and his vivacious companion, Frankie, set out to solve a mystery that will bring them into mortal danger…

***********

One afternoon, ex-naval officer Bobby Jones is enjoying a rather erratic round of golf with his friend Dr Thomas in the sleepy village of Marchbolt. When one of Bobby's wayward shots makes its way over the cliff-edge, he spots the body of an unknown man lying on the rocks below. The man is gravely injured, so while Dr Thomas goes off in search of help, Bobby stays with him. He searches his pockets for clues about who he might be, but all he finds is the photograph of a striking young woman, which he carefully returns to the man's pocket. Bobby is shocked when the man regains consciousness one last time and utters the phrase "Why didn't they ask Evans?" before expiring. In a hurry to get to the church to keep an appointment to play the church organ for his vicar father, Bobby ends up leaving the body in charge of a stranger and thinks little more about it.

The death of the man is pronounced to be accidental at the inquest, but something about the whole affair doesn't seem quite right to Bobby. The photograph that was pictured in the paper as being in the man's possession looks to be of a different woman, and the couple that claimed him as kin were a little odd. Bobby's friend Frances (aka Lady Frances Derwent) dismisses Bobby's concerns, but sometime later Bobby is the victim of an attempt on his life and she begins to suspect that he might be right about there being more to this supposed accidental death than meets the eye - especially when he share the man's dying message with her.

Bobby and Frances decide to investigate the circumstances of the death themselves, and what follows is a highly entertaining crime-solving caper. Frances is a little bored with her upper-class existence and is looking for some excitement. She has the brains and finances to get their scheme off the ground, and Bobby is soon caught up in her plans. They opt to take the bull by the horns and go straight for the man they are sure is the murderer - the very stranger that Bobby left the victim with while he hurried off to his appointment...

This is a complex and twisty mystery that involves undercover shenanigans, a sinister doctor, damsels in distress, drug gangs, and dastardly double-dealing. There is a lot of humour throughout the story, often very much in the P.G. Wodehouse vein, which had me chuckling out loud, and the relationship between Bobby and Frankie is a delight - they bicker all the time, but underneath it all you get the impression that secretly they harbour more than a little friendly affection for each other, and this brings in a gentle romantic element.

There is a lot of excitement and derring-do, and a surprising turn-up-for the books when an unlikely character puts in an appearance to save their skins. I really enjoyed how the question of the identity of the enigmatic Evans nips at the back of your mind throughout, and is only answered just before all the threads come neatly together in a beautifully conceived epiphany!

This book was my April choice for the #ReadChristie2022 challenge, and I read the paperback/listened to the audio book narrated by Emilia Fox, swapping between the two. The audio book is very entertaining and Fox has exactly the fight kind of voice for Christie, although she did struggle a little with the Welsh accent at times, but it is definitely worth a listen.

I think this might be my favourite Christie stand-alone so far!

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? is available to buy now in multiple formats.

About the author:

Agatha Christie is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English with another billion in over 70 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time and in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 20 plays, and six novels written under the name of Mary Westmacott.

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare.

Published 28th April 2022 by HQ.

From the cover of the book:

London, 1936

Lena Aldridge is wondering if life has passed her by. The dazzling theatre career she hoped for hasn’t worked out. Instead, she’s stuck singing in a sticky-floored basement club in Soho and her married lover has just left her. She has nothing to look forward to until a stranger offers her the chance of a lifetime: a starring role on Broadway and a first-class ticket on the Queen Mary bound for New York.

After a murder at the club, the timing couldn’t be better and Lena jumps at the chance to escape England. Until death follows her onto the ship and she realises that her greatest performance has already begun.

Because someone is making manoeuvres behind the scenes, and there’s only one thing on their mind…

***********

London, 1936. Lena Aldridge, nightclub singer and aspiring actress, certainly has regrets. Her personal and professional lives have not turned out as she hoped - she misses her late father Alfie desperately, her married lover has left her, and she is stuck in a dead-end job at a dive bar in Soho working for the gangster husband of her best friend Maggie.

The sparkling future she envisaged seems further away than ever, when suddenly her luck turns. A complete stranger offers her a starring role on Broadway, with first-class passage aboard the Queen Mary all the way to New York. This couldn't have come at a better time either, as there has been a murder at the club and Lena needs to get out of the way fast before her involvement can be discovered.

Unfortunately, death follows Lena like a spectre once she is on the ship, and she begins to suspect that the Abernathy-Parker family she has fallen in with might be more than meets the eye, despite their high-class credentials. The truth of what is happening in these salubrious surroundings is far beyond Lena's imagination, and she is going to have to put on the performance of her life to survive.

Miss Aldridge Regrets is a sensational mystery that allows Louise Hare to channel Agatha Christie in all her glory, with delicious twists and turns and a highly enjoyable surprise ending. I particularly relished that Lena is such a fan of Christie, always with a book to hand, as everything here flows just like one of the mystery novels from the Queen of Crime herself. There are so many suspicious characters to evoke the Christie vibes, the real villains are often the ones you least suspect, and the setting of the Queen Mary in the heady 1930s is a delight, providing me with very favourite kind of glamorous back drop for a between the wars crime thriller. The locations, the music, the clothing, the references to popular culture, all contribute to creating a pitch perfect feel of time and place.

Of course, if you have read Louise Hare's marvellous This Lovely City you will know that she is able to explore some pretty gritty topics too, and underneath the light entertainment of a compelling whodunnit she does exactly the same here. Lena's mixed-race parentage is the central focus, and Hare uses this to examine the differences between quite what the black side of her heritage means on both sides of the Atlantic. She also threads in a lovely sinister and foreboding undertone about what is happening in Germany at this time, and doesn't shy away from probing how Hitler's political views divide the crowd. This is a story that mixes in so many aspects of life in the 1930s - the elegant facade of the rich and powerful; the gritty underbelly of the criminal quarter; and the looming prospect of another war. Intriguingly, it also harks back to the past with mentions of the legacy of Prohibition and the Great Depression too. All very nicely done indeed.

Lena is a complex and very engaging protagonist. Her love of Christie undoubtedly caught me from the first, and her situation definitely elicits a lot of sympathy. Her grief at losing her father, the resentment she holds for her absent mother, and the loyalty she feels for her friend Maggie - even her unpredicatable romantic entanglements - all influence how she thinks and acts, and though she is at heart a good person, she is far from being a goody-two-shoes. I really liked that about her - she has spark and style, and is not going to accept being made a scapegoat for anyone!

This story kept me guessing all the way through. I liked how Hare weaves in a narrative from the murderer as the story unfurls, and my idea of who was the guilty party changed time and time again as the murderous mayhem played out. There is a fabulous reveal that completely floored me too. Such fun!

If you love period detective fiction that draws beautifully into the era in which it is set, then this is definitely a book for you. I loved it!

Miss Aldridge Regrets is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to HQ for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Louise Hare is a London-based writer and has an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. Originally from Warrington, the capital is the inspiration for much of her work, including This Lovely City, which began life after a trip into the deep level shelter below Clapham Common. This Lovely City was featured on the inaugural BBC TWO TV book club show, Between the Covers, and has received multiple accolades, securing Louise's place as an author to watch.

Outside by Ragnar Jonasson

 

Outside by Ragnar Jonasson.

Translated by Victoria Cribb.

Published 28th April 2022 by Penguin Michael Joseph.

From the cover of the book:

In a deadly Icelandic snowstorm, four friends seek shelter in an abandoned hunting lodge. Miles from help, and knowing they will die out in the cold, they break in, hoping to wait out the storm until morning.

But nothing can prepare them for what's inside . . .

With no other option, they are forced to spend a long and terrifying night in the cabin: watching as intently and silently as they themselves are being watched.

As the night darkens, old secrets spill into the light, and tensions rise between the four friends. Soon it's clear that what they've discovered in the cabin is far from the only mystery lurking there.

Nor the only thing to be afraid of . . .

***********

Four old friends meet up for an adventure in the Icelandic wilds, but once their hunting expedition gets underway the unpredictable weather takes a turn for the worse. Their only option is to seek shelter in an isolated cabin to wait out the storm, and what they find inside shocks them to the core.

As the terrified group struggles to get through the night, afraid of what lurks in the shadows, the weight of old sins ramps up the tension in the cabin, and the cracks in their relationships begin to show. Old scores demand to be settled and not everyone will come out of this little trip alive...

Outside is a gripping stand-alone from best-selling Icelandic noir crime author Ragnar Jonasson that weaves together elements of psychological thriller, hard-edged mystery, and horror story, when four friends reconnect during a supposedly fun hunting weekend. Once the trip gets underway, the mood changes pretty swiftly when the weather turns and makes it much more of a survival drama that an enjoyable escapade. There is the whisper that something bad is going to befall them right from the word go, and a slight suspicion that perhaps this situation has been contrived by one or more of the party, which hooks you at the start.

The story is told in staccato narratives from each of the four friends, gradually building up a picture of their true feelings towards each other, until all their dirty little secrets come flooding out and events spiral completely out of control. There is a lovely little story device that twists the knife from the time they enter the cabin, taken straight out of the horror playbook, that dials up the fear factor too.

This is an unabashed, heart-pounding chiller, which is an interesting departure from what usually flows from Jonasson's pen, and I think it does lack something of the subtlety and sophistication of his detective novels, but there is still plenty here for you to get your (chattering) teeth into. Once again, Jonasson displays his considerable ability to use weather and the environment to create the perfect backdrop for the murderous machinations that play out. I just love the way he is able to create the most claustrophobic of atmospheres in his books, especially by using snow to build a feeling of isolation. Throw in a remote cabin, four trigger happy 'friends' with dark secrets, and a rogue horror element that is the stuff of nightmares, and you have something that proves to be a highly entertaining page-turner. 

The ending of this book is rather abrupt, with threads left hanging, which makes me wonder if Jonasson has plans to pick this story up again. I would really like to know what happens next, as there is still a fair bit of reckoning to be accounted for, but time will tell. In any case, it has already been snapped up for a movie adaptation that sounds very promising indeed!

I do love a snowy thriller! This is a devour in a single sitting kind of book, best read in the daylight hours, and it may make you very wary of an unexpected invitation from an old friend... especially if snowy climes are involved! 

Outside is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

About the author:

Ragnar Jónasson is an international number one bestselling author who has sold over three million books in thirty-four countries worldwide. He was born in Reykjavík, Iceland, where he also works as an investment banker and teaches copyright law at Reykjavík University.

He has previously worked on radio and television, including as a TV news reporter for the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, and, from the age of seventeen, has translated fourteen of Agatha Christie's novels. He is currently writing a novel with the Icelandic Prime Minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir. His critically acclaimed international bestseller The Darkness is soon to be a major TV series, and Ridley Scott will be producing Outside as a feature film.

A Little Hope by Ethan Joella

 

A Little Hope by Ethan Joella.

Published 28th April 2022 by Muswell Press.

From the cover of the book:

In the small town of Wharton, Connecticut, lives are beginning to unravel. A husband betrays his wife. A son struggles with addiction. A widow misses her late spouse. 

At the heart of these interlinking stories is one couple: Freddie and Greg Tyler. Greg has just been diagnosed with a brutal form of cancer. He intends to handle this the way he has faced everything else: through grit and determination. But can he successfully overcome his illness? How will the Freddie and their daughter cope if he doesn’t? 

How do the other residents of Wharton learn to live with loss and find happiness again? 

Celebrating the grace in everyday life, this powerful debut immerses the reader in a community of friends, family, and neighbours and identifies the ways that love and forgiveness can help us survive even the most difficult of life’s challenges.

***********

Welcome to Wharton, a quiet little town in Connecticut. All seems peaceful, but what goes on behind the doors of this small town? We are about to get a glimpse into the lives of some of Wharton's residents, as we follow their trials and tribulations, their loves and losses... and get an intricate picture of how their little private bubbles interconnect.

Let's begin with the family that sit at the centre of what is to follow: the Tyler family. Freddie and Greg seem to have it all, with a lovely house on the edge of the woods, a beautiful daughter Addie, and the obligatory pet cat and dog to complete the picture of domestic bliss. But things are about to unravel in this household - Greg has been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, and while he is determined to tackle his illness head-on, the future of this American Dream is uncertain. 

Then we meet Greg's boss Alex Lionel, and his wife Kay, who have endured years of unbearable grief after the loss of their son in a tragic accident. Alex looks upon Greg as a surrogate son, something openly acknowledged between him and Kay, but Alex also holds a secret - one that Kay cannot bear to come to terms with in her seemingly never-ending anguish about the future that was denied them.

Meanwhile, Freddie's boss Darcy Colley misses her late husband Von terribly, and worries constantly about her son Luke and the direction his life has taken; as Luke struggles to get his life back on track, reeling from the death of his father, and for ever regretting the loss of Ginger the one true love of his life. Ginger Lord is also back in town to be a bridesmaid, thinking about what might have been with Luke; the bride Suzette has last minute jitters; and groomsman Ahmed is pondering whether he will ever find true love. 

The next few months will tell which of Wharton's close-knit community will sink or swim, but there's always hope, isn't there?

A Little Hope is one of those shining literary jewels that perfectly sums up what it means to be human. Ethan Joella writes beautifully about the rhythm of life, its peaks and troughs, and the way the lives of those in a small community interconnect, by taking you through a few months of small town existence in Wharton. This is a quietly intense story, that draws you in and stirs your emotions in a profoundly moving way, simply by looking behind the facade of the public images we show to the world at large. There are no bells and whistles here, despite our characters experiencing some significant life-altering moments, but in the hands of a talented writer, real life is more than enough. 

The focus of this story is a family whose happiness is shattered by a diagnosis that throws everything into uncertainty. Greg, perhaps not yet understanding the full implications of his condition, tries to carry on as normal, but it is clear from the outset that Freddie is unable to do the same. Her fear is paralysing, and her mind cannot help but run on into what this means for them all. Through them, we are introduced to the wider community and their own private sorrows - Greg's boss Alex and his wife Kay, still finding a way to cope with the loss of their son, and the fracture in their relationship that it caused; and Freddie's boss Darcy, attempting to come to terms with the recent death of her beloved husband, and the distance that has arisen between her and her son Luke.

Like trailing vines that weave beyond these characters, we come to know more members of the Wharton community, and the full impact of the experiences that have shaped them. I loved how for each new character we meet, spreading out through different parts of the community like a chain reaction as their lives touch, we quickly become intimate with their hopes, dreams and worries - often bringing with it the knowledge of the stark differences between the faces they show to their family, friends and neighbours, and their inner turmoil. By and large, they share the connection of how grief, fear and regret dictate their interactions with the world, which I think is essentially true for us all - especially as you get older. So much of what happens in this book strikes a chord, and rings with truth, which is the mark of an insightful writer.

At each turn, Joella gets to the heart of what makes these people who they are, and how their lives reverberate with those they come into contact with. The community itself takes on the sense that it is a living, breathing thing, with each person being an integrated part of something much bigger. There is a wonderfully circular notion about the whole piece too, that brings us full circle by the time we reach the end of our time in Wharton, which I found very powerful.

I cannot express quite how impressive this life-affirming debut really is. As an exploration of humanity; the things we cling to; the moments we ponder about the road not taken; and our fears that the future we envisaged can be snatched away from us all too easily, this is magnificent. There is a lot of loss in this story, but underpinning all there lies the comforting whisper of hope, and this makes it utterly compelling. I absorbed this little beauty in one delicious bite, and sobbed when I reached the final page. 

This is a serious contender for my book of 2022, which is saying a lot, and I cannot wait for Joella's second novel, A Quiet Life, which is out in November 2022. If you enjoy the kind of genuine and many layered tale that Elizabeth Strout makes look so easy, then you will love this!

A Little Hope is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Muswell Press for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting meto be part of this blog tour.

About the author: 

Ethan Joella teaches English and psychology at the University of Delaware and specializes in community writing workshops. His work has appeared in River Teeth, The Cimarron Review, The MacGuffin, Delaware Beach Life, and Third Wednesday. He is the author of A Little Hope, which was a Read with Jenna Bonus Selection and A Quiet Life. He lives in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, with his wife and two daughters.

The Rabbit Factor (Rabbit Factor Trilogy Book One) by Antti Tuomainen

 

The Rabbit Factor (Rabbit Factor Trilogy Boo One) by Antti Tuomainen.

Translated by David Hackston.

Published in paperback 14th April 2022 by Orenda Books. 

From the cover of the book:

Just one spreadsheet away from chaos…

What makes life perfect? Insurance mathematician Henri Koskinen knows the answer because he calculates everything down to the very last decimal.

And then, for the first time, Henri is faced with the incalculable. After suddenly losing his job, Henri inherits an adventure park from his brother – its peculiar employees and troubling financial problems included. The worst of the financial issues appear to originate from big loans taken from criminal quarters … and some dangerous men are very keen to get their money back.

But what Henri really can’t compute is love. In the adventure park, Henri crosses paths with Laura, an artist with a chequered past, and a joie de vivre and erratic lifestyle that bewilders him. As the criminals go to extreme lengths to collect their debts and as Henri's relationship with Laura deepens, he finds himself faced with situations and emotions that simply cannot be pinned down on his spreadsheets…

Warmly funny, rich with quirky characters and absurd situations, The Rabbit Factor is a triumph of a dark thriller, its tension matched only by its ability to make us rejoice in the beauty and random nature of life.

A quirky, tense and warmly funny thriller from award-winning Finnish author Antti Tuomainen.

***********

Henri Koskinen lives a sedate, ordered life as an insurance actuary in Helsinki, Finland. His religion is mathematics and every decision he makes is based on his ability to calculate the probability of all things down the nth degree. His only friend is his cat Schopenhauer, and he is content to leave things that way - close relationships can be highly unpredictable, something he knows only too well from his chaotic childhood.

But Henri's calm is shattered by a double whammy of events that he does not see coming, despite his love of predicting all outcomes. First off, he is forced to leave the job he loves; and then his estranged brother dies, bequeathing him an adventure park called YouMeFun. Such a venture sounds anything but fun to Henri, but his brother's parting words beg him to look after the park and he feels he can hardly refuse such a request... he is at a bit of a loose end after all.

The park proves to be a revelation to Henri in many ways. especially since its finances are a mess, and the employees are an odd mix of colourful characters. He does not have a clue where to start sorting out all the issues that fall to him to solve. His problems are made worse when he discovers that his brother has borrowed money from some very unsavoury criminal types, who are willing to use extreme violence to ensure their loan is paid back in double quick time.

As Henri attempts to use his actuarial skills (and the occasional help of a very large plastic rabbit) to get out of the financial disaster that threatens to be very bad for his health, he finds himself becoming fond of both the park, and the rag-tag assortment of staff that are now his responsibility - in particular, the captivating artist Laura, who has an eventful past. Henri is learning to tackle the unexpected, including the unpredictability of falling in love...

The Rabbit Factor is a quirky, heart-warming gem of an unconventional crossover between crime and love story. The bones of the tale lie in underdog Henri's fight against some heavyweight bad guys who wish to use him for their own ends, and Tuomainen builds on this classic crime plot to make something truly original that is full of dark humour, pathos, and highly entertaining twists and turns.

The setting of an adventure park is cleverly imagined, and such a vivid backdrop for the story - it's really not the usual environment for the kind of crime, or romance, themes that unfurl here, which makes it all the more enchanting. You can feel yourself there among the outlandish attractions, with the sticky-fingered, rampaging children, and this makes for a curiously surreal backdrop that is perfect for the sort of left-of-field action that springs from Tuomainen's imagination.

Henri is not your usual knight in shining armour either - he begins the story as a socially awkward loner, happy in his routine and the solo company of his cat Schopenhauer (who is oh so accurately written), but his life is thrown into chaos that drags him completely out of his comfort zone and proves to be the absolute making of him. I thoroughly enjoyed how his character develops over the course of the story, as Toumainen has him getting creative with the skills (and objects) he has at hand to get one (or two... or three) over on the ruthless gangsters who are out to get him. Intriguingly, Henri has to dig deep to find his own cold-blooded core of steel to play them at their own game, but it is his emerging warm and fuzzy side that really makes this for me. Henri opens himself up to the spontaneous, the incalculable, the unforeseen parts of the human experience, and most touchingly, he falls in love - but he also comes to recognise the benefits of community and connection with all the members of the YouMeFun family.

I absolutely loved this book. It's witty and darkly comic, provoking many laugh out loud moments, but it touches your heart too, tying everything up in a big feel-good bow that makes it eminently satisfying. I tip my hat to the translator David Hackston for keeping the pace and timing going so well from start to finish, as this is very hard to do in a comic caper with such delicate threads of emotional intensity. Good job! 

I am thrilled to discover that this the first part in a new trilogy (Tuomainen's first book series), because I really need more of this sort of writing in my life. This book is also set to be a major motion picture with Steve Carell in the starting role, which I will be keeping my eyes well and truly peeled for.

The Rabbit Factor is available to buy now in multiple formats.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Finnish Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author in 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the 'King of Helsinki Noir' when Dark as My Heart was published. 

With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. Palm Beach Finland was an immense success, with Marcel Berlins (The Times) calling Tuomainen 'the funniest writer in Europe'. Little Siberia (2020), was shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger, the Amazon Publishing/Capital Crime Awards and the CrimeFest Last Laugh Award, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year. The Rabbit Factor (2021), the first book in Antti's first ever series, is in production by Amazon Studios with Steve Carell starring. The Moose Paradox, book two in the series is out in 2022.

About the translator:

David Hackston is a British Translator of Finnish and Swedish literature and drama. Notable publications include The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy, Maria Peura’s coming-of-age novel At the Edge of Light, Johanna Sinisalo’s eco-thriller Birdbrain, two crime novels by Matti Joensuu, and Kati Hiekkapelto’s Anna Fekete series (which currently includes The Hummingbird, The Defenceless and The Exiled, all published by Orenda Books). He also translates Antti Tuomainen’s stories. In 2007 he was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Translation. David is also a professional countertenor and a founding member of the English Vocal Consort of Helsinki. 

Say Her Name by Dreda Say Mitchell and Ryan Carter

 

Say Her Name by Dreda Say Mitchell and Ryan Carter.

Published 1st April 2022 by Thomas and Mercer.

From the cover of the book:

It’s twenty years since Eva, a biracial woman, was adopted as an eight-year-old, and Cherry and Carlton ‘Sugar’ McNeil have always been the only parents she’s wanted or needed. But when she’s dealt the double blow of Cherry’s death and her own suspension from work, Eva decides it’s time to discover who she was before she was theirs.

Against Sugar’s advice, Eva joins a DNA database, desperate for a match that will unlock her identity. And when a positive hit comes, she’s excited to learn there are relations out there who might hold the key. But the closer Eva gets to uncovering her past, the more it appears someone is trying to stop her finally finding the truth…

As she continues to dig, Eva is drawn into a dark and merciless underside to society, where black women disappear without a word. Names erased from history, no search parties, no desperate pleas for their return. Once, someone tried to save Eva from all this. Someone wanted a better life for her. But now that she’s torn down the facade of her life, has she come too far to be spared again?

***********

Eva, a bi-racial doctor, was adopted at eight-years-old by Cherry and Carlton ‘Sugar’ McNeil, who saved her from the misery of a children's home that scarred her for life. They have brought her up to be strong and resourceful, and for the last twenty years have been the only parents she needs. 

With Cherry's death, and a surprise suspension from the job that she loves, Eva feels her grip on who she thought she was slipping. She is compelled to find out something about the woman who was her birth mother, despite being advised by Sugar to let the past lie. Persuaded by her husband to join a DNA database, she is astonished when someone contacts her almost straightaway claiming to be a blood relation - and a surprising one at that.

As Eva starts to dig deep into her past, she becomes embroiled in a mystery about four young black women that went missing around the time of her birth. Was one of them her mother, and did some unknown saviour intervene to rescue her from the same fate? Someone seems to be working against her finding out the truth, and Sugar is keeping secrets from her. Is she in danger of becoming a target once more by looking into her own origins?

I have to say from the off that this book really impressed me. At its heart, this is a compelling crossover between domestic drama, mystery and psychological thriller, but it is also so much more, and it's really difficult to get into the nitty gritty of why without giving away spoilers... but here goes!

Dreda Say Mitchell and Ryan Carter have crafted a story that fulfils everything you want in an entertaining read, drawing you in nicely with deftly woven threads of corruption, secrets and sins of the past, but it is the way it delves deep into themes of identity, connection, and discrimination that make it a cut above, and unexpectedly emotional. 

There is so much to explore here in Eva's story around difficult starts in life and adoption, especially failings in the care system when it comes to the needs of black and bi-racial children. My heart bled at the memories that haunted Eva, but I admired the way she had found a way to move beyond them. I particularly enjoyed the way she used the names of strong black women as a mantra during times of stress. Eva's life story should be one of success, and yet it is the pull of discovering her origins and how what she finds affects her sense of who she is that drives how the action plays out - ultimately this shines a light on quite how much discrimination can lead to tragic bias and unfair treatment, particularly on an institutional level. The mystery of the young black women that consumes Eva very cleverly ties all the myriad threads of this story together,  and even though this is a fictional tale it certainly leaves you with a lot to think about.

I loved the echoes that run through this book - the names of the missing women that displace the former mantra Eva used to rely on, and the way she uses this as a "say her name" battle cry at the climax of the thriller element of the story is glorious; and the "straight, never curly" flip to "curly, never straight" is incredibly moving. I cannot tell you more, but trust me these work so well and you will love how they are blended into the story.

It's rare to have to review a book that I have to be so cagey about, as I would love to sing the praises of so many things about it. All I can say is read it, revel in how everything fits seamlessly together, and have a tissue handy for the inevitable tears that will roll down your cheeks at the end.

Say Her Name is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to FMcM Associates and Amazon Publishing for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the authors:

Her Majesty the Queen awarded Dreda an MBE in her New Year’s Honours’ List, 2020. She scooped the CWA’s John Creasey Dagger Award for best first-time crime novel in 2004, the first time a Black British author has received this honour.

Ryan and Dreda write across the crime and mystery genre―psychological thrillers, gritty gangland crime and fast-paced action books. Spare Room, their first psychological thriller, was a #1 UK and US Amazon Bestseller. Dreda is a passionate campaigner and speaker on social issues and the arts. She has appeared on television, including Celebrity Pointless, Celebrity Eggheads, BBC 1 Breakfast, Sunday Morning Live, Newsnight, The Review Show and Front Row Late on BBC 2. Ryan and Dreda performed a specially commissioned monologue on the ground-breaking Sky Arts Art 50 on Sky TV.

Dreda has been a guest on many radio shows and presented BBC Radio 4’s flagship books programme, Open Book. She has written in a number of leading newspapers including the Guardian and was thrilled to be named one of Britain’s 50 Remarkable Women by Lady Geek in association with Nokia. She is a trustee of the Royal Literary Fund and an ambassador for The Reading Agency.

Some of their books are currently in development as TV and film adaptations.

Dreda’s parents are from the beautiful Caribbean island of Grenada. Her name, Dreda, is Irish and pronounced with a long-vowel ee sound in the middle.

Scorpion by Christian Cantrell

 

Scorpion by Christian Cantrell.

Published in paperback 14th April 2022 by Penguin Michael Joseph.

From the cover of the book:

All over the world, random people are being brutally assassinated.

Each death is unique, but they all have one thing in common: four numbers branded or carved into the victims' flesh.

What does it mean?

For the brilliant and haunted CIA analyst Quinn Mitchell, it means leaving a safe and predictable desk job as she tries to track down a global serial killer.

What she doesn't know is that nothing about this mission - her handlers, the intelligence, even the laws of cause and effect - can be trusted.

And her target has saved his most shocking murder for last . . .

***********

In a near future, CIA analyst Quinn Mitchell has been preoccupied for the last few years with a project to prevent nuclear terrorism, following a horrific attack in Seoul. Now this project is coming to an end, hailed as a complete success by the intelligence services, Quinn finds her skills are required for quite a different sort of task.

A mysterious assassin has been killing targets all over the world, and branding them with four digit numbers. The targets seem to have been chosen at random, the methods used to execute them are wildly different, and the victims are getting younger each time. Quinn is not sure that this is really a job for her, given that she is not qualified as a field agent, but when a child is the latest victim of this unknown serial killer, the loss of her own daughter fortifies her need to track down whoever is responsible for these deaths and put a stop to their killing spree.

But Quinn doesn't know that there is something much wider going on here. Something that defies the laws of space and time, and is tied up with a hush-hush scheme of those at the very heart of the organisation she works for. The fate of millions lies in the balance and Quinn's life will never be the same again...

Scorpion is a beautifully conceived high-concept thriller that combines a serial killer mystery with elements of very clever science fiction themes around time travel, artificial intelligence and smart technology.

Cantrell draws you in with an enigmatic clue that appears in the most unlikely of places; seduces you with a compelling, but seemingly unrelated search for a serial killer; and then completely floors you with an about turn of the most entertaining kind, that blossoms into full-on sci-fi territory up there with the best writers of the genre... and I loved every fast-paced, bamboozling moment.

Quinn is an unusual protagonist, who is very relatable given her difficult background. I really enjoyed how she finds a way to channel her determination, and to employ her analytical skills to not only get the job done, but do it with style. I liked her from the word go, and thoroughly enjoyed how her character develops over the course of a story that throws everything at her in the way of mental, physical and emotional challenges.

Intriguingly, this is a book that is ideally suited as an introduction to the world of the sci-fi thriller for those who don't normally see themselves as readers of this genre, while impressively still containing everything that fans of a darned good science fiction yarn know and love, which is a very difficult thing to pull off. I take my hat off to Christian Cantrell for doing this so well. 

I cannot remember the last time I read a science fiction thriller of this kind that I found so delectably intricate, intelligent, full of adventure, and rammed with murderous machinations, while still maintaining pace as it twists and transforms its nature as the story unfolds. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole shebang, and cannot wait to read Cantrell's previous books.

Highly recommended for fans of the excellent scf-fi thrillers written by Michael Crichton and Blake Crouch.

Scorpion is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph for sending me a paperback copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Christian Cantrell is a software engineer living outside of Washington, D.C. His self-published fiction has sold more than a quarter of a million copies, and three of his stories have been optioned for film or TV. Beyond his writing, he leads a team of designers and engineers who prototype the future of creativity as Adobe.

Shadow Girls by Carol Birch

 

Shadow Girls by Carol Birch.

Published 14th April 2022 by Head of Zeus.

From the cover of the book:

Manchester, 1960s. Sally, a cynical fifteen-year-old schoolgirl, is much too clever for her own good. When partnered with her best friend, Pamela – a mouthy girl who no-one else much likes – Sally finds herself unable to resist the temptation of rebellion. The pair play truant, explore forbidden areas of the old school and – their favourite – torment posh Sylvia Rose, with her pristine uniform and her beautiful voice that wins every singing prize.

One day, Sally ventures (unauthorised, of course) up to the greenhouse on the roof alone. Or at least she thinks she's alone, until she sees Sylvia on the roof too. Sally hurries downstairs, afraid of Sylvia snitching, but Sylvia appears to be there as well.

Amidst the resurgence of ghost stories and superstition among the girls, a tragedy is about to occur, one that will send Sally further and further down an uncanny rabbit hole...

***********

Manchester, 1960s: Sally is a self-absorbed fifteen-year-old, tired of the restrictions of the girls' school she attends, and the tedium of her family. She longs for her O levels to be over with so her life can begin. Her best friend the troubled Pamela, who no one else really likes, is the only one who seems to understand her feelings, and they both spend an increasing amount of time playing truant and exploring the areas of the school that are out of bounds to students, deriving a sense of power from their rebellious acts. To amuse themselves they also think up ever more inventive ways to torment posh pupil Sylvia Rose, whose perfect appearance and exemplary ways they find particularly irksome.

One afternoon, while on her own in the rooftop greenhouse that has become one of their favourite forbidden spots, Sally spies the unlikely sight of Sylvia sitting on the parapet outside. Shocked, she runs downstairs to her classroom, only to see Sylvia primly sitting at her desk waiting for the lesson to begin. How can she be in two places at the same time? When Sally confides in Pamela about what she has seen it sets in motion a chain of events that lead to tragedy, and come to mark their destiny.

Shadow Girls is a fabulously creepy literary fiction tale, mixing elements of a chilling ghost story with a deeply affecting exploration of fragile mental health. You are never quite sure where the truth behind this story lies, which makes it darkly compelling and an absolute joy to consume in huge bites of deliciously atmospheric prose.

The first two thirds of the book take Sally through her O levels and onto her university days. They offer an incredibly insightful look into the life of a teenager teetering on the edge of adulthood. Sally is desperate to fly the coop, but in many ways she is still clutching onto the security of family and the routine of school life, unsure about what the future holds. She is also navigating her first romantic relationship, but is confused about her feelings. It's all so uncomfortably evocative of those coming-of-age years, and there is so much here that will especially resonate with anyone who has attended an old-fashioned school for girls - like I did, albeit rather later in the 1980s. There is such a brooding air of foreboding from the outset - you know that disaster is approaching, but it is impossible to look away as events spin out of control. Intriguingly, even though Birch creates an authentic feel of the 1960s, there is something so timeless about how the story plays out.

The final third of the book finds Sally back in Manchester as a young adult, trying to come to terms with the memories that haunt her - memories which begin to overwhelm her when she ends up living in very building where her life was derailed, now the old school has been converted into flats. For me, this is the most disturbing part of the whole book and it sends an icy finger running up and down your spine as Sally baulks at echoes from the past and loses her grip on reality. Or does she? Again, you are never quite sure where the boundaries between real and imagined lie, and it is brilliant.

Throughout the whole wonderful story Birch delves into themes of anxiety, abuse, unresolved trauma, guilt, jealousy and even hysteria, while underpinning everything with sinister threads of the supernatural to keep you constantly on a knife-edge. She knows how to use the setting of a mysterious old building to stifling perfection, creating a sense of otherness that is strikingly vivid.

This novel is profoundly disturbing, and one of the best chillers I have ever read. You will find yourself turning this story over in your mind a lot once you have closed the covers. I promise this one will haunt you, but you will love every second.

Shadow Girls is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you for Head of Zeus for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Carol Birch s the award-winning author of twelve novels, including Jamrach's Menagerie, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2011. Her first novel, Life in the Palace, won the David Higham Award (Best First Novel of the Year), and her second novel, The Fog Line, won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. Born in Manchester, she now lives in Lancaster.

A Good Day To Die by Amen Alonge

 

A Good Day to Die by Amen Alonge.

Published 17th February 2022 by Quercus.

From the cover of the book:

Meet Pretty Boy. Vengeance is on his mind.

His real name:
Unknown

His code of conduct:
Don't be a pawn in someone else's game.
Never underestimate the enemy.
Above all, survive. There is no glory in death.

His mission:
It's been ten years since Pretty Boy left the big city - today he's back. No one knows why, but it's clear that revenge is on his mind: he is determined to make the person responsible for his exile from the London scene finally pay. But his plans seem derailed when he takes possession of a bracelet, unaware that its original owner has set a high price for its safe return. Suddenly, the hunter becomes the hunted and Pretty Boy will have to find out if it is indeed a 'good day to die'.

Jam-packed with action, an unforgettable cast of characters and peppered with dry humour, A Good Day to Die marks the arrival of a fresh and exciting new voice in thriller writing.

***********

Pretty Boy is back on the London scene after ten years in an unknown location. The time is ripe for vengeance and and he is set on a course of action to make the person who led to his exile pay for their sins.

His first move is to arrive at the drug fortress of a face from his past, who now goes by the name of 'Snowman'. Pretty Boy has a bag full of product to sell and needs the money he expects to receive in exchange to set his detailed scheme for revenge in motion. What he doesn't know is that the bracelet 'Snowman' gives him in part payment for the drugs comes with a history - and the former owner is desperate to get his hands on the person who stole it in a foolishly reckless act.

Pretty Boy has become the target from some very dangerous enemies that he did not account for and they are about to interfere with his well laid plans. Will he manage to last out the day and obtain the reckoning he seeks?

What an explosive debut thriller this is! It grabs you from the first page and takes you on a relentless thrill ride rich with vivid characters and violent gangland shenanigans!

The format of the novel is brilliantly unconventional, following the course of Pretty Boy's meticulously planned quest for revenge over the course of a single day, interspersed with vignettes from the past that reveal the whos, whys and wherefores of his story. Meanwhile, some very unpleasant characters are out to get him for his perceived part in the theft of the bracelet, using increasingly vicious means that force Pretty Boy to take a roundabout route to get his long awaited revenge - and to leave a string of bodies in his wake. The whole story takes on a back-to-front structure, brilliantly constructed to ensure all the very twisty threads collide at the very end, and it is oh so beautifully done.

There's no doubt that these pages contain as much violence as it is possible to cram into a story, but at no time does the ferocity of the wet work take away from the slick way that Alonge weaves his cleverly conceived plot lines. Alonge holds nothing back in the way of grittiness, but in many ways the piece has the feel of a gangster caper, filled with dark humour and sexy scenarios, and this drives the action along with perfectly pitched pace.

But this is not all, because beneath the first class, contemporary villainous romp Alonge touches on a stash of thought-provoking themes. I loved the way he brings in a delectable clash of cultures with the make up of his characters in terms of class and race, both on the wider societal front; and more particularly in the obvious discord between criminal fraternities, and how the changing times affect the way they operate. There is a lot to pick apart in the settings Alonge takes us to, exploring issues around lost futures, hopelessness, trauma, abuse and addiction too. The most impressive thing of all is the way Alonge makes you confront all the shades of grey behind what happens in this novel, laying bare the motivations of the characters that live out their lives in the raw underbelly of London, so they become more that caricatures. 

I absolutely loved every little thing about this cracking debut. If the kind of gangster fun that Guy Ritchie produces at his very best is your bag, then you will adore this one too. I cannot wait to see where Alonge goes with the sequel to this book, because the concept is stunning!

A Good Day to Die is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Quercus for sending me a hardcover coop of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Amen Alonge was born in Lagos and moved to London as a teenager almost twenty years ago. He took a Master's Degree at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, then worked as an engineer. He went on to take a screenwriting course at London Film Academy and, for a while, ran the family business, a sports media company that owned the global licensing rights for the Nigerian Football League. He changed careers since, and is currently training to become a solicitor. Amen lives in London with his wife and their son.

The Capsarius (Legion XXII Book One) by Simon Turney

 

The Capsarius (Legion XXII Book One) by Simon Turney.

Published 14th April 2022 by Aries, Head of Zeus.

From the cover of the book:

Titus Cervianus is no ordinary soldier. And the Twenty Second is no ordinary legion...

Egypt. 25 BC. A former surgeon from the city of Ancyra, Titus Cervianus is now a capsarius – a combat medic. He is a pragmatist, a scientist – and deeply unpopular with his legion, the Twenty Second Deiotariana.

The Twenty Second have been sent to deal with uprisings in Egypt. Founded as the private army of one of Rome's most devoted allies, their ways are not the same as the other legions', which sets them apart and causes friction with their fellow soldiers.

Marching into the unknown, Cervianus will find unexpected allies: a local cavalryman and a troublesome lunatic. Both will be of critical importance as the young medic marches through the searing sands of the south, finding forbidden temples, hidden assassins, and worst of all, the warrior queen of Kush...

***********

Egypt, 25 BC: Former doctor surgeon Titus Cervianus now serves as a capsarius, a combat medic, with the XXII Legion, a world away from the comfortable life he once new in the city of Ancyra. His intellectual and pragmatic ways have made him unpopular with his barely literate comrades, who see him as unlucky, and he spends the majority of his time an outcast in the ranks of Twenty Second Deiotariana, unless his considerable medical skills are required.

The XXII Legion have been transferred from their home in Galatia to exotic Alexandria, part of a campaign to regain lands in the south of Egypt that were taken by the fierce warrior queen of Kush, and the battle ahead is going to be hard fought. Their situation is made worse by the fact the Twenty Second stem for the former private army of King Amyntas of Galatia, but have now been absorbed into the empire. Their ways are different to those of the soldiers they must fight alongside, and even though they are under the command of Roman senior officers they sit uncomfortably with the men of their fellow legions.

Cervianus is resigned to his lot as loner and butt of the bullying ways of his fellow fighting men, content to absorb all he can about the new experiences that await him in the strange land that he has only read about, but as the Twenty Second embark on their mission into the unknown he not only finds allies in the truculent new comer Ulyxes, and the local auxiliary cavalryman Shanti, but also learns that perhaps superstition and the will of the Gods might have some bearing on his fate after all - especially under the command of a man who sees a chance to grab some glory in the battles that lie ahead, even if it means losing many men in the process...

Simon Turney is one of my favourite authors of cracking historical fiction, and this new series about Legion XXII has everything I look for in one of his delicious adventures - a detailed and well researched background that both entertains and brings alive an authentic feeling of time and place; a well-crafted tale that keeps you glued to the page from beginning to end; and a multitude of engaging characters to love and loathe. 

I have not read anything that delves into the Egyptian arena of the Roman empire of this period before, especially one which goes beyond the fringes of the Mediterranean into the dark heart of Africa, which makes it fascinating. You can feel the weight of history seeping from the pages, and by following the story of the XXII as they experience the twists and turns of military and personal trials, Turney brings in many delectable threads to keep you busy. I particularly liked the way he explores the otherness of a legion with an unusual background, highlighting the reality of what life was like for the men from a far-flung part of the empire who are thrown into the middle of the ambitious plans of Rome; the poignancy of a land as old as time that is now chaffing under the yoke of a young upstart conqueror; the intricately examined clash of cultures, from customs, lifestyle, religion and superstition; and how the Nile is front and centre as the life-blood of this desert region.

The interplay between the characters is brilliant, focusing on the unlikely friendship between Cervianus  and Ulyxes, which allows some very amusing chuckle worthy moments, and as their relationship develops they learn from each other. Cervianus is quite an unusual protagonist, and the way he struggles to balance the different parts of his make-up brings an interesting depth to his character too - how to reconcile his need to follow the healing philosophy of Hippocrates and yet employ the brutality of a warrior is the contest he finds understandably most troubling. Talking of medical matters, this book beautifully tackles the conflicting ideas of differing therapeutic ideologies at this time, and the significance of these for the men of the legions, which I found very thought-provoking.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from captivating start, to breath-taking finish. It's full to the brim with spellbinding history, gripping adventure, and surprising mystery. As a start to a new series, this is an winner, and I cannot wait to see what comes next in book two, Bellatrix.

The Capsarius is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Aries for sending me a hardcover copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Simon lives with his wife, children, rabbits and dog in rural North Yorkshire. Having spent much of his childhood visiting historic sites with his grandfather, a local photographer, Simon fell in love with the Roman heritage of the region, beginning with the world famous Hadrian's Wall. His fascination with the ancient world snowballed from there with great interest in Egypt, Greece and Byzantium, though his focus has always been Rome. A born and bred Yorkshireman with a love of country, history and architecture, Simon spends most of his rare free time travelling the world visiting historic sites, writing, researching the ancient world and reading voraciously.

Simon's early career meandered along an arcane and eclectic path of everything from the Ministry of Agriculture to computer network management before finally settling back into the ancient world. During those varied years, Simon returned to university study to complete an honours degree in classical history through the Open University. With what spare time he had available and a rekindled love of all things Roman, he set off on an epic journey to turn Caesar's Gallic War diaries into a novel accessible to all. The first volume of Marius' Mules was completed in 2003 and has garnered international success, bestseller status and rave reviews, spawning numerous sequels. Marius' Mules is still one of Simon's core series and although Roman fiction features highly he now has Byzantine, Fantasy and Medieval series, too, as well as several collaborations and short stories in other genres.

Now with in excess of 40 novels available and, Simon is a prolific writer, spanning genres and eras and releasing novels both independently and through renowned publishers including Canelo and Orion. Simon writes full time and is represented by MMB Creative literary agents.

Look out for Roman military novels featuring Caesar's Gallic Wars in the form of the bestselling Marius' Mules series, Roman thrillers in the Praetorian series, set during the troubled reign of Commodus, imperial intrigue in the Damned Emperors series and the Rise of Emperors series, epics of the Knights Templar, adventures around the 15th century Mediterranean world in the Ottoman Cycle, and a series of Historical Fantasy novels with a Roman flavour called the Tales of the Empire.

The Dark Flood (A Benny Griessel Novel) by Deon Meyer

 

The Dark Flood (A Benny Griessel Novel) by Deon Meyer.

Translated by K.L. Seegers.

Published 14th April 2022 by Hodder and Stoughton.

From the cover of the book:

One last chance. Almost fired for insubordination, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido find themselves demoted, exiled from the elite Hawks unit and dispatched to the leafy streets of Stellenbosch. Working a missing persons report on student Callie de Bruin is not the level of work they are used to, but it's all they get. And soon, it takes a dangerous, deeply disturbing turn.

One last chance. Stellenbosch is beautiful, but its economy has been ruined by one man. Jasper Boonstra and his gigantic corporate fraud have crashed the local property market, just when estate agent Sandra Steenberg desperately needs a big sale. Bringing up twins and supporting her academic husband, she is facing disaster. Then she gets a call. From Jasper Boonstra, fraudster, sexual predator and owner of a superb property worth millions, even now.

For Sandra, the stakes are high and about to get way higher.

For Benny Griessel, clinging to sobriety and the relationship that saved his life, the truth about Callie can only lead to more trouble.

***********

Detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido, veteran investigators in the elite Hawks unit, find themselves demoted and sent to patrol the streets of leafy Stellenbosch after being found guilty of insubordination. Things could be worse, as they feared being exiled to way out in the Karoo, but they are unsure if they will ever be able to return to their beloved Hawks, and recovering alcoholic Griessel is concerned that the change in their fortunes may lead him back to finding solace at the bottom of a bottle.

Beautiful Stellenbosch, wine capital of South Africa and home to millionaires and academics, is hardly a hot-bed of crime, but it's not quite the affluent neighbourhood it once was. The economy has been ruined by the dodgy dealings of one man, Jasper Boonstra, a disgraced businessman who hides behind the walls of his swanky estate while the government tries to bring a case of massive fraud against him. Everyone who lives here has been affected by the resulting recession, and the once buoyant property market has crashed.

The first case assigned to Griessel and Cupido is. at first sight, a simple missing persons report: student Callie du Bruin has disappeared from his campus hostel over the weekend, but there is no reason to believe he has come to harm, despite the concerns of his doting mother. However, something about this case is decidedly off, and Griessel and Cupido soon suspect that Callie has got himself involved with some very dangerous people.

Meanwhile, estate agent Sandy Steenberg gets a call from the notorious Jasper Boonstra himself. On the edge of financial ruin, she has no choice but to answer the call of this rumoured sexual predator and fraudster in order to save herself and her family from disaster - she desperately needs the commission he is offering from the underhand sale of his expensive properties, even if it means doing a deal with the devil.

Griessel, Cupido and Steenberg are about to put themselves in peril by becoming embroiled in circumstances rife with subterfuge and corruption, each of them having to step very carefully indeed in order to survive.

The Dark Flood starts with a delicious bang, as Deon Meyer treats you to a gripping multi-way shoot-out on the highway, which has unexpected significance for the twists and turns that follow for detectives Griessel and Cupido as they are sent to Stellenbosch with their tails between their legs - and is beautifully reminiscent of a good old cowboy gunfight, albeit with a modern twist.

The story then proceeds by moving between the stories of Griessel and Cupido as they follow the police procedural side of the tale, with an increasingly complex missing person case, and a softly-softly investigation into corruption at the very heart of the police force; and that of Steenberg as she navigates a dodgy property deal with the unpleasant Boonstra, ruing each progressively illegal move she is forced to make in order to save her family. At first it's hard to see how the Griessel-Cupido storyline, rich in the nitty-gritty of South African style crime solving can possibly touch that of Steenberg with her very personal and professional troubles, but their parallel threads inexorably draw together in a very cleverly contrived way that serves to give you some intriguing heart-in-the-mouth moments, and a shocker of a parting shot that I really hope Meyer will explore further in the next Griessel novel!

I love how Meyer manages to touch on so many interesting themes in the telling of this story, weaving in juicy threads around gritty criminal shenanigans; corporate and political greed; and the games of power and corruption that provide all the fodder you need for a high-octane thriller, but he also incorporates more subtle subjects that explore the psychological effects of toxic masculinity, class, race and money - especially in the way seemingly decent and law-abiding citizens can be motivated to cross the lines into dark deeds. There are some really touching moments that examine family dynamics, reconciliation, and the legacy of less than ideal parenting too. All of this combines with a diverse and vivid cast of characters to offer a glimpse of contemporary South Africa in an engaging and enlightening way, delightfully wrapped up in a gripping first-class thriller with plenty of action, emotional depth, and humour.

 

This is my first Deon Meyer, and my first Benny Griessel novel, but it will not be my last of either. I very much enjoyed being immersed in the South African Cape and absorbing some Afrikaans (a helpful glossary of words and phrases is provided as an appendix to help with the ones which are not obvious), and am impressed with the obvious skill translator K.L. Seegers shows in keeping the tempo, excitement and emotion of this story going throughout. I am very much looking forward to delving into Meyer's back catalogue and await the next Griessel adventure with high anticipation!

The Dark Flood is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton for sending me a proof and a finished copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Ransom PR for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Deon Meyer is a South African crime fiction author and screenwriter.

A former journalist, advertising copywriter, Internet manager and brand strategist, Deon has published thirteen novels and two short story collections. His books have been published in 28 languages in more than 40 countries world-wide.

He has also written several series for television, and four screenplays for feature films. Deon has also produced and directed movies in his native Afrikaans.

Accolades for his books include Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière (2003) and Le prix Mystère de la critique (2004) from France, the Deutsche Krimi Preis (2006, 2009), the Swedish Martin Beck Award (2010), the ATKV Prose Prize (2000, 2003, and 2004), the ATKV Suspense Fiction Prize (2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2019), the M-Net Award for Most Filmic Novel (2009, 2012), and the Barry Award for Best Thriller in the USA (2010).

Deon was born in Paarl in 1958 and matriculated in Klerksdorp in 1976. He studied at the Universities of Northwest, Free State and Stellenbosch, and holds a Masters’ Degree in Creative Writing.

He lives in Stellenbosch with his wife Marianne, and is passionate about South Africa, Mozart, mountain biking, cooking, photography, and Free State Cheetahs and Springbok rugby.

This Much Is True (Audio Book) by Miriam Margolyes

 

This Much is True by Miriam Margolyes.

Narrated by Miriam Margolyes.

Released 16th September 2021 by John Murray.

From the cover:

From Blackadder to Call the Midwife, from the Cadbury's Caramel Rabbit to Harry Potter, Miriam Margolyes is the outspoken great aunt (after two sherries) we all wish we had - this is (at last) her extraordinary life story, and it's well worth the wait.

Award-winning actor, creator of a myriad of memorable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, Miriam Margolyes is a national treasure.

Now, at last, at the age of 80, she has finally decided to tell her extraordinary life story. And it's far richer and stranger than any part she's played.

Find out how being conceived in an air-raid gave her curly hair; what pranks led to her being known as the naughtiest girl Oxford High School ever had; how she ended up posing nude for Augustus John aged 17, being sent to Coventry by Monty Python and the Goodies and swearing on University Challenge (she was the first woman to say f--k on TV). This book is packed with unforgettable stories from why Bob Monkhouse was the best (male) kiss she's ever had to being told off by the queen. With a cast list stretching from Scorsese to Streisand, Leonardo di Caprio to Isaiah Berlin, This Much Is True is as warm and honest, as full of life and surprises, as she is.

***********

There's no doubt that Miriam Margolyes is a national treasure, known for her many and varied roles on TV, stage and screen throughout the decades, but how much do you know about the woman behind the larger than life persona?

Well, if your knowledge of Miriam goes even a little beyond the roles she has played then you actually already know a fair bit about her, because she is very much front and centre about her sexuality, her take on her Jewishness, and her political views - and if you have seen any of her hilarious appearances on Graham Norton's chat show you will also know that she is not shy about sprinkling her vocabulary with swear words and filthy tales too!

Here at last, Miriam tells her life story, starting with her conception during an air raid, which was somewhat of a surprise to her mother, right up to the present day - and as a woman in her 80s who has lived a full and unapologetic life, there is a lot to tell.

Miriam goes into great depth about her childhood; her school and university years; and her relationship with her parents; before embarking on a full and frank account of her adult experiences, both in her personal and professional lives. She is open and honest about every aspect of her life, including her lesbianism: the great influence of her mother in shaping the person she has become; what being a Jew means to her; and her political views, which adds real emotional grit to this autobiography, so if you are expecting a just a steam of profanity and racy stories then you may be very surprised about the breadth of Miriam's musings - although you should be aware, if you are of a sensitive nature, that there is a lot of this content here.

My favourite thing about this book is the way Miriam goes into the highs and lows of her acting career, and the wealth of hilarious anecdotes she regales you with throughout. I found myself frequently laughing out loud at her outrageous stories, and her sense of fun is highly infectious.

If you are a fan of Miriam then you are bound to find this a very enjoyable listen. I did think the amount of time she spends on her childhood perhaps a little over detailed, but once she moves on to her adult life this really is a very compelling book. Miriam is not afraid to be controversial, and this forthright and candid account of her life is really refreshing, with a lot of unexpected thought provoking content behind the laughs too.

This Much is True is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

About the author:

Born in Oxford, England in 1941 & educated at Newnham College, Cambridge, MIRIAM MARGOLYES is an award-winning veteran of the stage and screen, and an internationally acclaimed voice-artist. Winner of the BAFTA Best Supporting Actress award for The Age of Innocence, she received an OBE in 2002 for Services to Drama. This Much is True is her long-awaited autobiography.