The Red Admiral's Secret (Poynter and Perry Book 2) by Matthew Ross

 

The Red Admiral's Secret (Poynter and Perry Book 2) by Matthew Ross.

Reissued 3rd June 2023 by Curlew Crescent.

From the cover of the book:

A Premier League bad-boy murdered at his newly refurbished home; a teenage runaway's corpse uncovered on a construction site; a gunman shoots up the premises of the local gangland boss - all of them projects run by beleaguered builder Mark Poynter. Can he fix it?

The Red Admiral's Secret is the second of 'the Poynter + Perry Mysteries', the darkly comic crime novels following Mark Poynter's trouble on the tools, aided and hindered in equal measure by his trusted crew of slackers, idlers and gossips, and the lengths they go to just to earn a living.

***********

I cannot tell you how much I was looking forward to meeting up again with Marky-Mark Poynter and the gang after Matthew Ross' excellent debut novel, Death of a Painter, and from start to finish The Red Admiral's Secret was just like catching up with friends and family - well friends and family embroiled in the fall out from murder and mayhem anyway.

Electrician, Mark Poynter, has pulled himself out of the mire he was involved in during the events of The Death of a Painter, and is now doing alright for himself both personally and professionally. Working for the ex-footballer Danny Kid and his brother, Stuart, in their property management business has proven to be profitable, but Mark cannot help but worry what the future holds, and whether it is sensible to put all his eggs in one basket. His nurse partner, Perry, has now more-or-less moved in giving him a loving, stable base to anchor himself to - if only he would allow himself acknowledge it. Uncle Bern and Disco are still putting in a, mostly, welcome appearance, and as for the loveable villain Hamlet, well he is never far away and still dragging Mark into some dodgy scheme whether he wants in or not.

When the Kidd brothers start to show an interest in developing the derelict Admiral Guthrie pub, some pretty nasty fellows come out of the woodwork and trouble ensues for them all - the kind of trouble that involves murder, the sins of the past, and possible gang warfare. Yep. poor old Mark is up to his neck in it again, as as is par for the course, it is up to him to try to sort in out.

There are some fabulous threads to this tale, which bring in a mix of the modern gang culture and that of the traditional crime bosses of the past; the repercussions of sibling rivalry ramped up to eleven; and commitment to friends, family and partners; which when added together make for a much more complex story than in the first book. I was really impressed with the slick way Ross works all the threads out to their exciting conclusions, with some nice little twists and turns along the way. There is plenty of mystery with menace, and a good solid portion of emotion fit to warm the cockles of your heart.

This really is a book where I recommend you take the time to read the first one in the series, because is makes such a difference to know the characters you meet in this adventure, and the history that lies between them. It will also give you a chance to get into the vibe of Ross' style of humour, and the reams of top quality pithy banter that help make these books so enjoyable.

It's easy to see that Ross getting into his stride as a writer in this book, fleshing out his characters nicely and inventing more involved plots that are both entertaining and absorbing. I absolutely loved every cracking page, and am looking forward to more adventures with Poynter and Perry! 

The Red Admiral's Secret is available to buy now in paperback and ebook.

**Review originally published February 2021**

Thank you to Matt Ross for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Zooloo's Book Tours for inviting me to take part in this blog tour.

About the author:

Matthew Ross was born and raised in the Medway Towns, England. He still lives in Kent with his Kiwi wife, his children and a very old cat.

He was immersed in the building industry from a very early age helping out on his father’s sites during school holidays before launching into his own career at 17. He’s worked on projects ranging from the smallest domestic repair to £billion+ infrastructure, and probably everything in between.

A lifelong comedy nerd, he ticked off a bucket-list ambition and tried his hand at stand-up comedy. Whilst being an experience probably best forgotten (for both him and audiences alike) it ignited a love for writing, leading to various commissions including for material broadcast on BBC Radio 4 comedy shows.

Matthew moved into the longer format of novel writing after graduating from the Faber Academy in London in 2017.

Death Of A Painter and The Red Admiral's Secret are his darkly comic crime capers featuring beleagured builder Mark Poynter and associates.

Burning Bridges is a stand-alone British gangster revenge thriller - perfect for anyone who likes cheering on the bad guys.

Matthew enjoys reading all manner of books - especially crime and mystery; 80s music; and travelling and can’t wait for the next trip to New Zealand to spend time with family and friends. He wishes he could tap dance.