These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

 

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever.

Published 16th January 2025 by Magpie Books.

From the cover of the book:

A compulsively readable debut novel about two college students, each with his own troubled past, whose escalating obsession with one another leads to an act of unspeakable violence...

When Paul enters university in early 1970s Pittsburgh, it’s with the hope of moving past the recent death of his father. Sensitive, insecure, and like a stranger to his family, Paul feels isolated and alone. When he meets the worldly Julian in his freshman ethics class, Paul is immediately drawn to his classmate’s effortless charm.

Paul will stop at nothing to prove himself worthy of their friendship. But Julian is as volatile and cruel as he is charismatic, and Paul begins to suspect that he can never live up to what Julian expects of him.

As their friendship spirals into all-consuming intimacy, they each learn the lengths to which the other will go in order to stay together, their obsession ultimately hurtling them toward an act of irrevocable violence. From then on, everything changes…

These Violent Delights is an exquisitely plotted excavation of the depths of human desire and the darkness it can unleash upon us...

***********

1971, Pittsburgh. Quiet, sensitive Paul feels isolated from his close Jewish family, but when he enters university he meets someone he immediately senses a connection with. Wealthy, sophisticated Julian catches his attention in his freshman ethics class, and the attraction appears to be mutual.

Loner Paul seems to have made a friend, and he is eager to do almost anything to remain in Julian's circle. Friendship soon turns to obsession, and Paul begins to see the cruelty beneath Julian's cultured, diffident image. But this discovery does not scare him, for darkness lies within his soul too. As their relationship spirals out of control, it is inevitable that it will spill over into violence, and when it does, there is no turning back.

Inspired by a couple of horribly fascinating murder cases, this compelling debut travels beneath the surface to explore the darkness that lies at the heart of two damaged young men - and it is impossible to look away from once you enter their world.

What begins as an unlikely friendship between two kindred souls, gradually turns into a relationship built on an obsessive form of co-dependency that gives them each permission to explore their impulses. Sexual desire and a thirst for intellectual growth combine in a violent journey that has Paul and Julian becoming further separated from the expectations placed upon them by their families - particularly when they decide to plan the perfect murder as an abstract exercise that becomes all too real.

There is more than a little of Patricia Highsmith meets queer dark academia about this novel, especially in the way Paul and Julian recognise something within each other that sets them off down the path of subversion. Nemerever has a ball with a host of psychologically intriguing themes too: loneliness, repression, sexuality, desire, guilt, responsibility, ethics, philosophy, Jewishness, family dysfunction, the legacy of emotional disturbance, and the blurring of love and hate, all get Nemerever's intimate attention, and keep you hooked to the bitter end. 

Absolutely compulsive reading. 

These Violent Delights is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats.

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

About the author:

Micah Nemerever was trained as an art historian. He wrote his master’s thesis on queer identity and gender anxiety in the art of the Weimar Republic. He is an avid home chef and amateur historian of queer cinema. After studying in rural Connecticut and Austin, Texas, he now resides in the Pacific Northwest. These Violent Delights is his first novel.

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

 

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney.

Published 30th January 2025 by Pan Macmillan.

From the cover of the book:

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife as she’s driving home to share some exciting news. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by a cliff edge, the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there . . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible: a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

Wives think their husbands will change, but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change, but they do.

***********

It should have been the best day in author Grady Green's life, but it turned out to be the worst. Just as he was celebrating the news that his latest novel had become a New York Times Bestseller, his wife Abby went missing on her drive home. Worse still, Grady was actually on the phone with her when the call cut off abruptly after she told him she was stopping to check on a body lying in the road. Her car was found abandoned on the cliff-edge, with her distinctive red coat lying tattered on the ground beside it, but Abby had vanished into thin air.

A year later, Grady is unable to move on. His grief consumes him, insomnia plagues him, and he is unable to write. Somehow he needs to produce another book, so his agent sends him, and his dog Columbo, to the remote Scottish Isle of Amberly, where the writing cabin of his dreams awaits. On the tiny ferry to the Isle, Grady sees a woman that looks just like his wife, and events just keep getting stranger. Soon, he is questioning his own sanity.

I've not read an Alice Feeney before, but have heard such good things about her books that I was intrigued - and dear, readers I can tell you that there is nothing unwarranted about the all the praise! A missing wife, a broken man, and an island that screams Wicker Man vibes from the word go... This book grabbed me by the scruff of the neck from page one, and did not let me go for the entire journey through all the eerie twists and turns that Feeney conjures in this cracking thriller.

Two narrative drive the plot - Grady and Abby - taking you back and forth in time, set against the backdrop of a gloriously claustrophobic, and seriously creepy island,  I've read a fair few island-based, locked-room thrillers, but there was something so unsettling about one covered in trees, while totally absent of bird-life, and Feeney layers carefully contrived elements of disquiet on top of this - weird interactions with the locals, the palpable feeling that Grady is being manipulated, the fact that he is unable to escape now he is here, and scary ghost stories of missing children... not to mention Grady's almost fever dream experiences at every turn.

You are never quite sure what is real, who is telling the truth, or how to put together all the carefully dropped little pieces of the puzzle. Is Grady the man we think he is? Is Abby still alive? What really went on in this marriage? Feeney plays such a clever game by leading you nicely down the 'woodland' path with her suspenseful, weaving narratives, until she whacks you upside your head with a shift in perspective that is jaw-droppingly brilliant. And she ties up all the threads with an intricate bow infused with a Twilight Zone kicker. Glorious!

I loved everything about this book, particularly the way she uses the perspectives of characters looking at a relationship from opposing corners, the secrets that lie at the heart of an apparently happy marriage, and the lovely dive into the world of an author. The oxymoron chapter titles are delicious too.

This may be my first Alice Feeney, but it will certainly not be my last.

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

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

About the author:

Alice Feeney is a New York Times million-copy bestselling author. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages, and have been optioned for major screen adaptations. Including her novel Rock Paper Scissors, which is being made into a TV series by the producer of The Crown.

Alice was a BBC journalist for fifteen years, and now lives in Devon with her family. 

Grace Of The Empire State by Gemma Tizzard

 

Grace of the Empire State by Gemma Tizzard.

Published 28th January 2025 by Headline Review.

From the cover of the book:

As the Great Depression bites, show dancer Grace's Irish immigrant family can't afford the rising rents, nor the medicine that her little sister urgently needs.

When her twin brother is injured and can no longer work on the construction of the half-built Empire State Building, Grace steps up - literally. She trades her dancing shoes for worker boots, braving deadly metal work hundreds of feet in the sky.

But survival isn't guaranteed. Failure could mean not only losing her job, but also her life, and the livelihood of her family and team. Sparks fly across the great metal beams, as a terrible accident and a split-second decision leaves Grace re-evaluating everything that she thought she knew about herself...

***********

1930, New York. After the death of their father, the burden of supporting their family falls to twenty one-year-old Irish-American, identical twins, Grace and Patrick O'Connell. Grace is a dancer in a nightclub, hoping to one day hit the big time on Broadway, and Patrick (with secret ambitions of his own) 'works the steel' on the construction site of the Empire State Building. Times are tough, but at least they are lucky enough to have jobs when the Great Depression is bringing misery to so many.

Then Grace is laid off, and Patrick breaks his arm after a misstep on the construction site. They have no idea how they will be able to stop themselves, their grieving mother, and ailing younger sister Connie from becoming homeless. More than that, the other three members of Patrick's work gang, with families of their own to support, will also lose their jobs if he is unable to return to work. There is only one solution - Grace must take Patrick's place until he is well enough to get back to work. 

Grace has a lot to learn, not least how to pretend to be her brother, but with the help of her determination, acrobatic skills, and the support of Patrick's loyal work mates (especially the handsome Italian immigrant Joe) she proves herself just as good as any man working on the steel. Their plan very nearly succeeds, until a terrible accident happens, and Grace has to choose between saving a doomed man, or keeping her secret...

Gemma Tizzard's compelling debut plunges you into life in the Big Apple, as the Great Depression begins to tell, through the eyes of twins Grace and Patrick O'Connell. The loss of their father means hard choices for Grace and Patrick, and the strain is driving a wedge between them. Grace loses herself in the bustling club scene of the city that never sleeps, taking comfort from her ability to forget everything while she is dancing. Meanwhile, Patrick, spends long days putting his life on the line high above the city-scape on the construction of the Empire State Building. They seem on different paths, destined to grow further apart in pursuit of their private hopes and dreams, but when fate throws them a curve-ball, they discover they have more in common that each of them realised

Tizzard brings the melting pot of 1930's New York alive through so many aspects of the city. The experiences of the twins shine a light on the vibrant clubs which draw the crowds, while being mired in shocking discrimination; the sleazy joints where desperation breeds exploitation; the struggle to get a foothold on a Broadway stage; people struggling, and sometimes failing, to survive in the grip of an economic downturn that hits the poorest hardest; and the dangerous business of building a skyscraper, where one wrong step can mean doom. There is a lot of darkness, and yet, there is so much warmth in this story too. My heart was filled to overflowing with the tenderness of family; the bonds of friendship; the courage of ordinary folk; and the seeds of true love that can bloom between people thrown together in adversity - tears were shed.

There is such a lovely cast of characters in this book, led from the front by Grace, with her spirit and tenacity, and Patrick with his quieter, but equally important part to play. The love stories Tizzard conjures for them are enchanting, and hit the perfect spot on the romantic suspense scale. And the detail she goes into about the construction of the Empire State Building is fascinating. I felt every moment beside Grace, Patrick, and the wonderful Seamus, Frank and Joe as they went about their perilous jobs balancing on a few inches of steel high above the city - and this makes for a powerful tribute to the men who actually stood in their places.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical fiction gem. It does not shy away from the sadness that comes with difficult times and places, but its message of love, strength, and hope is beautiful. Gemma Tizzard, you have a fan, and I cannot wait to see what comes next!

Grace of the Empire State is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Headline for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to join this blog tour.

About the author:

Gemma Tizzard is from Berkshire, and currently lives in Southampton, where she works as a marketing manager by day, and writes historical fiction by evening. She can most often be found scribbling notes from research books about her latest obsession, or plastering the walls with Post-It notes. Whenever she's not working, she can be found reading, or planning her next travel adventure.

She has a degree in American Studies and a particular interest in untold women's stories throughout the twentieth century. GRACE OF THE EMPIRE STATE is her debut novel, available in January 2025, with a second, set in Boston in 1942, due in 2026.

Gemma also writes rom-coms, and was longlisted for the Comedy Women in Print (CWIP) Unpublished Novel Prize in both 2021 and 2022.

The Wrath Of The Just (Apocalypse Z Book Three) by Manel Loureiro

 

The Wrath of the Just (Apocalypse Z Book Three) by Manel Loureiro.

Translated by Pamela Carmell.

Narrated by Nick Podehl.

10 hours and 6 minutes listening time.

Released 6th May 2014 by Brilliance Audio.

From the cover:

From apocalypse…

An act of terrorism unleashed an unspeakable biological weapon…and hell on earth. But as the masses felled by a hideous virus rose from the dead to prey on the living, a small band of survivors defied death and its ghastly spawn - determined to outrun the world’s end, and somehow begin again.

To Armageddon…

But beyond the undead-besieged shores of Europe lies something closer to damnation than salvation. Rescued from certain death at sea, the young Spanish lawyer, the beautiful woman he loves, and his brash, battle-hardened best friend - who have weathered the worst of the unnatural disaster - find themselves delivered from a world of horror into a stronghold of hate. In a United States ravaged by the Zombie plague and overrun by the undead, only Gulfport, Mississippi, offers sanctuary…for a price: Subservience to a fascist dictator and his brutal enforcers. But their reign of terror will soon be challenged. By rebels hungry for vengeance, and invaders bent on conquest.

***********

Just about escaping from Tenerife with their lives, the courageous Spanish lawyer, his lover Lucia, Ukrainian pilot Viktor 'Prit' Pritchenko, and Lucullus the cat, sail into the midst of a hurricane that threatens to end them. But fate twists again, and sees them arriving at the last sanctuary on USA soil, the stronghold of Gulfport, Mississippi, which seems to not only be thriving, but pioneering a way to deal with the horrific TSJ virus that has all but wiped out humanity. However, it is not long until before our little Spanish band realise that life in this haven comes at a cost they are unwilling to pay.

The final part of the Apocalypse Z trilogy throws our plucky Spanish survivors into a situation they have not encountered before. Self-proclaimed prophet, Reverend Green, fuelled by religious fervour,  rules over this community with the assistance of a militia group made up Aryan Brotherhood ex-convicts. Survivors are welcome to embrace all Gulfport has to offer, as long as they are devout, and white... anyone else is consigned to existence in a ghetto, and doomed to suffer at the hands of policies the Nazis would have been proud of, when they are not bring asked to put their lives on the line for their 'betters'. The Spanish lawyer is tempted by the offer of a normal life in a place where strides are being made to tackle the TSJ virus, but his indecision leads him into mistakes that divide him from his friends, and put them all in terrible danger.

The story plays out from the points of view of the lawyer, Lucia, the unhinged Reverend Green, and Green's brutal head henchman Malachi Grapes, and Loureiro mixes up both plot and action like never before (also adding in a great summary of the way the infection, now known as the TSJ virus, cut a swathe through humankind). Most of this I was here for, especially the parts which would very much be at home in any creditable dystopian story about survival and resistance. However, Loureiro does lose the plot a bit in this final book, for instance, the left-of-field, world domination side plot about North Korea was seriously bizarre, and just too out of place in a story has revolved around the lawyer and his pals throughout the three books. 

The audio book did keep me entertained, and Nick Podehl's narration was superb, right to the bitter end. Pamela Carmell's translation from the Spanish keeps everything flowing smoothly too. There are some original twists on the usual zombie story, particularly when it comes to the infection, and the promise of hope in the future - although I would have liked to see more between the final showdown, and the jump forward in time Loureiro conjures as the parting shot, as so much obviously happened in the wings that I would have loved to have read about! 

I am really sad to be saying goodbye to these characters (especially the plucky Ukrainian Prit, and Lucullus the cat): the bonds of friendship provide emotional content to balance the thrills, spills and truly terrifying events that get your adrenaline pumping. The age gap between the lawyer and Lucia does still rankle a bit, but at the end of the day (and world) you have to view it through the lens of societal conventions going out of the window in an apocalypse. I did like that Lucia finally name drops the anonymous lawyer right at the end - I was beginning to wonder if we would ever discover his name.

Apocalypse Z is a series highly recommended by me. Books two and three do not reach the heights of book one, with its simpler, more intimate plot, but the series is still worth your time if zombie tales that trundle along at pace are your bag. 

Fingers crossed the film adaptations of books two (Dark Days) and three (The Wrath of the Just) prove to be as good as for book one, The Beginning of the End - well worth watching (currently on Amazon Prime) if you have not caught it yet.

The Wrath of the Just is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. Ebook and auido formats are currently available free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

About the author:

An international bestselling author, Manel Loureiro was born in Pontevedra, Spain, and studied law at Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. After graduation, he worked in television, both on-screen (appearing on Television de Galicia) and behind-the-scenes as a writer. 

His Apocalypse Z novels, including The Beginning of the End and Dark Days, took him from the blogosphere to bestsellerdom, earning him acclaim as “the Spanish Stephen King” by La Voz de Galicia. 

He continues to reside in his native Pontevedra, where, in addition to writing, he is still a practicing lawyer.

Six Poppies by Lisa Carter

 

Six Poppies by Lisa Carter.

Published 30th January 2025 by Michael Joseph.

From the cover of the book:

Afghanistan, 2007. Carl meets Sarah, a nurse, at Camp Bastion and they feel an instant connection. But she’s the girlfriend of his fellow soldier, Danny, so he pledges to keep his distance.

Finally back in England, Carl vows to never forget those who didn't make it home, honouring each of them with a tattoo of a poppy. While many miles away, Sarah tries to forget the man she swore to leave behind.

But when Carl and Sarah are thrown back together, it’s clear that both of them are broken. But do the scars of what they went through run to deep, or is there a chance they can find happiness again, together . . .

An achingly authentic and raw portrait of love, regret, and healing. This unforgettable journey of resilience and redemption will capture your heart and soul.

***********

Afghanistan, 2007. Soldier Carl meets nurse Sarah at Camp Bastian, and feels an instant attraction to her. When he discovers that she is the long-term girlfriend of his pal, and fellow soldier, Danny, Carl knows he has to keep his feelings under control.

2011. Carl is home on UK soil, searching for a way to deal with his experiences in Afghanistan, and the grief he carries for the friends he has lost. When the marriage of two of their Army colleagues brings Carl and Sarah back together, it is obvious that the connection between them remains, even after all they have been through. But Sarah is tied to Danny, now a shadow of his former self, and Carl is bound by promises he has made. Is there still a chance for them?

Lisa Carter's powerful and intimate portrait of this small cast of characters is beautifully written, and hits you right in the feels. The story unfurls from the points of view of both Carl and Sarah, moving back and forth between 2007, with scenes of life at Camp Bastian that delve into the close knit relationships between the characters, and the perils of military life in a hostile environment that mean not all of them make it home; and 2011, when Carter lays bare their struggles to live with the impact of terrible losses, haunting memories, and fractured minds. 

Carl seems to have found a way to keep going by opening up to friends, old and new, and through his dog-walking business. He decides to pay tribute to his lost colleagues by having a poppy for each of them tattooed on his back. His sessions at the tattoo parlour break up the story, and hit hard as he reflects upon each person lost. Meanwhile, Sarah is finding it impossible to see anything of the Danny she used to know in the shell of the man who she has lost to flashbacks, and the bottom of a bottle. Her life has become one marred by violence, but when she meets Carl again, she see the chance of a better future - if only they can move past their trauma. 

Carter hold nothing back when she examines what PTSD can do to those who have been on the front-line, and those who live with them, so there are quite a few difficult scenes to navigate around this thread of the story. She does a brilliant job shining a light on the intense relationships between soldiers, and those who serve alongside them (particularly nurses and local ancillary staff), and how lives lost in service impact those who are left behind, particularly when of comes to survivor's guilt.

Although this story is heavily tinged with sadness, and made me cry throughout, it is also equally about love, friendship, remembrance, and hope. The romance between Carl and Sarah is utterly bewitching. You really do not know where fate will lead them, until the ultimate sob-fest ending, and Carter portrays their relationship with such yearning that your heartstrings are well and truly tugged. The cast of characters around them is wonderful too, especially Cherub and Jenni.  

I consumed this book from cover to cover, and ugly cried at the end. This is a fitting tribute to all those solders who have lost their lives in battle, and to those who somehow have to find a way to live when they return - with a knock-out romance to boot. Lisa Carter is an author to watch.

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

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

About the author:

Lisa Carter is a journalist who has worked for The Sun, The Mirror and the Daily Mail where she edited the Femail pages for over ten years. She lives in London with her husband and three sons.

To Save The Man by John Sayles

 

To Save the Man by John Sayles.

Published 23rd January 2025 by Melville House.

From the cover of the book:

In September of 1890, the academic year begins at the Carlisle school - a military-style boarding school for Indians run by Captain Richard Henry Pratt. Pratt's motto, 'Kill the Indian, Save the Man' is enforced in the classroom as well as the dorm rooms: speak English, forget your own language and customs, learn to be white.

While the students navigate survival, they hear rumours of a sweeping tribal lands reservations in the west - the 'ghost dance,' whereby desperate Native Americans engaged in frenzied dancing and chanting hoping it will cause the buffalo to return, the Indian dead to rise, and the white people to disappear.

Local whites panic, and the government sends in troops to keep the reservations under control. When legendary medicine man Sitting Bull is killed by native police working for the government troops, each Carlisle resident is faced with the question: Whose side are you on? And what will you risk to gain your freedom?

***********

September, 1890. A new academic year begins at the Carlisle School for Indians, a boarding school for boys and girls established by serving officer Captain Richard Henry Pratt, and sponsored by the Government. Pratt's motto is 'Kill the Indian, Save the Man', and he employs strict military methods to turn them into 'white' people, convinced this is the only way they will survive.

Outside the school walls, there is a growing wave of unrest in the uprooted Native American tribes forced into starvation and degradation. Rumours abound of a new Messiah, who promises that the buffalo will return, the Indian dead will rise, and the white people will disappear, if only they follow join his band of 'ghost dancing' apostles.

The whites are increasingly afraid, as the ghost dance spreads through reservations like wildfire. Pratt is certain that his crusading teaching methods raise his students above tribal affairs, but when panic leads to the murder of legendary Chief Sitting Bull, there are those at Carlisle compelled to cast off the personas foisted upon them in favour of the call of their blood. 

This powerful, and beautifully written novel, juxtaposes an intimate picture of life at the very real Carlisle school, through the eyes of a small group of students, and staff, with the wave of messianic fervour that spread amongst the reservations in 1890, leading to the massacre at Wounded Knee. Both threads of the story weave inextricably together, conveying the true horror of a system designed to strip young Native Americans of their language, beliefs, and their very nature, while the shocking history of the treatment inflicted on the indigenous people of America plays out.

It is a novel that is extremely hard-hitting, as Sayles delves deeply into the complex fall-out of a perfect storm of power-hungry policies; cruelty; neglect; incompentence; corruption; racism; genocidal intent; arrogance; and misguided good intentions. But, although it sent me down a lot of rabbit holes about the history surrounding the story (and there is lot touched on in this novel), there is nothing of the text-book about it. This is essentially a character-driven novel, and that is where its power truly lies.

My heart was broken over and over again as Sayles skilfully meanders between the innermost thoughts of the characters, and their actions. Those of the pupils are especially difficult to read when it comes to the inhumanity of what is being asked of them in the name of 'benevolence'. The memories of their former lives bleed into the present, and these feed into your understanding of their bewilderment, rage, and unfathomable sadness, and what lies at the heart of the wave of rebellion spreading across the country too. The relationships they forge between each other are especially affecting, as you get to know them through their hopes, dreams, and friendships as they try to keep something of themselves alive. Not to mention the cutting hypocrisy of a system that requires them to perform as active participants in romantic retellings of their own history, and celebrate such delights as Thanksgiving, while white people are actively destroying those they claim to be grateful to - it made me sick to my stomach.

It would be wrong to say I enjoyed this book, as it dragged me through the emotional mill. It is not one I would naturally have picked up, but I am so glad to have had the opportunity to read it. There are shades of the great American novel here, which really impressed me, and the scale of what Sayles achieves with this story is impressive. I will be thinking about these characters, and their experiences for a very long time to come. 

To Save the Man is available to buy now in hardcover and ebook formats.

Thank you to Melville House 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:

John Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for Passion Fish (1992) and Lone Star (1996). He has written eight novels, the most recent being Yellow Earth (2020) and JAMIE MACGILLIVRAY: The Renegade's Journey (2023), which was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice.

Strange Pictures by Uketsu

 

Strange Pictures by Uketsu.

Published 16th January 2025 by Pushkin Vertigo.

Translated by Jim Rion.

From the cover of the book:

A Japanese mystery bestseller, revolving around a series of creepy drawings, in which the reader is the detective - from the Youtube sensation Uketsu

A series of drawings made by a young woman before her death.

A child's disturbing picture of his home.

A desperate sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments.

Each contains a chilling warning.

Each reveals a terrible secret, hidden in plain sight.

Uketsu's eerie mysteries have captivated millions of readers. Can you find the clues in these strange pictures and uncover the sinister truth that connects them all?

***********

I adore Japanese mysteries. There is an intangible quality to them that makes them compulsive reading. So I was delighted when a copy of Strange Pictures by the mysteriously anonymous Uketsu fell into my hot little hands.

Unlike any Japanese mystery I have read before, this is less of a novel and more of a series of linked chapters from the points of view of different characters, which beautifully create a whole that is so much more than the sum of its parts. Central to each is the interpretation of innocent looking drawings which contain clues about dark crimes. The trail begins with pictures posted on-line by a blogger using the name Kento, who discovers they contain a sinister secret. Each subsequent drawing also contains clues hidden in plain sight, and taken together they unlock a horrible truth that comes into focus in a series of delicious moments of clarity as the book progresses.

This is seriously eerie storytelling, told through intimate glimpses into the lives of characters of different ages, sexes, and backgrounds, who are weighed down with loss, anger, and regret. There is something so unsettling about the way your perception of them shifts across the novel, particularly when you realise what you think you know about them proves to be false. The addition of challenging logic problems that are integral to solving the over-arching mystery is such a slick way to drive the plot too, especially if you enjoy getting stuck into tricky puzzles.

My favourite chapter was The Art Teacher's Drawing, which was a fabulous (and brutal) self-contained Japanese crime story all of its own, but I am very impressed with every single element Uketso wields so expertly to produce a novel that is simply stunning in its ingenuity. Somehow, this distils everything I love about Japanese mysteries into 250 hypnotic pages, and also gives them a fresh twist that I am absolutely here for. I cannot wait for the next one, Strange Houses!

Strange Pictures by Uketsu is available to buy now in paperbook and ebook formats.

About the author:

Uketsu is an enigmatic Youtuber and author, specializing in horror and mystery. He always appears in videos wearing a white mask and black body stocking, with his voice digitally distorted. His true identity is unknown, despite the fact that he is now Japan’s bestselling author, with millions of copies of his mysteries sold and translations appearing in thirty countries around the world. 

Strange Pictures is available now, and Strange Buildings is forthcoming from Pushkin Vertigo.

The Quick And The Dead by Emma Hinds

 

The Quick and the Dead by Emma Hinds.

Published 16th January 2024 by Bedford Square.

From the cover of the book:

It is 1597 and Kit Skevy and Mariner Elgin have just robbed the wrong grave.

They are young criminals in the pocket of a gang Lord named Will Twentyman, the Grave Eorl of Southwark. Mariner is the best cutpurse around, a strange Calvinist girl who dresses like a boy and is partner in crime to Kit Skevy, Southwark's best brawler who carries a secret: he cannot feel pain.

When caught out in their unfortunate larceny, Kit is kidnapped by the menacing alchemist Lord Isherwood (a man who will stop at nothing to achieve his hopes for the Red Lion elixir) and his studious son, Lazarus Isherwood, with whom Kit develops a complicated intrigue. When Mariner enlists the help of a competing French alchemist, Lady Elody Blackwater, Mariner and Kit are thrust into the shadowed, political world of Tudor alchemy, testing both their friendship and their lives.

It matters not who you are born to... but where you are made!

***********

London, 1597. In the slums of south of the river Thames, Mariner Elgin and Kit Skevy make a living as part of the criminal fraternity of the brutal gang lord, Will Twentyman, known as the Grave Eorl of Southwark. Former sailor, Mariner, who masquerades as a boy, is Twentyman's best cutpurse - a skill which (barely) keeps her out of his infamous brothels. Kit is Twentyman's finest brawler, aided by his ability to feel no pain - a secret he has been closely guarding for as long as he can remember.

Mariner and Kit make an unlikely pair, but they have forged a close friendship that has so far kept them about as safe as they can be in their perilous careers. Until one night they are sent by Twentyman to steal the recently interred body of a reputedly famous alchemist from its grave...

This misadventure leads to Kit being kidnapped, and tortured, by ruthless alchemist Lord Isherwood, and his son Lazarus, who are searching for an elixir which promises eternal life. Meanwhile, hoping to free Kit, Mariner makes a bargain with rival French alchemist, Lady Elody Blackwater. Their turn in fortune plunges them into a world of undercover plots and political machinations that threatens to expose their secrets and lead them into terrible danger.

This novel brings Elizabethan England alive, and throws you headlong into a tale which nicely combines elements of historical mystery, political intrigue, swash-buckling adventure, and queer love stories. The action unfurls from the points of view of close-friends Mariner and Kit, in parallel plot-lines that weave together - dragging Mariner into the games of power within the court of Elizabeth I, at the side of Lady Elody Blackwater, who becomes her lover; and taking Kit on a voyage of discovery about the mystical world of alchemy (and passion), beside the complicated Lazarus Isherwood. 

Not surprisingly, it turns out that being used by vying parties as pawns to gain political (and religious) advantage in the future succession of England is a dangerous business, not to mention when personal rivalries are involved. Any means are open to those who are willing to risk all, which allows Hinds to delve into the blurred edges between magic and science in 16th Century Europe, despite the increasing risks of being associated with the dark arts of witchcraft. There are very enjoyable scenes about the brewing of potions with supposedly mythical properties, covert dissections supplied by a lucrative side-line in grave-robbing, and scrying into the future - and they are all based on historical fact, which is fascinating. 

But this is not just about Dumas-esque escapades, and Dr Faustus level dark deeds (lovely references to Christopher Marlowe throughout), because the story is equally driven by the character development that feeds into a host interesting themes about sex and sexuality, and the role of women in Elizabethan England. I particularly enjoyed how Hinds examines these through the way Kit and Mariner's hopes, dreams, and secrets are revealed, and in the twisting course of their romantic lives (although do think Kit's issues could have been less complicated without detracting from the story). There is a lovely thread about theatre and performance in this era too, which leads to a very entertaining ending to the novel.

I was not sure what to expect from this book, but I found myself hanging on Hinds' every word as the story developed. There is scope for a sequel here, should Hinds choose to return to these characters... perhaps some tales about (my favourite character) Mariner's life on the high-seas? I would definitely be up for that!

The Quick and the Dead is available to buy now in hardcover, and ebook formats.

Thank you to Ed PR and Bedford Square for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Emma Hinds has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of St Andrews and has settled in Manchester, where she is a Queer playwright and Novelist. Her work focuses on telling untold feminist narratives. Her latest play, PURE, was featured in Turn On festival at Hope Mill Theatre Manchester in 2021 and she was the recipient of the Artist Development grant 2021 at Hope Mill Theatre. 

Emma's debut novel, The Knowing (Bedford Square) was published January 2024 and is an exploration of female trauma in the vivid and cruel world of the Victorian freak show. This thrilling historical fiction title swiftly became a Sunday Times Historical Fiction Book of The Month.

She has written a few previous non-fiction books in her capacity as an academic (in another life she was a theologian) with an essay published, Tarantino and Theology; with Gray Matter Books and her book, Ineffable Love: Christian Themes in Good Omens; published by Darton Longman Todd.

The Quick and the Dead is her second novel.

Nightingale & Co by Charlotte Printz

 

Nightingale & Co by Charlotte Printz.

Translated by Marina Sofia.

Published in ebook 15th January 2025, and paperback 1st February 2025, by Corylus Books.

From the cover of the book:

Berlin, August 1961.

Since the death of her beloved father, Carla has been running the Nightingale & Co detective agency by herself. It’s a far from easy job for a female investigator.

When the chaotic, fun-loving Wallie shows up at the door, claiming to be her half-sister, Carla’s world is turned upside down. Wallie needs Carla – the Berlin Wall has been built overnight, leaving her unable to return to her flat in East Berlin.

Carla certainly doesn’t need Wallie, with her secret double life and unorthodox methods for getting results. Yet the mismatched pair must find a way to work together when one of their clients is accused of murdering her husband.

Nightingale & Co is the first in a cosy historical crime series featuring the sisters of the 
Nightingale & Co detective agency in 1960s Berlin.

***********

Berlin, August 1961. 

Since her father died, Carla has been balancing running the Nightingale & Co detective agency by herself, with caring for her emotionally distant, strong-willed mother. Neither are easy jobs, leaving her little time for romance. It does not help that she is also called upon to periodically extricate her eccentric aunt Lulu from tricky situations of her own making.

Trying to stay professional while pursuing challenging investigations, and dealing with her complicated personal life is hard, particularly as a lone female investigator constantly reminded of the absence of her former beloved partner. But she has no idea quite how chaotic life can be until a young woman called Wallie shows up on her door step, claiming to be her half-sister trapped in the West after the construction of the Berlin Wall. 

Carla and Wallie are like chalk and cheese, but somehow they must find a way to trust each other, as the political landscape in Berlin changes around them - and attempt to locate a man simply known as 'Jack', while simultaneously trying to save a client accused of murder.

The story begins with luscious 1960s vibes, as Carla is called to rescue Aunt Lulu from arrest on the film set of the Billy Wilder movie, One, Two, Three, which is on location by the Brandenburg Gate. It is a scene that pretty much sets the tone for the book, when Carla has a prophetic encounter with Billy Wilder himself, during which he announces "Nobody's perfect!", as a nod to his earlier masterpiece, Some Like it Hot. 

What follows is part atmospheric detective caper, and part insightful exploration of time and place, set against the shocking political fall-out of the raising of the Berlin Wall. Carla is prim, respectable, inexperienced in affairs of the heart, and totally over-whelmed by the arrival of Wallie, a brash, busty, bar-tender in a risque club called the Eden - I loved their descriptions as Audrey Hepburn vs Marilyn Monroe, which works beautifully. They have very different ideas about how to behave, and this makes for a magical pairing - and a coming-of-age for Carla, with a touch of romantic suspense along the way. Printz fields a delightful supporting cast around them too, especially Aunt Lulu, who is quite a character!

The relationship between the sisters drives the slow-burn plot, bringing in lovely themes about family circumstances, jealousy, and betrayal that they have to navigate over the course of the story. Printz also uses their situations to cleverly examine the shadows that still loom large from World War Two in a defeated Germany, the impact of international politics, and the stark differences between those living in East and West Berlin as the Cold War plays out - and there is a lovely glimpse back to the heyday of the Berlin club scene. But this is not just about the past, because there are also fascinating threads here about women's rights, and changes in attitudes towards sex with the wider availability of the contraceptive pill. 

This is the kind of book that draws you in gradually. The way the gritty 1940's-esque noir, gum shoe elements of a quirky missing person investigation, and a complicated murder mystery, blend with the social changes of the 1960's is fascinating. Suddenly, you find yourself totally immersed in the twists and turns of Printz's novel, which will send you down rabbit holes about the events of 1961. There are moments when the use of language is a little mindboggling for those of us unused to the conventions of German speech, but they do not get in the way of the story, and Sofia does her best to make clear where the flipping between formal and more familiar speech is significant as part of her excellent translation.

I really enjoyed the darkness that lurks beneath the lighter tones of this story, especially the chill that pervades the ending - an ending which leaves you with unanswered questions that I sincerely hope will be addressed in the next book in the series!

Nightingale & Co is available to buy now in ebook, and will be published in paperback on 1st February 2025.

Thank you to Corylus Books for providing me with an ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Ewa Sherman for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Charlotte Printz is the pseudonym of a successful former TV editor with a penchant for writing gripping historical novels and screenplays.

She is one of the founders of the Munich Writing Academy.

About the translator:

Marina Sofia is a translator, reviewer, writer and blogger, as well as a third culture kid, who grew up trilingual in Romanian, German and English. 

This is her first translation of a German crime novel to be
published by Corylus Books.

The Troubled Deep (Cam Killick Norfolk Mysteries Book One) by Rob Parker

 

The Troubled Deep (Cam Killick Norfolk Mysteries Book One) by Rob Parker.

Published 16th January 2025 by Bloomsbury Raven.

From the cover of the book:

Nobody ever knew what happened to the Brindleys. One summer they were there - flashy, loud and beautiful - and then they were gone. A mother, father and two children, vanished into the East Anglian night.

Some said the family never made it home from the party; their speeding car thrown off the tracks and the four of them silently buried in the marshes. Others said they had simply moved on. For over thirty years, the case remained as cold as the freezing waterways of the Norfolk broads.

Until Cam Killick found the car.

An ex-marine and ex-SBS officer, Cam Killick's PTSD has made the return to civilian life a living nightmare. The only place he can find peace is underwater, where the world is muffled to white noise. As a cold case diver it is his job to scour the waterways of the country for the lost, the submerged, the drowned, laying their stories to rest alongside them.

Except when Cam levers open the doors to the Brindley car on the lake bed where he found it, all four bodies are missing. And Cam will soon learn that some secrets, once submerged, are better off staying that way.

A gripping, propulsive and atmospheric crime thriller perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Peter James and Elly Griffiths. Your new crime obsession starts here...

***********

Nearly forty years ago, the Brindley family disappeared after leaving a glamorous house party in the Norfolk Broads. The wealthy couple and their two children were never seen again. The police pronounced the case closed, after a woefully brief investigation, and interest in their possible whereabouts waned. Until ex-marine and ex-SBS officer, Cam Killick decided to investigate the cold case himself, searching the depths of the East Anglia's remote waterways in search of the Jaguar that never made it back to Brindley Hall. 

The search is a talisman for the solitary Killick, a man who feels safest alone in the company his dog, Nala. The hours he spends in the water bring him peace from the PTSD that plagues him, but when he finally discovers what he has been looking for all this time, a lot of unwelcome attention comes his way. Unexpectedly, the car is empty, and no one seems keen to delve into exactly what happened to the Brindley family, except a single copper who shares Killick's passion for digging up the truth - DS Claire Rogers, who has been told in no uncertain terms that she must ask no questions. Killick needs answers, and this is about to make him the target for some very dangerous men who would prefer their secrets did not come to light... 

I have been a fan of Parker's writing from almost the very beginning of his career, consuming everything he has written from the action-packed Ben Bracken Series, his gritty gangland Thirty Miles Trilogy, and his standalone novels as well. This is the first part of a brand new series, following the cold case investigations of a very unlikely sleuth - diver Cam Killick, who is haunted by the ghosts of the things he has seen in his former career as an ex-marine and SBS Officer.  

The Norfolk Broads is an area Parker has written about before. I was delighted with the nods to his literary past with the mention of Killick being involved in a salvage operation in the vicinity of The Penny Black, which was the venue for a shoot-out of stunning proportions in the Ben Bracken thriller of the same name. The way Parker connects his books like this always makes me smile, so hurray for a new series in the same world! 

The novel unfurls through the gripping adventures of Killick, both above and below the water (solid research on the diving aspects here); with heart-rending flashbacks to 1987 through the eyes of young Hannah Brindley, the daughter of the family. There are thrills, spills, bad guys a-plenty, enough action to make authors like Lee Child take a moment (as I have come to expect from Parker), and a mystery that really keeps you guessing. 

This is powerful storytelling, with beautifully drawn characters that stir your emotions, and the way this book grips you also has a lot to do with the care and attention he gives to his psychologically damaged hero. Parker approaches PTSD with insight and sensitivity, at no time trivialising the toll it takes on Killick, or his journey back to some semblance of normal life. He builds a lovely team around Killick too, who I am really looking forward to reading more about as the series unfolds - it was great to have a strong, older female character in DS Claire Rogers; the alien obsessed journalists Gupta and Ferris are a joy; and I hope to see more of wily old Johnjo Tabernacle and his daughter Jess (who prove to be a lot more intriguing that it first appears). And of course, there is the delightful Nala, who you will fall in love with.

The fingerprints of an accomplished crime writer are all over this book. It is bursting with the experience and maturity Parker has garnered over his career, with entertaining echoes of everything that has come before, woven into an opening gambit in a series with the legs to run and run. It is also a stonking page-turner that begs to be read in a single sitting - which I most certainly did. More please, Rob!

The Troubled Deep is available to buy now in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Rob Parker lives near Warrington, UK. The author of the Ben Bracken thrillers, the Thirty Miles Trilogy and the standalones Crook’s Hollow and Blackstoke.

​Rob writes full time, as well as organising and attending various author events across the UK. Passionate about inspiring a love of the written word in young people, he spends a lot of time in schools across the North West, encouraging literacy, storytelling and creative-writing. ​He is also a co-host of the For Your Reconsideration film podcast, and a regular voice on both the Blood Brothers crime book podcast and the Really, 007! podcast.

Midnight In Paris by Gillian Harvey

 

Midnight in Paris by Gillian Harvey.

Published 14th January 2025 by Boldwood Books.

From the cover of the book:

Ten years. Two people. One last visit…

Sophie and Tom first visited Paris together as students. During their weekend away in the world’s most romantic city, falling in love – with the place, and each other – was simply inevitable.

They resolved to return every summer and kept their word, until something happened that changed their world forever.

Five years on, Sophie’s travelling to Paris alone to meet Tom again in their special place, on the Pont du Carrousel at midnight.

Because life has torn them apart. And now Sophie has something to tell Tom. Something that will change everything…

The most heart-breaking, uplifting and powerful novel you’ll read all year. Perfect for fans of David Nicholls, Kristin Hannah and The Notebook.

***********

Tom and Sophie first travelled to Paris when they were students. Despite being very different people, they fell in love while visiting the sites and ambling along the banks of the Seine. They vowed to return each year to experience its magic together, but a twist of fate eventually tore them apart. 

Five years later, Sophie is returning to Paris for one more time, hoping Tom will be there so they can say goodbye in the place that became their own - on the Pont du Carrousel, at midnight. She is marrying Tom's best friend Will, and knows in her heart that she will never be able to move on until she draws a line under the past, no matter how hard it will be...

The story unravels through the perspective of Sophie, moving between the present and the past to follow the history of her relationship with Tom, from their meeting as students to the time when she must decide the best way to face the future. Their annual trips to Paris are central to the novel, especially the changing nature of their visits over the years. Harvey does an incredible job of connecting significant places in the city to the slow-burn development in their love story - most importantly when it comes to what the Pont du Carrousel means to them both (with a lovely little aside to the Mona Lisa). 

I found myself gradually being drawn into Sophie and Tom's tale, weaving through the ups and downs of an unlikely couple who somehow work, as they negotiate love, marriage, family ties, close friendships, and the expectations that weigh heavily on their relationship. It is clear that they are destined to part from the way Harvey cleverly wields the timelines, but I was left reeling when she eventually showed her hand... from this point on I was unable to look away.

This is not like anything I have read from Harvey before. She has a talent for gently incorporating deeper themes into relatable tales about life, but this is something new, showing an impressive maturity in the writing, and the way the storylines come together. This is so much more than a light-hearted story, and although there are touches of humour, the emotional fall-out from Sophie and Tom's story gives your heart a proper pounding. There is a fabulous supporting cast, and Will's part in the over-all picture is pretty special too. I sobbed almost continuously through the entire second half of this book, culminating in a full-on blubber-fest at the uplifting ending. Make sure you have the tissues handy, because you are going to need them!

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

Thank you to Boldwood Books for providing me with an ecopy of this book in return for and honest review, and to Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Gillian Harvey is a freelance journalist.

She has lived in Limousin, France for the past twelve years, from where she derives the inspiration and settings for her books such as A Year at the French Farmhouse and A Month in Provence.

A Serial Killer's Guide To Marriage by Asia Mackay

 

A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay.

Published 14th January 2025 by Wildfire.

From the cover of the book:

Hazel and Fox are an ordinary married couple with a baby. Except for one small thing: they're ex-serial killers.

They had it all. An enviable London lifestyle, five-star travels, and plenty of bad men to kill. Not many power couples know how to get away with murder.

Then Hazel fell pregnant and they gave it all up for life in the suburbs; dinner parties instead of body disposal.

But recently Hazel has started to feel that itch again. When she kills someone behind Fox's back and brings the police to their door, she must do anything she can to protect her family.

This could save their marriage - unless it kills them first.

***********

Golden couple, Hazel and Fox are living the good life in leafy Berkshire with their young daughter Bibi. As Fox heads into London to follow a high-flying career in finance, leaving artist Hazel at home to fulfil the role of yummy mummy, you would not think there was anything to mark them out among their equally affluent neighbours... but you would be wrong.

For Hazel and Fox were once successful serial killers, haunting the glamorous locations where Europe's elite gathered, on a crusade to rid the world of 'bad men'. It was a lifestyle they enjoyed to the max, but all that changed when Hazel fell pregnant. Giving everything up to become parents seemed the obvious choice, but swapping a life of living on the edge for the routine of domestic felicity is beginning to pall, despite the overwhelming love they feel for Bibi - especially for Hazel.  

When Hazel breaks their non-killing pact by stabbing a man who attacks her when she is out jogging, she is unable to tell Fox what she has done. She is sure she can fix this without his help, but the strain begins to tell on their marriage. It does not help that Fox has secrets of his own that he is desperate to keep from Hazel...

A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage is an absolutely glorious ride of a thriller, that mixes fast-paced plot and biting humour to produce a book that demands to be read in a single sitting - which is exactly what I did!

The story unfurls in narratives from married couple Hazel and Fox as they gamely try to follow the path of reformed serial killers, by masquerading as an aspirational couple with a young daughter in staid suburbia. These narratives are periodically broken up by flash-backs to their former lives, before and after their meeting, to slickly fill in all the backstory you need. It is clear from the outset that Hazel is struggling with this life, even though she adores her daughter, and is missing the thrills that fired her artistic soul. Unable to paint, the frustration within her threatens to burst free - which it eventually does in a violent outburst that drives the delicious story.

Mackay weaves a intricate plot that has Hazel scrambling to keep her secret from Fox, while raging against the strictures of her boring life. Hazel's solution to the mess she is in is to commit to an original plan to keep herself and her family safe from the consequences of her actions - actions made even more complicated by a choice she does not realise is a dangerous one until it is too late. As the twists and turns play out, Mackay reveals that things are not quite as rosy as they appear to be for Fox either - his past life as part of a dysfunctional American high-society family is about to derail his carefully curated existence. He has secrets he is keeping from Hazel in turn, and their marriage goes into freefall as the cracks begin to show in their relationship. Soon they are eyeing each other with suspicion, fuelled by misunderstandings - not a good place to be when you are both consummate killers...

This was enormous fun. The combination of seductive serial killer caper and tense domestic drama is perfectly pitched, with just the right amount of back story to explain the motivation of the characters. This is definitely going to be kill-or-cure, and Mackay keeps you dangling about what the outcome will be, before pulling off the kind of sexy ending that has you punching the air with glee. She does an excellent job echoing her themes of violence against women, killer instinct, family, and justice throughout too.

I loved it, and am really looking forward to the promised TV drama!

A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Asia studied Anthropology at Durham University, and began her career in television. She moved to China, presented and produced lifestyle programmes in Shanghai before returning to London where she worked with the likes of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, and subsequently completed a Faber Academy course.

Her debut novel Killing It was the First Runner Up in Richard and Judy's Search for a Bestseller competition and First Runner Up for the Comedy Women In Print prize. 

sia lives in London with her husband, four young children and two dogs - she never succeeds in calling any of them by the right name. She is always very very tired.

Dark Days (Apocalypse Z Book Two) by Manel Loureiro

 

Dark Days (Apocalypse Z Book Two by Manel Loureiro.

Released 8th October 2013 by Brilliance Audio.

Translated by Pamela Carmell.

Narrated by Nick Podehl.

7 hours and 41 minutes listening time.

From the cover:

As the dead prey on the living…

The end of the world has come not with a bang or a whimper, but with the guttural snarl of walking corpses hungry for human flesh. The "lucky" survivors flee an unstoppable virus spreading death and societal collapse across the globe.

The living prey on one another….

As the rules of civilization crumble, a lawyer, a pilot, and a nurse become comrades-in-arms in the fight against extinction. But not every enemy wears a rotting face, and anyone who doesn’t have your back just might have your head. Humankind’s twilight is at hand, and these are indeed...dark days.

***********

Our little band of survivors - the unnamed lawyer, the Ukrainian pilot Prit, seventeen-year-old Lucia, the nun Sister Cecelia, and Lucullus the cat - have managed to escaped from northern Spain, in a salvaged helicopter, after numerous unpleasant incidents battling the tide of zombies produced by the unstoppable pandemic unleashed upon the world.

But their quest to find refuge in the Canary Islands drops them right into the centre of a situation much more complex than expected. After an eventful quarantine period, they are confronted with the truth that life here is not going to be easy - resources are growing scarce, and political unrest constantly threatens to break out into open civil war. But at least they are safe from the undead... or are they?

The lawyer and Prit find themselves reluctantly heading back to Spain as part of a military operation to gather medicines in Madrid, while the others remain in Tenerife to facing problems of their own...

Dark Days picks up the story of the unnamed lawyer and his little band of friends almost seamlessly from the ending of book one, The Beginning of the End. They hoped to find refuge in the Canary Islands, but sanctuary brings with it a whole host of new challenges they had not anticipated.

The story unfurls mostly from the gripping journal entries of the lawyer from Pontevedra, as before, but in a twist on the format there are supplementary narratives from the point of view of Lucia (now in a relationship with the lawyer, despite an age-gap that is a little uncomfortable), as well as from a corrupt guard with a grudge. Loureiro also spices things up with a rather unsettling glimpse into the thought processes of the undead. The addition of a concise summary at the beginning of the book gives a welcome over-view of the rise of the undead and fall of civilisation too, and this is backed up by more detail about the infected as the story develops.

I must admit, I did miss the intensity of a single narrative that keeps you constantly on the edge-of-your-seat, however, the way the story diverges does mean you need more than one perspective to keep you on top of everything going on in parallel in Tenerife and in Madrid - and to get into the nitty gritty of the themes the story throws up in terms of survival in the longer term.  

While I do not think this is quite as fresh and compelling as book one, Nick Podehl's narration is just as enjoyable, as is the translation by Pamela Carmell. The flow of the story is more fragmented, given the split narrative, but there is more than enough action and excitement to keep you invested, especially once the lawyer and Prit are back in the thick of their battles with the undead at the same time as things take a menacing turn for Lucia in Tenerife. And there is a jaw-dropping cliff-hanger that draws you into the final part of the trilogy, The Wrath of the Just. Onwards to book three I go to discover the fate that awaits these characters... and the world.

Dark Days is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. Ebook and audio currently included with a Kindle Unlimited subscription.

About the author:

An international bestselling author, Manel Loureiro was born in Pontevedra, Spain, and studied law at Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. After graduation, he worked in television, both on-screen (appearing on Television de Galicia) and behind-the-scenes as a writer. Apocalypse Z, his first novel, began as a popular blog before its publication, eventually becoming a bestseller in several countries, including Spain, Italy, and Brazil. Manel has written three novels in the Apocalypse Z series. He currently resides in Pontevedra, Spain, where, in addition to writing, he is still a practicing lawyer.

Into Thin Air (The Arctic Mysteries Book One) by Ørjan Karlsson

 

Into Thin Air (The Arctic Mysteries Book One) by Ørjan Karlsson

Translated by Ian Giles.

Published 16th January 2025 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

In Norway’s frozen north, it’s not just secrets that are buried…

When nineteen-year-old Iselin Hanssen disappears during a run in a popular hiking area in Bodø, Northern Norway, suspicion quickly falls on her boyfriend. For investigator Jakob Weber, the case seems clear-cut, almost unexceptional, even though there is some suggestion that Iselin lived parts of her life beneath the radar of both family and friends.

But events take a dramatic turn when another woman disappears in similar circumstances – this time on the island of Røst, miles off the Norwegian coast, in the wild ocean.

Rumours that a killer is on the loose begin to spread, terrifying the local population and leading to wild conspiracies. But then Jakob discovers that this isn’t the first time that young women have vanished without a trace in the region, and it becomes clear that someone is hiding something … and another murderous spree may have just begun…

***********

In Bodø, Norland, veteran detective Jakob Weber is struggling to process the overwhelming sense of loss he feels at the death of his wife. In many ways he is refusing to accept that change is inevitable, but his work life gets a shake up when young Noora Yun Sande transfers from Kripos in Oslo, to replace his, now retired, partner. They have little time to get to know each other before they are thrown into a complex investigation. 

Nineteen-year-old Iselin Hanssen goes missing while hiking in the wilds around Bodø. Suspicion falls in her boyfriend, son of a local big-wig, but Jakob and Noora's investigation is thrown into disarray when the body of another young woman goes missing on the island of Røst, miles off the Norwegian coast... and then there is the cold case that Jakob has been preoccupied with. Is there a serial killer at work in Norway's frozen north?

It is always a delight to be there at the beginning of a new series, and the partnership forged between this tight team of characters indicates great promise for a a series that has real legs too!

The story unfolds through several perspectives: primarily Jakob, Noora and the small team in Bodø as they go about their investigation, supplemented by narratives from the missing Iselin, and a number of characters whose points of view in the menacing proceedings drive the action forward. There is a lot of darkness here, of the most unsettling kind, focusing on violence towards women, which provides solid Nordic noir grit, and Karlsson uses the Norland location to absolute perfection when it comes to upping the chill factor - especially by playing with weather, landscape, and the eerie atmosphere of the midnight sun. 

Ian Giles' translation flows beautifully, making Karlsson's plot into one which keeps you hanging breathlessly on the twists and turns of the story, and the characterisation is a joy. I loved the developing relationship between Jakob and Noora, and the way their own emotional turmoil reveals itself. The police procedural and personal stories weave together so well, incorporating some lovely themes too - particularly when it comes to the legacy of controlling, and abusive relationships. And as for Jakob's subtle flirtation with the press... so good!

This is a first instalment that whets your appetite, with threads hanging to hook you into book two, and I can see these characters becoming fixtures in my life. If you like the way Jorn Lier Horst spins his Norwegian magic then this will definitely be for you. More please! 

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

About the author:

Ørjan N. Karlsson grew up in Bodø. A sociologist by trade, he received officer training in the army and has taken part in overseas missions. He has worked in the Defence Ministry and is now a departmental manager in the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection. 

He has written a large number of thrillers, sci-fi novels and crime novels for adults.

About the translator:

Ian Giles has a PhD in Scandinavian literature from the University of Edinburgh. Past translations include novels by crime and thriller luminaries such as Arne Dahl, Carin Gerhardsen, Michael Katz Krefeld, David Lagercrantz, Camilla Läckberg and Gustaf Skördeman. His translation of Andreas Norman’s Into a Raging Blaze was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger.