The Case Of The Lonely Accountant (The Finder Mysteries: Book Two) by Simon Mason

 

The Case of the Lonely Accountant (The Finder Mysteries: Book Two) by Simon Mason.

Published 11th September 2024 by riverrun.

From the cover of the book:

Bournemouth 2008, the height of the financial crash. Don Bayliss, a timid and well-mannered accountant, vanishes after leaving his office before a scheduled meeting. His wife is both perplexed and distraught. His clothes are found discarded at the mouth of Poole Harbour.

After seven years of searching with no firm leads, the investigation is closed, and Don is presumed dead.

Until, sorting through his possessions, his wife finds a garish business card of one Dwight Fricker and decides it must be of some importance. Now more than eight years after his disappearance Dorset Police call in the Finder and the cold case is reopened.

The Finder begins with the last sightings of Don on the day he went missing, hearing how he seemed in a hurry, somewhat distracted? He unearths a string of overlooked clues that lead him to face the unlikely friendships that Don had made, the somewhat overbearing nature of Mrs Bayliss, the secrets that haunted him in his home life and the mistakes that led to him being investigated at work.

The Case of the Lonely Accountant is a dark and rich mystery that centres upon one lonely man and reveals the distance between those who are missing and those who are lost.

***********

In 2008, Don Bayliss, Chief Accounting Officer and Vice President of a prestigious asset management company in Bournemouth, went missing during the madness of the financial crash. His clothes were found folded in a neat pile on the quayside at Poole Harbour, and it was assumed that he had committed suicide. His body was never recovered.

Eight years later, Don's wife is sorting through his belongings and discovers a business card she does not recognise. Thinking it might be important she reports this to the police, who are very interested to note that it is for one Dwight Fricker, a gangster currently serving a long stretch in prison. At a loss to know why an unassuming and respectable fellow like Don should have such a card in his possession, the police decide to re-open the case and call in the man known as 'Finder' to see if there was more to the accountant than they thought...

This is the second book in the new Finder Mysteries by Simon Mason, and this time Finder is asked to use his considerable talents to see if he can shed some light on the case of Don Bayliss - a quiet corporate accountant whose apparent suicide shocked those that knew him. Finder gets to work following up the original investigation in his singular way, with an attention to detail that bears promising new lines of inquiry, somewhat to the consternation of the police force he is working for, and Don's pillar-of-the-community wife. 

The story unfurls from Finder's point of view, very much as in the previous book, Missing Person, Alice. As I am coming to see, Finder's talent lies largely in getting witnesses to reveal more than they think they know, and the rational way he sifts through information he uncovers means the twists and turns of the suspenseful plot have a beautiful flow to them. Mason is very clever in the way he links incidental facts together to put thoughts into your mind about the direction of the story too, and there are nicely contrived red herrings to work through on the way to the ending you will not see coming.

I am delighted that a bit more of the man behind the reputation in this second book. Mason adds an extra layer to the mystery of what makes him tick on top of the little that was divulged about his Iraqi-born past during the Alice case. A picture is starting to form of a man who has had to deal with considerable losses in his life, and although his manner is mostly detached from the emotional aspects of the cases he works, there are times when this facade cracks to allow a glimpse of what lies within and the ghosts that haunt him. This really helps connect you to the character, and makes you want to find out more about how his experiences have shaped him. I loved how this also weaves in with the overarching themes of loneliness and melancholy that pervade this story.

It was also a joy to see that Finder's reading choices are a big part of the novella once again, with an intriguing linking allusion to Henry James, which will make you smile if you have read the first book as well. This time Finder is sipping the delights of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, who has a connection to Bournemouth, and Mason shrewdly reflects its themes of duality and darkness hidden within to perfection as the Don Bayliss investigation plays out. There is also a lovely side-order of choice musings about Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.

As expected, this second book went down just as nicely as the first one, and Mason's considerable talent as a crime writer continues to impress. If you have yet to discover his books, either in his cracking DI Wilkin's series, or in these new novellas, then you really should. I cannot wait for more! 

The Case of the Lonely Accountant is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to riverrun for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

SIMON MASON has pursued parallel careers as a publisher and an author, whose YA crime novels Running Girl, Kid Got Shot and Hey, Sherlock! feature the sixteen-year-old slacker genius Garvie Smith. A former Managing Director of David Fickling Books, where he worked with many wonderful writers, including Philip Pullman, he has also taught at Oxford Brookes University and has been a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Exeter College, Oxford.

Lost and Never Found is the third book in the DI Ryan Wilkins Mysteries. The first book, A Killing in November, received widespread critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger. The Second book, The Broken Afternoon, was a Times Audio Book of the Week and a Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month.

Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker

 

Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker.

Published 5th September 2024 by Oneworld Publications.

From the cover of the book:

CLOVE HAS SPENT YEARS BUILDING THE PERFECT LIFE. IT'S ABOUT TO COME CRASHING DOWN.

To the outside world, Clove has it all. But then a letter arrives from a women's prison in California – a letter that threatens to expose the secrets of a past she has worked so hard to hide. Thanks to her lies, Clove has the life of her dreams, complete with a kind, reliable husband, two adorable children and a stable family home.

So what, if silencing the memories of her own abusive childhood means racking up a little credit card debt or obsessing about her wellness routine? Nothing to see here. But secret past and insta-perfect present are about to collide thanks to her mother's unwelcome return, and soon Clove becomes caught up in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the very people she thought she had outrun.

Brave, hilarious and full of surprising twists, Madwoman is a story about violence, recovery, and Clove's refusal to be defined by her worst experiences.

***********

Clove has spent years curating her life to become the perfect wife and mother, making the kind of family she longed for as a child. The coping mechanisms she relies on to get by barely keep her memories in check, but so far she has managed to keep her secrets, and her substantial credit card debt, from her husband.

Despite all her efforts, Clove's tragic past eventually threatens to destroy this Insta-perfect existence. She receives a letter from a Californian women's prison, which can only mean one thing - her mother, imprisoned for killing Clove's violent father years ago, has finally found her, and wants something from her that she is not prepared to give. Her life begins to unravel as she struggles to keep her secrets, but the games she is forced to play only bring the truth about her abusive family history right to her door...

Chelsea Bieker's Madwoman explores the far-reaching effects of domestic violence. The story moves between the present and the past, flipping between Clove's desperate attempts to hold her life together in the face of a threat to expose the fiction she has created, and scenes from her childhood that paint a disturbing picture of what it was like for her growing up with a violent father. 

The tempo of the story is rather slow-burn, for the most part, delving into Clove's fractured personality and the things she does to survive the experiences she has spent her adult life running from, and Bieker incorporates a shed-load of insightfully explored themes about how her past has shaped her behaviour, identity, and ideas of self-worth. There are so many thought-provoking issues to pick up on here, particularly around Clove's heart-felt determination to break the cycle of family dysfunction, even though she has no idea what 'normal' relationships and parenthood look like; her complex feelings about her parents; and confronting the ever-present fear that a tendency to violence might lie somewhere within her, her children, or the husband she has chosen.

Bieker pulls no punches in getting into the nitty gritty of Clove's upsetting childhood, and she writes well about the dilemma that has Clove caught between a longing to confide in someone and the secrets she feels she must keep. In her present, there are many relatable moments when you are immersed in absurd and painful scenes that come with managing small children, marriage, dealing with critical in-laws, and losing a sense of self, while she walks a knife-edge. Along the way, the little pieces of Clove's past come together, eventually revealing the full truth about what happened the night her father died. Bieker almost pulls a fast one here, weaving a psychological thriller plot rife with unexpected twists into the midst of a literary family drama about the legacy of violence. Suddenly the pace of the story explodes with threads that are about more than keeping Clove's secrets, and although I think Bieker ties these threads off a little too neatly, the message of healing and hope that the change of direction brings is satisfying.

At its heart, this is an acutely observed novel that leaves you with a lot to ponder, which is probably to be expected given the very personal introduction about Bieker's own family history. The mix of pace and plotlines may divide the crowd, but Bieker's writing style is remarkably engaging given the subject matter. I also very much enjoyed the vein of dark humour  that runs through the story, mostly around Clove's American Psycho level of fixation with all things 'wellness' and her out-of-control shopping habits. And there is something really striking about how she muses on the difference between madwoman and mad woman, and views about controlling relationships.

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

Thank you to Oneworld for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Chelsea Bieker is the author of the debut novel Godshot, which was a finalist for both the Oregon and California Book Awards, longlisted for The Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize, and named a Barnes & Noble Pick of the Month. Her story collection, Heartbroke, was a New York Times 'Best California Book of 2022' and an NPR Best Book of the Year. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Granta, The Cut, McSweeney's, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Writers' Award, as well as residencies at MacDowell and Tin House. 

Originally from California's Central valley, she lives in Portland, Oregon with her family.

The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig

 

The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig.

Published 26th September 2024 by Rock the Boat.

From the cover of the book:

When death calls, she must answer. 

Hazel has always known she was different from her siblings. A thirteenth child, she was promised at birth to Merrick, the god of death.

Under his care, Hazel learns the art – and magic – of healing. Word of her extraordinary gift spreads throughout the kingdom. But all gifts come with a price. When Death claims a soul for himself, it is Hazel who must end their suffering… permanently.

Soon, destiny brings her to the royal court where she meets Leopold, an infuriatingly alluring prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. Here, Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet: to carry out her duties or follow the urges of her own heart. Can she go against the will of Death himself to save someone who is marked to die?

***********

The unwanted thirteenth child of a poor huntsman and his wife, Hazel was promised to Merrick, the god of death, before she was even born. Aware how special a thirteenth child could be, Merrick bestows his beloved goddaughter with gifts, and raises her to be a healer like no other. Hazel's renown spreads far and wide, and she never once questions why the god of death set her on this path - until the moment she learns that 'saving' sometimes means using her skills to kill those fated to die, even if they are close to her.

Hazel's fame takes her all the way to the royal palace, when the king is struck down by a mysterious illness called the Shimmers. Haunted by the things she has done, and with conflicted feelings about the handsome, brooding Prince Leopold, Hazel faces her biggest challenge yet. Hard choices must be made, and Hazel is torn between her duty, and the wishes of her heart...

Craig's sweeping novel is an epic retelling of the fairy tale Godfather Death by the Brothers Grimm, casting Hazel in the role of the foolish boy who is adopted by Death in their story. It is not a tale I was familiar with until after reading Craig's glorious novel, which I am actually rather pleased about, as it meant I had absolutely no idea where this story would take me - but even if you are, there is so much more here, and lots of surprises conjured from Craig's rich imagination.

Hazel is a fabulous character, who it is easy to take to your heart from the very beginning of the story. Unwanted and unloved, her value is recognised by each of the gods in the story - the distant, all-seeing Holy First; the legion of entities making up the Divided-One, represented by the dual gods Calamité and Félicité in one (quite terrifying) being; and the misunderstood god of death, Merrick. Having made their case for the babe, the parents promise her to Merrick, sealing the fate that sets her on a rocky path strewn with difficult decisions.

Plunged into a world of experiences she is totally unprepared for, Hazel finds Merrick surprisingly personable, and the two become close. She learns the skills that will take her a long way in the world, to the palace where she must navigate a dilemma that finds her at odds with her godfather, fuelled by the passionate love that develops between her and Leopold. Along the way, she is forced to confront the differences between magic and power, and fully understand the fact that the right choices are never the easy ones.

Craig's fairy tale world is beautifully drawn, encompassing a mortal realm plagued with human problems, and an in-between place where the gods (sometimes) reside, when they are not going about their ineffable godly work. Lush themes of gifts that are equal parts blessing and curse; the consequences of difficult choices: fate; love; family; jealousy; betrayal; and sacrifice echo through the story. The enemies-to-lovers romance between Hazel and Leopold is delicious, and there is a wealth of humour and heartache to enjoy in the spellbinding way Craig explores the nuances of the complicated relationship dynamics between her gods and the mortals who are part of their unfathomable plans.

It has been an age since I read such a compelling fantasy stand-alone like this. I absolutely ripped through the over-500 pages of this gem, and shed a quiet tear or two when I reached the emotional ending. Utterly fantastic story-telling for lovers of a darned good fairy tale retelling.

The Thirteenth Child is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

Thank you to Black Crow PR for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Erin A. Craig is the New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows and House of Roots and Ruin. 

She has always loved telling stories. An avid reader, decent quilter, rabid basketball fan, and collector of typewriters, brass figurines, and sparkly shoes, 

Erin makes her home in West Michigan with her husband and daughter.

Missing Person, Alice (The Finder Mysteries: Book One) by Simon Mason

 

Missing Person, Alice (The Finder Mysteries: Book One) by Simon Mason.

Published 11th September 2024 by riverrun.

From the cover of the book:

The people I work with call me 'Finder'. I'm a specialist, a finder of missing people.

July 2015, Sevenoaks. 12-year-old schoolgirl Alice Johnson went missing while doing her paper round, her bag found discarded on the pavement. At 08.00, she was spotted standing in heavy rain at the side of the busy by-pass. At 11.00, she was seen talking to the driver of a black car in Tonbridge. After that, nothing. Alice was never found.

Nine years later the body of another schoolgirl, Joleen Price, is pulled from a nearby lake and a local man named Vince Burns detained. Convinced that Burns is guilty in both cases, SIO Dave Armstrong calls in the Finder to investigate the earlier disappearance.

Interviewing those who thought they knew her, the Finder gradually reveals a hidden Alice, a girl of surprising contradictions. Seeking answers from her divorced parents - an over-protective mother, a negligent father - the Finder is forced to consider violently opposing narratives. Was the timid 12-year-old a victim of the predator Burns, as he himself hints? Or was she carrying out a plan of her own?

***********

When the body of schoolgirl Joleen Price is pulled from a Kent lake, and local man Vince Burns is detained for her murder, SIO Dave Armstrong is convinced that Burns is also responsible for the disappearance of another young girl around the same time. Armstrong calls in the man known as Finder to look into the case of twelve-year-old Alice Johnson, who went missing from near-by Sevenoaks in 2015, and has never been found.

Finder starts at the beginning - the moment Alice vanished in the middle of her early-morning paper-round, leaving her bag discarded on the pavement. Was she really the victim of the smirking predator Burns? Armstrong believes so, but Finder is not so sure. Whatever happened to her, it seems those around her did not really know her... 

Missing Person, Alice is the first of a new series by Simon Mason, author of the brilliant DI Wilkins series, introducing compelling new character, Iraqi-born Tahib, aka Finder. The novella unfurls in the first person narrative of Finder as he questions the people connected with the case, works through the evidence collected in the original inquiry, and unearths suprising new leads. 

Mason maintains suspense and mystery in the clever way he does, keeping you guessing about Alice's fate until almost the very last moment of the novella. His characters are beautifully drawn, evoking responses that take you through a spectacular range of contrasting emotions (Burns is particularly unsettling). Finder's detached, rational style means he is cool as a cucumber, even in the face of intense provocation from those around him. This proves to be very helpful to him as he doggedly follows the trail of clues, and he has an innate ability to be able to elicit information purely by knowing when to speak and when to listen.

For everything you learn about the case, and Finder's ability to live up to his prodigious reputation, the man himself remains a curious mystery. He talks very little about himself, but Mason drops an intriguing hint or two about his past. I think there is a lot still to discover on that front, and look forward to how Mason reveals what lies under that unruffled surface, over the course of the series. 

Mason packs a lot of rich themes into this novella. He uses Finder's musings over the book What Maisie Knew by Henry James, which he is reading during the investigation, so cleverly. The themes of childhood innocence in the face of bewildering neglect, abusive adult behaviour, and coming of age, that run through James' book, fit neatly with what Finder discovers about Alice's case. I also loved how Mason examines the wide ranging impact of a missing person on those left behind, starting with friends and family and encompassing the community as a whole. There are interesting things to ponder about quite how much we know about what lies in the hearts and minds of our children, and how they see us too.

This is a cracking first instalment of the Finder series. I swallowed it whole, entirely engrossed by plot, characterisation, and Mason's accomplished writing. So good, I am moving straight on to book two, The Case of the Lonely Accountant (which has been released at the same time as book one).  

If you love the missing person investigation aspects of Tim Weaver's excellent David Raker books, then you will really enjoy this!

Missing Person, Alice is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to riverrun for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Simon Mason has pursued parallel careers as a publisher and an author, whose YA crime novels Running Girl, Kid Got Shot, and Hey, Sherlock! feature the sixteen-year-old slacker genius Garvie Smith.

A former Managing Director of David Fickling Books, where he worked with many wonderful writers, including Philip Pullman, he has also taught at Oxford Brookes University and has been a Royal Literary Fund Fellow as Exeter College, Oxford.

His critically acclaimed DI Ryan Wilkins Mysteries, which started with A Killing in November have received numerous accolades, including being shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger, selected as Times Audio Book of the Week, and Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month.

Ordeal By Innocence by Agatha Christie

 

Ordeal By Innocence by Agatha Christie.

This edition published 9th February 2017. Originally published in 1958.

From the cover of the book:

Evidence that clears the name of a boy sentenced for killing his adopted mother arrives too late to save his life – so who did kill her?

According to the courts, Jacko Argyle bludgeoned his mother to death with a poker. The sentence was life imprisonment

But when Dr Arthur Calgary turns up a year later with the proof that confirms Jacko’s innocence, he is too late – Jacko died behind bars from a bout of pneumonia.

Worse still, the doctor’s revelations re-open old wounds in the family, increasing the likelihood that the real murderer will strike again…

***********

Two years after the death of Jacko Argyle, imprisoned for the murder of his wealthy adoptive mother, geologist Dr Arthur Calgary returns from a polar expedition to discover he held the key to proving his innocence. He admits to the police that the alibi Jacko provided was true, and he could not possibly have committed the crime.

Calgary makes a difficult visit to Jacko's family to tell them the truth, convinced they will be relieved that he was innocent, but the response he receives is unexpectedly dour. Having believed troubled Jacko was guilty, they are now forced to confront the fact that another among them must have murdered Rachel Argyle.

As the police reopen the case, admitting they may never find out the truth, the members of the Argyle household eye each other with ever increasing suspicion. Guilt-stricken for the trouble he has brought to their door, Calgary is determined to find out the truth...

So begins a slow-burn stand-alone Christie tale that has her at her psychological best. Who really murdered philanthropist Rachel Argyle, and why? With bad boy Jacko shown to have been elsewhere, it must be one of them... Was it her husband, Leo; one of her adopted children, Mary, Mickey, Hester, or Tina, all from disadvantaged backgrounds; the faithful nurse/companion, Kirsten; or the Leo's secretary, Gwenda, who is in love with him? Two years having passed, and the trail of evidence as cold as can be, will they ever know, and will the innocent ever be able to rid themselves of the taint of guilt? 

Calgary stands as the sleuth of the piece. With the logical brain of a scientist, and the occasional help of the quiet Superintendent Huish, Calgary starts by questioning the Argyle's solicitor Mr Marshall and the local doctor Dr MacMaster, moving on to the family and those connected with them. He soon begins to see that all was not quite as rosy in the Argyle household as it seems, and most them had murky motives to do away with their controlling wife/mother/employer.

Christie, at the top of her game, gives you a glimpse into the minds of the characters alongside Calgary's efforts, creating lots of red herrings as their true feelings, suspicions, and actions the night of Rachel's death are revealed. The twists and turns are quite brilliant, driven by the legacy of dysfunctional relationships, and as the Argyle household falls apart, the tension ramps up, and more bodies start to fall. Fortunately, Calgary is a cracking detective, works out the whole messy affair, and wins fair maiden among the Argyle offspring too. 

There are so many lovely themes in this story about controlling relationships, motherhood, adoption, and nature vs nurture. The motives behind the murder are surprisingly modern, and there are lots of fascinating references to famous murder cases of the day that will send you down multiple rabbit holes. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This is my September pick for #ReadChristie2024 as a story written by Christie in the 1940s/50s, and I alternated between the text and the splendid audio book narrated by my favourite, Hugh Fraser.

On to Christie's books from the 1960s/70s in the run up to the end of the year. I cannot wait!

Ordeal by Innocence is available to buy now in various 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.

The Torments (The Annie Jackson Mysteries: Book Two) by Michael J. Malone

 

The Torments (The Annie Jackson Mysteries: Book Two) by Michael J. Malone.

Published 12th September 2024 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

Annie surged forward, but she was too slow, too late.
A hand came over and down, and she felt a sharp pain at the back of her neck.
Then all became smoke, and silence.

Hiding from the world in her little white cottage on the shores of a loch, Annie Jackson is fighting to come to terms with the world of the murmurs, a curse that has haunted female members of her family for centuries.

While she is within the ancient, heavy stone of the old dwelling, the voices merely buzz, but the moment she steps outside the door they clamour to torment her all over again, bringing with them shocking visions of imminent deaths.

Into this oasis comes her adoptive mother, Mandy McEvoy, begging for Annie’s help. Mandy’s nephew Damien has gone missing, after dropping off his four-year old son at his mother’s home.

Unable to refuse, but terrified to leave her sanctuary, Annie, with the help of her brother Lewis, is drawn in to a secretive, seductive world that will have her question everything she holds dear, while Lewis’ life may be changed forever…

The second book in the critically acclaimed Annie Jackson Mysteries series, The Torments is both a contemporary gothic thriller and a spellbinding mystery that deeps deep into a past that should, perhaps, remain undisturbed…

***********

Since the curse that has afflicted female members of her family for centuries made itself all too present, Annie has been hiding away from the world in the little cottage on the shores of a Scottish loch that has become her haven. While inside its walls, the murmers that plague every waking hour are just background noise, but outside, the voices of doom and visions of death are overwhelming.

When her adoptive mother Mandy comes to Annie asking for help locating her missing nephew, Damien, she can hardly refuse, even though she knows leaving the cottage will be hard. With the help of her brother Lewis, the pair set out on another amateur investigation to see if they can discover where Damien could have disappeared to. The shocking secrets they uncover may change them both for ever...

Annie Jackson is back, looking into another murky mystery that has dangerous consequences for herself and her own family, with the help of her brother Lewis. Drawn from her sanctuary, Annie must find a way to confront the tormenting presence of the murmers if she is going to be able to find Damien - as well as tackle the misguided, and sometimes downright hostile, attention that her powers have brought her...

The story follows the Jackson siblings as they uncover a trail of clues into Damien's disappearance, taking an unsettling turn back to a past rife with rumours of dark deeds, but they have no idea quite how dark - until it becomes obvious that those responsible have more than a passing interest in Annie herself. In parallel, Malone has a ball with a meandering plotline that begins in 1958, and delves into the history of two seriously disturbed characters, Sylvia and Ben, who become instruments for the nefarious activities of a secret society, controlled by the deliciously named Phineas Dance... and dance they do, to a tune that thrums with black magic, blood rituals, and attempts to call the sinister Baobhan Sith from her slumbers.

It takes some time to get your head around quite how these two plotlines relate to each other, but with an eerie slow-burn, the thread about Sylvia and Ben gradually begins to connect to Annie and Lewis' search for Damien. I did get a little bit lost with parts of the Sylvia and Ben storyline, but eventually saw where Malone was taking this, and once the threads come together around folklore, satanic rites, and seething revenge, I was there for every gripping moment that played out, hoping Annie and Lewis would survive their ordeal.

This has a different vibe to the first book in the series, The Murmers. Malone takes the original concept of a family curse that affects Annie's female bloodline and blows it wide open to create a horror story that is nostalgically old school. He combines a modern missing person mystery with nightmarish folklore, and all the bloody mayhem of those up to their necks in the dark arts under the mantle of respectability in a Hammer House of Horror twist. If you are of the right age, you may well feel yourself right back in your teen years, consuming the latest chiller from the likes of James Herbert, which I found very enjoyable.

I do not think this has quite the emotional tug of The Murmers, but it more than compensates for this in action and menace. In the telling, Malone explores some interesting themes, particularly when it comes to twin/sibling relationships, dysfunctional families, and manipulation. There is also a lot to ponder on when it comes to how people treat Annie, given the bewildering nature of her powers.

This was absolutely perfect for the run-up to Halloween, with atmospheric lines like 'Then all became smoke, and silence' to set the spooky season tone. Unnerving fun!

The Torments is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can support brillinat indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

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:

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country.

He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. Other published work includes: Carnegie’s Call; A Taste for Malice; The Guillotine Choice; Beyond the Rage; The Bad Samaritan; and Dog Fight. His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically acclaimed House of Spines and After He Died soon followed suit. 

Since then, he’s written two further thought-provoking, exquisitely written psychological thrillers In the Absence of Miracles and A Song of Isolation, cementing his position as a key proponent of Tartan Noir and an undeniable talent.

A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr.

Living Is A Problem (Skelfs Book Six) by Doug Johnstone

 

Living is a Problem (Skelfs Book Six) by Doug Johnstone.

Published 12th September 2024 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

The Skelf women are back on an even keel after everything they've been through. But when a funeral they're conducting is attacked by a drone, Jenny fears they're in the middle of an Edinburgh gangland vendetta.

At the same time, Yana, a Ukrainian member of the refugee choir that plays with Dorothy's band, has gone missing. Searching for her leads Dorothy into strange and ominous territory.

And Brodie, the newest member of the extended Skelf family, comes to Hannah with a case: Something or someone has been disturbing the grave of his stillborn son.

Everything is changing for the Skelfs … Dorothy's boyfriend Thomas is suffering PTSD after previous violent trauma, Jenny and Archie are becoming close, and Hannah's case leads her to consider the curious concept of panpsychism, which brings new danger … while ghosts from the family's past return to threaten their very lives.

Funny, shocking and profound, Living Is a Problem is the highly anticipated sixth instalment of the unforgettable Skelfs series – shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Novel and Theakston Old Peculier Crime Book of the Year – where life and death become intertwined more than ever before…

***********

The Skelf women are coping well given the recent shocking acts of corrupt members of Edinburgh's police force, and are back in the thick of their unconventional business interests, combining funeral services and private investigations. When a drone attack brings chaos to a funeral they are conducting, their personal and professional interests clash once again.

Jenny fears this is the start of gangland violence on Edinburgh's streets, as two rival gangs vie for territory. Looking into the matter has her brushing shoulders with some very shady characters from the city's criminal fraternity. Dorothy has a new case of her own too, trying to find Yana, the Ukranian refugee from her community choir, who has mysteriously gone missing. This investigation proves to be a lot more complex, and dangerous, than she realises. It does not help that she is distracted by her concerns about her boyfriend Thomas (now retired from the police force), who is struggling with PTSD following the attempt on his life. Meanwhile, Hannah has finished her studies and is fascinated by the concept of panpsychism. She begins to wonder if this might be relevant to the problems of the newest member of the extended Skelf family, Brodie, who has come to her for help after the disturbance of the grave of his stillborn son.

Times are changing for them all, and the ghosts of the past are not yet ready to let go of the Skelf family...

Living is a Problem, the sixth outing for the fabulous Skelf women, finds them on the cusp of more changes in their lives. Matriarch Dorothy, her daughter Jenny, and Jenny's daughter Hannah, are all involved in the multi-generational balancing act that comprises running an undertakers in parallel with a private investigation service, alongside Hannah's partner Indy, and the waifs and strays Dorothy has collected - Archie, and new staff member, Brodie. And, in that brilliant way Johnstone has, it is not long before both sides of the business clash to drive thrilling plot twists on the atmospherically described streets of Edinburgh.

The hanging threads of the previous book, The Opposite of Lonely, drive this novel, with the corrupt cops who so nearly brought tragedy to the Skelfs' door now on a mission to pervert the course of justice. Johnstone is in top form with burgeoning storylines that emerge from mysterious drone attacks, evoking that pit-of-the-stomach fear that took me right back to the dark days of Craig's murderous games (Jenny's evil ex-husband). I was afraid for every member of my beloved Skelf family once again... with good cause.

As the eco-funeral business takes off, in fascinating detail, the suspense-filled investigations of Dorothy, Jenny, and Hannah play out in chapters following their separate points of view - Jenny's being integral to the revenge-fuelled, ghosts of the past, focus of the story; Dorothy's connecting to the Ukranian war in a surprisingly intimate way in terms of family strife and domestic violence; and Hannah's embarking on a mind-bending voyage into panpsychism, mental health, and changing attitudes towards the loss of a child. 

In typical Johnstone style, the personal struggles of the characters are embedded in the warp and weft of the overall tapestry he weaves, with a hefty thwack of emotion in every strand. His favourite subjects of human connection and loneliness are explored with a deft hand, and he examines ideology around consciousness to thought provoking effect - especially when it comes to Eastern vs Western philosophies, and how this translates into what we consider 'normal' behaviour. He also touches nicely on different experiences of coping with grief, and attitudes towards periods of mourning, and continues to open up the discussion about what happens to us when we die in the most engaging way possible.

Let us not forget the wonderful characters. Johnstone has some lovely surprises on the character development front in this book. Uncharacteristically for matriarch Dorothy, whose faith in humanity is normally so strong, this story has her questioning her own judgement - particularly when it comes to Thomas, as the gulf between them grows wider, and she wonders if she has ever really known him at all. In contrast, her daughter Jenny, formerly the troubled member of the family, is in a more stable place than she has ever been, and her growing closeness with steady Archie is one of my favourite parts of the story. Can there be a happy ending for them both? Time will tell... Granddaughter, Hannah's storyline is arguably the quietest this time, albeit one of the most heart-wrenching, but the insight this gives on the hitherto little known Brodie is absolute gold. And as for Thomas... well no spoilers from me, but 'gripping' does not even cover where Johnstone takes him in this sixth adventure...

Six books in and this series continues to tick every box on my list of literary wants. Impact, aching emotion, tension, dark humour, absorbing subject matter (mushroom suits... who knew?), and vivid characters to love and loathe... the Skelf books have it all. More please!

Living is a Problem is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can support indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me a proof on 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:

Doug Johnstone is the author of Fourteen novels, including The Great Silence, the third in the Skelfs series, which has been optioned for TV. In 2021, The Big Chill, the second in the series, was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. In 2020, A Dark Matter, the first in the series, was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year and the Capital Crime Amazon Publishing Independent Voice Book of the Year award. Black Hearts (book four), was published in 2022, with The Opposite of Lonely (book five) out in 2023. 

Several of his books have been bestsellers and award winners, and his first science fiction novel, The Space Between Us, was a BBC2 Between the Covers pick. He’s taught creative writing, been writer in residence at various institutions, and has been an arts journalist for twenty years.

Doug is a songwriter and musician with five albums and three EPs released, and he plays drums for the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers. He lives in Edinburgh.

The Unfinished Business Of Eadie Browne by Freya North

 

The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne by Freya North.

Paperback published 12th September 2024 by Mountain Leopard Press.

From the cover of the book:

When your present meets your past, what do you take with you - and what do you leave behind?

Eadie Browne is a quirky kid living in a small town where nothing much happens. Bullied at school, she muddles her way through the teenage years with best friends Celeste and Josh until University takes them their separate ways.

Arriving in Manchester as a student in the late 1980s, Eadie experiences a novel freedom and it's intoxicating. As the city embraces the dizzying euphoria of Rave counterculture, Eadie is swept along, ignoring danger and reality. Until, one night, her past comes hurtling at her with consequences she could never have imagined.

Now, as the new millennium approaches, Eadie is thirty with a marriage in tatters, travelling back to the town of her birth for a funeral she can't quite comprehend. As she journeys from the North to the South, from the present to the past, Eadie contemplates all that was then and all that is now - and the loose ends that must be tied before her future can unfold.

***********

Eadie is an odd little girl, with eccentric parents, a wild imagination, and unfortunate hair. Growing up at 41 Yew Lane, next door to a small town cemetery, most of her companions number amongst the dead and the people who care for them. Bullied at school, her apparently unbreakable friendship with besties Celeste and Josh helps her through the difficult times, until they go their separate ways to university.

Eadie finds herself in the heart of bustling 'town life' in late 1980's Manchester. She has no idea how to cope with the noise and chaos around her. She longs for the quiet of 41 Yew Tree Lane, its slumbering neighbours, and the closeness of Celeste and Josh. But gradually she comes to revel in her new-found freedom, making friends, and riding the wave of the city's emerging Rave culture. Eadie is certain that she has found her true home, but when danger creeps into the euphoric time she and her friends are enjoying, her life begins to unravel.

Years later, a new millennium approaches and has Eadie in a reflective mood. She is now thirty, in a crumbling marriage, and frustrated with the direction of her life. Unfinished business refuses to be ignored, and the only way she can find her path is to finally address it once and for all.

The book begins in small-town country where nothing much happens. Here we meet curious, six-year-old Eadie, who knows all about life and death, following her story through childhood, teenage years, and university days. In parallel, North provides a glimpse of Eadie's present, with a thread of nicely wrought mystery, as she takes charge of laying her ghosts to rest once and for all.

North's wonderfully diverse characters spring from the page, in all their varied shapes, sizes, ages, personality types, creeds, histories, sexuality, and states of existence. Unconventional Eadie holds your focus as she goes on her poignant journey, and the twists and turns of her friendship with Josh and Celeste are beautifully written. North delves into emotionally charged, coming-of-age experiences and life lessons in a way that makes them so relatable.

If you are of a similar age to Eadie (and Freya North) as I am, then there is an extra dimension that makes this book sing. Time and place is captured to utter perfection, thrumming with popular culture and era-appropriate attitudes. I revelled in 1980's nostalgia, especially when it came to Eadie's teenage years, and all the complex feelings that came with her university days. The fashion trends and music came back to life in these pages, and Eadie's eclectic tastes rang melodious bells with me - I had forgotten all about Soundz record shops (how could I?) and the references to bands of my youth made me smile time and time again... hello again, Hipsway, and The Waterboys, how I remember that first time listening to This is the Sea (still one of my favourite ever albums).

There are notable absences in musical references, which perhaps should have made the cut here, but North does an incredible job touching on the sheer breadth and creativity of the musical landscape of the 80s, and, of course, for the purpose of Eadie's story there is a direction that North has very much in mind. For Eadie's story is intrinsically tied to the rise of the Manchester Rave scene, its association with Ecstasy, and the political and social turbulence of the Thatcher years, which North uses quite superbly to echo the rise and fall of events in her character's own life. Rave is always a movement I associate more with the 90s, and is largely unfamiliar to me with my still-brightly-burning New Romantic core, so this was horribly fascinating to read about.

The plot-line following Eadie's present is powerfully poignant, and I really enjoyed how North used this to tie up all the loose ends of not just Eadie's present, but those of several of the other characters who had become like dear friends. If you cherish stories that come full circle in the best way, then I promise you will find this a treat.

Superbly written, this is my favourite kind of 'quiet' story. There are lovely themes of friendship, family, growing up, belonging, acceptance, closure, and the nature of home, that weave steadily through this book. North handles them all with tenderness, humour, and insight, and I found myself sobbing my eyes out by the time I turned the final page. This quirky story certainly worked its way into my heart.

The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Mountain Leopard Presd for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Freya North is one of the UK's bestselling writers. Her first novel, Sally, was published to great acclaim while she was still in her twenties. Her subsequent books have all been bestsellers.

In 2008 Freya North won the RNA Book of the Year award with Pillow Talk. 

Across all books and formats, Freya North has sold over two millions books to date.

The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley

 

The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley.

This edition published 2nd June 2016 by Vintage. Originally published in 1984.

Audio book narrated by Carole Boyd.

From the cover of the book:

Escape to the Cornish cliffs in the dizzying heat of August 1939, where five cousins are making the most of the last summer of their youth.

Oliver is just back from the Spanish Civil War and world-weary at only nineteen. Calypso is gorgeous, utterly selfish and determined to marry for money. Polly and Walter, brother and sister, play their cards close to their chests. Then there's little Sophie, who nobody loves.

Soon the world will be swept into war again and the five cousins will enter a whirligig of sex, infidelity, love and loss, but for now they have one last, gaspingly hot summer at the house by the cliffs with the camomile lawn.

A beloved bestseller from an author ahead of her time, The Camomile Lawn is a waspishly witty, devil-may-care delight.

***********

August, 1939. Cousins Oliver, Calypso, Polly, and Walter arrive in Cornwall for a holiday at the house of their Aunt Helena and Uncle Richard, reuniting with their orphaned younger cousin, ten-year-old Sophy (who has been taken in by Richard and Helena).

They plan to make the most of heady summer days lounging on the cliff-top camomile lawn, swimming in the sea, and keeping their family traditions going, but the shadow of another world war hangs heavily over them. The last summer of their youth is nearly over, and change is on the way...

Mary Wesley's provocative coming-of-age-tale begins in Cornwall, with a summer holiday shrouded in family drama, and the fear of what the future holds. The five cousins, Oliver, Calypso, Polly, Walter and Sophy, and their aunt and uncle Helena and Richard are at the heart of the story, following their lives from this last fateful summer through the dramatic days of World War two in London and Cornwall. In a lovely twist, the text is also broken up with scenes from forty years later, when some of the family members reunite in Cornwall for a funeral, which cleverly drive the story along, and provide intriguing insight through the characters' reflections on the past.

From the outset, Wesley makes it clear that this is an upper middle class family rife with complex relationships. Oliver, depressed from seeing the ugly face of combat fighting in the Spanish Civil War, is desperately in love with the beautiful Calypso. Calypso, more than aware of her power over men and defiant in her affirmation that 'she does not know how to love', wants a rich husband, which Oliver is not. Level headed Polly (my favourite) and her brother Walter (also sweet on Calypso) have secret hopes and dreams of their own. Little Sophy, feels unwanted, longs to be grown-up, and is jealous of Calypso as she also loves Oliver. And Helena is chafing under the yoke of a boring second marriage to Richard, who treats her wealth and property as his own, has a ward she does not care for, and has a loathsome wooden leg that is just like a third person in their relationship. There is a lot going on this summer holiday - not to mention a shocking development in the life of poor, neglected Sophy. 

Along the way, Wesley gradually introduces a wider cast of characters who have significant parts to play in the proceedings: Jewish couple, charismatic musician Max and his anxious wife Monika, who have escaped from Austria, and whose son is in a concentration camp; the twin sons of the local rector, Paul and David, who are of a similar age to the grown-up cousins; Scottish landowner and MP Hector Grant, who becomes Calypso's husband; and a host of minor family members, friends and romantic partners.

As tense summer bleeds into war, Oliver joins the army, Walter the Royal Navy, and the twins the RAF. Everyone is worried for their safety, with good reason, cherishing the brief hours they spend together between postings. Polly joins the War Office, undertaking hush-hush military intelligence work, and an equally secretive love life. Calypso marries wealthy Hector, promising him an heir, while having the time of her life in Blitz-hit London. Sophy is sent away to school (which she hates), and is constantly trying to unburden herself of a secret that weighs heavily on her mind. Helena trails around the country with Max, who awakens desires she did not know she had when he becomes her lover, while he keeps up the country's spirits in a musical way (and those of his multiple paramours in a carnal way). And Richard and Monika fall into a curious domestic relationship of their own, back in Cornwall.

The threads of the novel weave in slow-burn style, punctuated with war-time and family dramas. Wesley does not shy away from the horrors, hardships, and tragedies that come with war, but this is far from a grim novel. There is a lot of bed-hopping that happens under the cover of the black-out as the characters discover who they are and what they want in a way that is completely new to them. There is so much fascinating story here about coming-of-age, lost innocence, and family ties, but it is Wesley's exploration of sex, relationships, and emotional liberation that forms the meat of the novel. Despite the war-time setting, the content sometimes feels like jolly-old, bonk-buster typical of the 1980's when the novel was written, however, the attitudes are very much of an earlier era, and sometimes troubling to modern sensibilities (particularly around sexual abuse and domestic violence).

This is a novel that has long been on my 'want to read' pile and I thoroughly enjoyed finally getting to grips with it. Wesley's writing is gorgeous. I loved the way she brings the past alive through the exploits of her characters, weaving a story full of emotion, wit, and subtle humour, and the evocative use of the camomile lawn is enchanting. The characters are definitely quirky bunch, with wayward ways, but many of them became like beloved, dysfunctional family members, and I really did not want to say good-bye to them when the poignant, tear-jerking ending rolled around. By the way, if audio books are your bag, the one narrated by Carole Boyd is a delight.

The Camomile Lawn is available to buy now in various formats.

About the author:

Mary Wesley was born near Windsor in 1912. Her education took her to the London School of Economics and during the War she worked in the War Office. She also worked part-time in the antiques trade. Mary Wesley lived in London, France, Italy, Germany and several places in the West Country. She used to comment that her 'chief claim to fame is arrested development, getting my first novel published at the age of seventy'. That first novel, Jumping the Queue, was followed by a subsequent nine bestsellers: The Camomile Lawn, Second Fiddle, Harnessing Peacocks, The Vacillations of Poppy Carew, Not That Sort of Girl, A Sensible Life, A Dubious Legacy, An Imaginative Experience and Part of the Furniture. Mary Wesley was awarded the CBE in the 1995 New Year's honour list and died in 2002.

Circus Of Mirrors by Julie Owen Moylan

 

Circus of Mirrors by Julie Owen Moylan.

Published 12th September 2024 by Michael Joseph.

From the cover of  the book:

In Berlin, two sisters dared to dream of a better life – but where in this dark and dazzling city will they find their true home?

BERLIN, 1926: After the death of their parents, sisters Leni and Annette only have each other.

Desperate, but dreaming of better days, Leni finds work at a notorious cabaret: the Babylon Circus.

From the dancer’s barely-there costumes, to the glimmering mirrors that cover the walls, the Babylon Circus is where reality and fantasy merge. For Leni, it’s an overwhelming new world, and she’s happiest hiding in the shadows.

Until she meets the cabaret’s resident pianist, Paul. And so begins a tentative love affair that will play out over the next forty years.

But, in a city whose divisions will define a century, can a love born within the feverish walls of the Babylon Circus ever survive?

And can the bond between Leni and Annette – tugged in opposite directions of their own – also endure?

***********

Berlin, 1926. Sisters, Leni and Annette are all that remains of their once happy family. Barely an adult herself, Leni feels responsible for six year old Annette, but hard times have found them living on Berlin's streets. Then Leni manages to find a job as a cigarette girl at the exotic Babylon Circus club: a place where the clientele clamour for the delights of the risque caberet, and are willing to pay extra for the shady services the manager Dieter can arrange 'under the counter'. 

The Babylon Circus is an education for shy and retiring Leni, but she soon begins to feel part of the club's eccentric family - especially when she meets and falls in love with the club's pianist, Paul. And so begins a romance that will shape the lives of the sisters over the next four decades...

Circus of Mirrors is the sweeping, intensely emotional story of sisters Leni and Annette, set against the backdrop of the changing faces of Berlin. The novel begins in 1926, in the political, economic and social maelstrom of the Weimar period, when the artistic and sexual freedoms associated with the Berlin cabaret scene were a stark contrast to the tough conditions Germans were enduring. Desperation finds Leni at the doors of the Babylon Circus, where Owen Moylan brings the cabaret scene alive, in all its glamorous, sordid splendour. Here Leni embarks on a love affair that will change to course of her life, and the nature of her relationship with her younger sister, Annette.

The novel then jumps forward to take in two further time periods - in the ruins of post-war Berlin, and then once again in the city as it stands on the brink of one of the darkest days of Cold War history. At each stage, we meet Leni and Annette, checking-in with how their lives have changed, and each time they are on separate sides of a personal struggle that threatens to tear their relationship asunder.

As in all Owen Moylan's spectacular books, her characters leap from the page, especially the women. She beautifully explores the pivotal decisions, and sacrifices, they have had to make in order to survive - primarily through the stories of Leni and Annette, but also through other members of the Babylon Circus family, as the world changes around them. These are real people, warts and all, and this sometimes makes them difficult to like, not least the sisters at the centre of the novel. For me, Leni is the one who deserves the most sympathy, as Annette's selfishness is rather over-powering - however, Annette is also the most complex and misunderstood of the two. In any case, when Owen Moylan eventually leads them to a place where they can finally unburden themselves, and forgive each other, I found the tears rolling down my face. 

The club provides a glorious, and poignantly nostalgic, linking thread in the novel, from frenetic heyday, to bomb-damaged bar, to burned out shell, remaining a place of significance throughout. Clever, insightful themes around love, loss, identity and belonging echo through the timelines, and Berlin stands as a character in its own right. Owen Moylan carefully chooses her 1920's, 1940's, and 1960's iterations of the city as times when significant political and social upheaval is playing out in the background of Leni and Annette's lives (an absolute joy if you are interested in 20th Century history), and yet you are only aware of these events obliquely. At any given moment it is the human characters who hold your attention, and your eye is fixed on how the turmoil of time and place affects the decisions Leni and Annette make. This is not easy to do, but Owen Moylan pulls it off with style.

This is Owen Moylan's most ambitious, and compelling, novel to date. I swallowed it whole, unable to look away for a second...

Circus of Mirrors is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Michael Joseph for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Julie Owen Moylan is the author of three novels: That Green Eyed Girl, 73 Dove Street and Circus of Mirrors. Her debut novel That Green Eyed Girl was a Waterstones’ Welsh Book of the Month and the official runner up for the prestigious Paul Torday Memorial Prize. It was also shortlisted for Best Debut at the Fingerprint Awards and featured at the Hay Festival as one of its ‘Ten at Ten’. 73 Dove Street was a Waterstones’ Books of 2023 and a Daily Mail Historical Fiction Book of the Year.

As a filmmaker Julie won the Celtic Media Award for her graduation film “BabyCakes” before going on to win Best Short Film at the Swansea Film Festival.

Her writing and short stories have appeared in a variety of publications including Sunday Express, The Independent, New Welsh Review and Good Housekeeping.

She has a Masters in Filmmaking and an additional qualification in Creative Writing & English Literature. Julie is an alumna of the Faber Academy. 

The Black Loch (Lewis Book Four) by Peter May.

 

The Black Loch (Lewis Book Four) by Peter May.

Published 12th September 2024 by riverrun.

From the cover of the book:

A MURDER.

The body of eighteen-year-old TV personality Caitlin is found abandoned on a remote beach at the head of An Loch Dubh - the Black Loch - on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. A swimmer and canoeist, it is inconceivable that she could have drowned.

A SECRET.

Fin Macleod left the island ten years earlier to escape its memories. When he learns that his married son Fionnlagh had been having a clandestine affair with the dead girl and is suspected of her murder, he and Marsaili return to try and clear his name.

A RECKONING.

But nothing is as it seems, and the truth of the murder lies in a past that Fin would rather forget, and a tragedy at the cages of a salmon farm on East Loch Roag, where the tense climax of the story finds its resolution.

The Black Loch takes us on a journey through family ties, hidden relationships and unforgiving landscapes, where suspense, violent revenge and revelation converge in the shadow of the Black Loch.

***********

After a decade away from the Isle of Lewis, former police detective Fin Macleod heads back to a place full of haunting memories, for a singular purpose. The brutalised body of eighteen-year-old TV personality, Caitlin Black, has been found on the shore of Black Loch, and Fin's son, Fionnlagh, has been accused of her murder. Despite the complex relationships that have developed in this family, Fin and his wife, Marsalli, cannot believe their son is guilty of such a crime, and hope to clear his name.

They find their son sullen and reeling from the death of the young woman it transpires he was having an affair with, despite being a family-man, the considerable age-gap between them, and the shocking fact that Fionnlagh was Caitlin's teacher. All the evidence points towards Fionnlagh's guilt, and Fin's faith in his son is shaken, but with dogged determination, he sets to work hunting for the truth - this time, as a civilian. What he discovers brings the past and present clashing together with a reckoning that takes Fin right back to his own tragic history with the Black Loch...

Peter May picks up the story of Fin Macleod ten years further down the line from the tales in his best-selling Lewis trilogy, with a dark and atmospheric story that thrums with luscious Tartan noir vibes. 

Fin's life has not turned out quite as he expected, and at the beginning of this tale he is unhappy with both his personal and professional lives. With a job that still immerses him in the shocking depravity of the human condition, albeit now as a civilian employee of the Sottish police force, and a distance between him and Marsalli he has no idea how to breach, it is time for a new direction - but the last thing he expects is that this will involve an investigation back in Lewis that touches his own family.

This is an investigation unlike anything Fin has had to deal with before. Walking a fine line between the difficulties of gathering information that would previously have been freely available as a serving police officer, questioning witnesses as someone linked so closely to the murder suspect, and the effect of Fionnlagh's arrest on his whole family, Fin is also overwhelmed by the emotional power of his own past sins - sins which are determined to force their way into the light with every step on his journey to prove his son's innocence.

The story unfurls with slow-burn twists and turns in the present, broken up with intense, first-person vignettes from Fin's past. As the threads of Fin's investigation develop, laden with the significance of his past deeds and connections, May explores a host of topics about family, friendship, secrets and lies. He also has a lot to say about environmental issues, activism, whaling (be prepared to cry when it comes to these parts of the story), and the impact of commercial salmon farming (I guarantee you will think twice about eating farmed salmon again). Every little piece of the puzzle comes together to increase the pace of the story, until you find yourself careering headlong into a blow by blow climax that leaves you breathless. 

There is an undeniable melancholic air to this novel that works beautifully with the brooding characters and backdrop of the Western Isles. I have rarely read a crime thriller that blends past and present so exquisitely, echoing themes of bitterness, regret, retribution, and the weight of things unsaid. I also loved how May examines the passage of time so well with the interplay between setting and memory, and his use of expressive Gaelic alongside English is divine.   

I have not read the Lewis trilogy, which put me at a slight disadvantage embarking on a novel that relies heavily on what happened in the past. However, as the layers of story peel away, May gives you everything you need to understand how and why the consequences of Fin's own troubled history have rippled through time, in a cracking crime thriller that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

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

Thank you to riverrun for sending me a 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:

Peter May was born and raised in Scotland. He was an award-winning journalist at the age of twenty-one and a published novelist at twenty-six. When his first book was adapted as a major drama series for the BBC, he quit journalism and during the high-octane fifteen years that followed, became one of Scotland's most successful television dramatists. He created three prime-time drama series, presided over two of the highest-rated serials in his homeland as script editor and producer, and worked on more than 1,000 episodes of ratings-topping drama before deciding to leave television to return to his first love, writing novels.

In 2021, he was awarded the CWA Dagger in the Library Award. He has also won several literature awards in France, received the USA's Barry Award for The Blackhouse, the first in his internationally bestselling Lewis Trilogy; and in 2014 was awarded the ITV Specsavers Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year award for Entry Island.

Peter now lives in South-West France with his wife, writer Janice Hally.

Phineas Redux (Palliser Book Four) by Anthony Trollope

 

Phineas Redux (Palliser Book Four) by Anthony Trollope.

This edition published 10th November 2011 by Oxford World Classics. Originally published 1874.

Audio book narrated by Timothy West.

From the cover of the book:

After the death of his wife, the handsome politician Phineas Finn returns from Ireland to the parliamentary fray. In his absence the political and social world has subtly changed, parties and policies no longer fixed and advancement dependent upon scheming and alliances. His private life lays him open to the scandal-mongering press, and the wild accusations of an unhinged rival; but much more than his reputation is at stake when he is accused of murdering a political opponent.

Trollope shows a remarkably prescient sense of the importance of intrigue, bribery, and sexual scandal, and the power of the press to make or break a political career. He is equally skilled in portraying the complex nature of Phineas' romantic entanglements with three powerful women: the mysterious Madame Max, the devoted Laura Kennedy, and the irrepressible Lady Glencora (now Duchess of Omnium). 

The fourth of Trollope's Palliser novels, Phineas Redux is one of his most spellbinding achievements, and the first modern 'media' novel.

***********

Following the death of his wife, Mary, Phineas Finn is persuaded to return from Ireland and enter the parliamentary fray once more. With the promise of a government post, Phineas stands for the urban seat of Tankerville, which he eventually succeeds to, after some differences of opinion about the proper way to conduct a campaign. He settles back in to Westminster life, keen to get to grips with his renewed political career. 

Phineas sets about reconnecting with old friends and acquaintances, taking in the changes in personal circumstance and the political landscape. He becomes embroiled in the continuing, bitter marital troubles of close friend (and former love), Lady Laura Kennedy, opening himself up to false rumours about a romantic entanglement with her - rumours which send his renewed political ambitions awry. Disenchanted, Phineas gets into a spat with party rival Mr Bonteen at his club, a man he has never liked. When Mr Bonteen is brutally murdered later that same night, Phineas stands accused of the crime.

Scandal ensues, and while, to Phineas' dismay many of those he thought he could rely on consider him guilty, he still has powerful friends and allies fighting his corner - primarily the charismatic Madam Marie Goesler, devoted Lady Laura, and the tireless Lady Glencora Palliser (now the Duchess of Omniom), who will stop at nothing to prove his innocence...

Following the disappointing doldrums of The Eustace Diamonds, Trollope is back in mighty Victorian form with book four in the Palliser series, Phineas Redux. Phineas returns to his political career after the tragic death of his young wife, Mary, picking up the threads of his former life from book two, Phineas Finn, to dramatic effect. Curiously, what happens in this story is also closely tied to events in book three, The Eustace Diamonds, in an unexpected twist...

In a nut shell, the bright lights of Phineas' political prospects are dimmed by rumours about his personal involvement in the marital troubles of Lady Laura, stirred up those among the press with lingering resentments towards our genial Irishman. When Mr Bonteen is found battered to death, after an altercation with Phineas, he stands accused of the murder. 

Meanwhile, Lizzie Eustace has been repenting, at less than happy leisure, her rash decision to marry the odd Reverend Emilius. She has managed to recruit Mr and Mrs Bonteen to her cause to rid her of her troublesome husband. Mr Bonteen's efforts to prove Rev Emilius is a bigamist are co-incidentally beginning to bear fruit at the time of his demise, also putting the preacher under suspicion of his murder - unfortunately he appears to have a cast-iron alibi.

Phineas is in trouble, and distraught that so many of the people he thought were his friends believe him guilty of the crime. But he has staunch supporters on his side to aid him in his time of need - especially the wonderful Madam Marie Goesler, once another of Phineas' prospective marriage partners, who still has affectionate skin in the game.

There is drama galore in this novel, with lashings of lovely story lines for familiar faces from all the previous Palliser books. The complex tangle of Phineas' former romantic adventures prove to be both central to his downfall and the fervent attempts to save him from his predicament, with Trollope's female characters taking starring roles again. Glencora, now risen to the dizzying heights of a Duchess is as enjoyable as ever, but it is Marie Goesler that shines out for me, with her gumption, intelligence, and immense courage in her efforts on Phineas' behalf - she still loves him, of course, but can he be persuaded to finally admit that he loves her too? Sadly, Lady Laura is somewhat of a problematic character in this book though, and I sense Trollope up to his old 'morality tale' tricks when it comes to her fate - her ridiculous mooning after Phineas really got on my nerves after a while, especially as she was the instigator of her own downfall for the greater part.

Trollope beautifully explores reputation, rumour, bribery, and the power of the press to sway opinion in this novel, making it just as relevant today as ever. The intricacies of the court case, hinging on clues around a coat, a key and the provenance of the murder weapon, are truly edge-of-your-seat stuff, and Trollope is at the top of his game when it comes to humour, wit, and romantic suspense. The sub-plots add nicely to the whole, and I loved the ending. 

This is my favourite of the Palliser series since book one, Can You Forgive Her?, by a long way, and it was an absolute pleasure to enjoy the spectacle through the voice talents of (dear) Timothy West - who has become a firm favourite. 

Onwards to book five, The Prime Minister!

Phineas Redux is available to buy now in a variety of formats.

About the author:

Anthony Trollope (1815-82) became one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of Trollope's best-loved works revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire, but he also wrote penetrating novels on political, social, and gender issues and conflicts of his day.