Nobody Puts Romcoms In The Corner by Kathryn Freeman

 

Nobody Puts Romcoms In The Corner by Kathryn Freeman.

Published in ebook 27th February 2023 and paperback 2nd March 2023 by One More Chapter.

From the cover of the book:

Not an expert, not even close, not in any of this. But nobody will try harder than me to make you happy.

Sally is a classic romantic and Harry is a classic cynic, but when a drunken bet leads the new flatmates to (badly) recreate ‘the lift’ from Dirty Dancing, and the video goes viral (#EpicRomcomReenactmentFailure), they both realise there’s potential financial benefit in blundering their way through the romcom lexicon for their suddenly vast social media following.

Now, as Harry and Sally bring major romcom moments to new life – including recreating that classic diner scene – their faking it turns to making…out and suddenly they’re living a real life romcom of their own! But like all the greatest love stories, the road to happily ever after is paved with unexpected challenges for this hero and heroine…

***********

Sally is a romantic. She knows every rom-com movie inside out, and believes that when she meets 'the one' she will, quite literally, hear bells sounding in her head. Harry on the other hand is a cynic. He does not believe in love, and would rather be caught dead than watch a rom-com. So, when the two of them end up flatmates, the sparks that fly are more of the adversarial than the lovey-dovey kind... at first.

Before long, they feel a sexual tension developing between them, even if they cannot admit it. After all, they really are not each other's type, are they? As the frostiness begins to melt, a drunken episode has them re-enacting (and videoing) the famous lift from Dirty Dancing, and Sally has the bright idea to upload it to TikTok. Their poor effort to emulate the Grey-Swayze dance move goes viral, and it sets Sally thinking that they might be able to make money off the back of their instant fame by copying other beloved moments from rom-com movies - and #EpicRomcomReenactmentFailure is born.

As they rack up more and more re-enactment fails with their own brand of twist, Sally and Harry's pretend on-line relationship develops into a very intense real one, but their differences have them convinced that they are not in this for the long-haul - no matter how great their sex life. Can the rom-com magic lead to a happy ending for them both?

This is a classic romance between two characters who seem to have very little in common at the beginning of the story - one believing that real life can be as portrayed in rom-com land, and one convinced that true love does not even exist. But where would we be if the course of true love ran smooth? Freeman bounds joyfully headlong into a tale that has her misfit pair learning to look at love a little differently, when they are brought together by necessity. 

The attraction between them starts as purely sexual, fed by their physical closeness as they run through Sally's repertoire of rom-com highlights, and this leads to some very steamy scenes. Each of them spends so much time convinced that they are not what each other needs, especially as they have their own issues to work through, that when they find a way to meet somewhere between full-on rom-com dreamland and emotional cynicism it comes as a big surprise to them both. A bevy of misunderstandings and mishaps crop up in the process, as you would expect, but this makes the final pay-off all the more swoon-worthy.

I liked Sally and Harry very much (a genius naming of the pair from Freeman there), though I did not really gel with the supporting players, other than the hilarious Hilda and Mildred. In fact, I intensely disliked many of them for almost the entire story (side-eyeing Harry's mother and ex-girlfriend, and Sally's sister Amy here), but this kind of adds to the gorgeousness of the storyline that brings Sally and Harry together against the odds.

This tale is a goldmine for laugh out loud moments (including a giggle at the thought of characters who feel they are past it at the dizzy heights of thirty-years-old), and I loved all the references to some cracking rom-com movies. It is full of fun, sass, and well-judged poignancy, and it ends right where you want your happy ending to be. Perfect escapist rom-com enjoyment to warm the cockles of your heart! 

Nobody Puts Romcoms in the Corner is available to buy now in paperback and ebook.

Thank you to One More Chapter for sending me a Netgalley copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Kathryn started her working life as a retail pharmacist but soon realised trying to decipher doctors' handwriting wasn't for her. In 2011, backed by her family, she left the world of pharmaceutical science to begin life as a self-employed writer.

She lives with two teenage boys and a husband who asks every Valentine's Day whether he has to bother buying a card again this year (yes, he does) so the romance in her life is all in her head.

You Will Never Be Found (The High Coast Book Two) by Tove Alsterdal

 

You Will Never Be Found (The High Coast Book Two) by Tove Alsterdal.

Translated by Alice Menzies.

Published 2nd February 2023 by Faber & Faber.

From the cover of the book:

He was locked inside an abandoned house. But he's not the only one . . .

When a dead man is found locked in the basement of an abandoned house, deep in the woods, there is no evidence of what happened beyond his name - scratched into the wall before he died. The regional police can't find anyone who knew him.

But no-one knows the locals like tough, smart, and determined Detective Eira Sjödin. When her expert knowledge of her home town is again called in, she knows one of them must have seen something. Then, a shock: before she can uncover the truth, someone close to her disappears.

Has he fallen victim to the same criminal they've been chasing? And can Eira put the pieces together in time to save him?

***********

When a body is found trapped in the basement of an abandoned house out in the forest, the regional police are baffled. Detective Eira Sjödin's knowledge of the area leads to the body being linked to the recent case of a missing local man, and she is called upon once again to work with the Violent Crime Unit to discover how he came to be there and exactly why he died.

This is a hard case to crack, and there are few leads... until Eira manages to find a connection with a similar case in the eerie mining town of Malmberget. Finally, she is making progress, but when the investigation takes a turn and someone close to her goes missing, it becomes a desperate battle against the clock to find a murderer before it is too late.

You Will Never Be Found is the second instalment of the High Coast series by bestselling Swedish author Tove Alsterdal. I was completely blown away by the first book in this series, We Know You Remember, which now brings Detective Eira Sjödin to English speaking readers through the excellent translations by Alice Menzies - in fact it was my Nordic Noir book of the year for 2022. So I was chomping at the bit to get back to more gritty crime adventures at Eira's side!

This investigation begins with a grisly discovery, and it leads to Eira being seconded to the Violent Crime Unit she worked with in the last book, in order to solve a mystery that eventually led right back to her own family. This has consequences for how Eira thinks and acts in this second book, so for this reason, although this is a stand-alone case, I do recommend that you read the first book before this one - it is outstanding and will really enhance your enjoyment of this book.

Alsterdal is adept at a slow-burn tale that twists with each new discovery, and builds in pace as the truth reveals itself. Eira's special knowledge of the area brings an intriguing edge to the story, as there is always an undercurrent about the history of this part of Sweden, and how this has affected the people who live here. Sins of the past do play a lesser part in this second book, although they are always there to influence the behaviour of the characters. In many ways it is a more reflective story that dwells on change, and how it will shape the future. This is especially true of Eira herself, as she realises that there might be something more beneath why she has returned to her childhood home that goes beyond caring for her fragile mother.

"I long for home.

I seek where'er I go - not for men folk, but the fields where I would stray.

The stones where as a child I used to play."

The landscape is used beautifully to enhance the atmosphere throughout. There is a feeling of otherness and isolation that is very unsettling, which Alsterdal plays on to perfection. The wildness of the sea builds in a delicious sense of danger to the very exciting climax of the story, and the way Alsterdal employs the unstoppable expansion of the mine at Malmberget to set the tone with a hit to that discomfiting spot is superb. 

One of my favourite things about this book is the dynamic between the female characters, especially in terms of multi-generation relationships. Alsterdal examines a wealth of themes around betrayal and abandonment through them, that resound powerfully through every part of the story. I tip my hat to the translator Alice Menzies for her stellar work here.

This book cements Alsterdal as an impressive talent in one of my favoured genres, and I cannot wait to read more from her. If Nordic Noir is your passion too, then I highly recommend that Tove Alsterdal finds her way on to your reading pile in double quick time - you can thank me later...

You Will Never Be Found is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook, and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Tove Alsterdal burst upon the Swedish book scene in 2009 with The Forgotten Dead and is the author of five critically acclaimed stand-alone novels. We Know You Remember, which was named Swedish Crime Novel of the Year and was shortlisted for the country's Book of the Year Award, marks her English language debut.

Partners In Crime (Tommy And Tuppence Mysteries Book 2) by Agatha Christie

 

Partners in Crime (Tommy And Tuppence Mysteries Book 2) by Agatha Christie.

This edition published 1st January 2015 by Harper Collins.

From the cover of the book:

Agatha Christie’s complete Tommy and Tuppence short story collection, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford were restless for adventure, so when they were asked to take over Blunt’s International Detective Agency, they leapt at the chance.

After their triumphant recovery of a pink pearl, intriguing cases kept on coming their way: a stabbing on Sunningdale golf course; cryptic messages in the personal columns of newspapers; and even a box of poisoned chocolates.

***********

Tommy and Prudence 'Tuppence' Beresford have been married for six years, and while Tommy is enjoying his job working on important government matters with Mr Carter, Tuppence is bored with the domestic sphere she finds herself confined to. Fortunately, Mr Carter arrives on their doorstep with a plan that should provide enough excitement even for Tuppence.

The International Detective Agency has recently come into the possession of the intelligence department Mr Carter manages, after the dodgy spy types who operated out of its offices have been put behind bars. Mr Carter offers Tommy and Tuppence the chance to manage the firm - providing Tommy takes on the guise of its former boss Theodore Blunt, and they keep an eye out for any further contact from the dodgy Russian spy ring.

Armed with a collection of classic detective fiction books, which they plan to use to hone their detecting skills, Tommy, Tuppence, and jack-of-all-trades Arthur settle into their new roles as Theodore Blunt, his private secretary Miss Robinson, and the agency's office boy... and so begins a series of adventures that have them solving a mixed bag of cases that include recovering stolen jewellery, finding missing persons, busting counterfeit rings, and even solving murders, while the thread of the Russian spy affair rattles on in the background - posing increasing danger to their careers as detectives.

This series of short stories is the second literary outing for Tommy and Tuppence, who earlier cut their teeth on a dangerous mission in The Secret Adversary, which also cemented their romantic partnership. Now a married couple, and ready for more adventures, Christie has them pitting their wits against all manner of criminal types in their new roles as private detectives. I was delighted to see that Arthur, who was introduced as a helpful aide to Tuppence in the previous book, is also along for the ride - and he takes his role as assistant very seriously indeed.

The seventeen stories in this book are all typical Christie short story country, and Tommy and Tuppence (with assistance from Arthur, of course) go about solving them in the style of the various detectives among their literary reference library, which gives rise to a lot of humorous situations, and is excellent fodder for the very funny banter that characterises their relationship. I especially enjoyed when Christie pokes fun at herself, by occasionally having Tommy and Tuppence emulate the relationship between Poirot and Hastings, which is used to lovely effect in the final story of the collection. I do not think I have ever laughed out loud so much in any Christie book before, which was such a delight.

Among all the humour there is plenty of excitement and melodrama too, which adds a delicious injection of tension, and allows Tommy and Tuppence to display their natural talent and intelligence when it comes to solving crime. Their skills really complement each other, and despite Tommy's occasional blustering condescension, Tuppence has more than enough feistiness to stand up for herself, and underneath it all their steadfast devotion to each other adds a note of emotion that is really heart-warming.

I very much enjoyed The Secret Adversary, but for me, this is the book that has fixed Tommy and Tuppence firmly in my affections. Their characters shine through in these stories, and although their career as private detectives draws to a close in these pages, with a very interesting development, this is not their last adventure together. I am looking forward to catching up with them in N or M?, the next book in the series.

This book is the second Agatha Christie I have read this month as part of the #Read Christie2023 challenge exploring the methods and motives Christie used in her books. I alternated reading with listening to the excellent audio book narrated by Hugh Fraser.

Partners in Crime is available to buy now in multiple formats.

About the author:

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

The Broken Afternoon (DI Ryan Wilkins Book Two) by Simon Mason

 

The Broken Afternoon (DI Ryan Wilkins Book Two) by Simon Mason.

Published 2nd February 2023 by Quercus.

From the cover of the book:

A SHOCKING DISAPPEARANCE

A four-year-old girl goes missing in plain sight outside her nursery in Oxford, a middle-class, affluent area, her mother only a stones-throw away.

A TRIGGERING RESPONSE

Ryan Wilkins, one of the youngest ever Detective Inspectors in the Thames Valley force, dishonourably discharged three months ago, watches his former partner DI Ray Wilkins deliver a press conference, confirming a lead.

A DARK WEB

Ray begins to delve deeper, unearthing an underground network of criminal forces in the local area. But while Ray's investigation stalls Ryan brings his unique talents to unofficial and quite illegal inquiries which will bring him into a confrontation with the very officials who have thrown him out of the force.

***********

In a leafy, affluent part of Oxford, four-year-old Poppy Clark vanishes from outside her nursery school, while her mother's back is turned.

Rising star on the Thames Valley force, DI Ray Wilkins has the unenviable task of directing the search for Poppy. The press conference he handles exudes confidence in the ability of the police to locate Poppy safely, but in reality there is very little to go on. 

Ray's former partner, the brilliant, but unpredictable Ryan Wilkins, watches the investigation from a distance. He was dishonourably discharged from the force three months earlier, a victim of his volatile temper, but the chance of reinstatement has been dangled in front of him, if he can keep his nose clean. This is something Ryan struggles with - especially when he has a hunch about something that keeps pecking away at his conscience. 

While Ray's investigation grinds to a halt, Ray is busy behind the scenes putting the pieces of more than one puzzle together, despite the risk this poses to his second chance... and trouble is brewing.

The Broken Afternoon is the second instalment in the series that introduced the partnership of DIs Wilkins and Wilkins (no relation) of the Thames Valley police force in A Killing in November. I am sorry to not have read the first book, because The Broken Afternoon is the best contemporary police procedural I have read in a very long time.

I will admit to doing a double take when I began reading this story, because both crime-busting protagonists have the same surname of Wilkins, but it soon becomes clear that they are very different individuals indeed. Ray is the smooth, confident face of the police force, with his good looks, charm, and expensive education. Ray has ambition, and likes to do things by the book, but behind the cool facade he is struggling to get his head around imminent fatherhood and all the demands of a relationship in trouble, while he has the responsibility of solving a very difficult, and emotive case. On the flip side, single father Ryan comes from the wrong side of the tracks. He is a mass of contradictions, and quick to anger, which has led to his downfall as the former youngest ever DI on the Thames Valley force. However, he is a loving father to his three-year-old son Young Ryan - the only job he feels he has ever done well in his life. They make an unlikely, and somewhat reluctant partnership, but their talents complement each other well, and Ryan's uncanny knack at ferreting out leads works to Ray's advantage in this story. Ray is a tricky character to like, but Ryan is curiously vulnerable, and endearing, even given his propensity to fury. My favourite character of them all however, is Young Ryan who has a wise head on his young shoulders.

I was hooked from page one, and spent the rest of the story with my heart in my mouth. I could not rest until I had worked through every beautifully contrived twist and turn Mason threw at me, which meant consuming the whole book in a single sitting. This investigation covers difficult and distressing subjects around abuse, and paedophilia, and there are more than a few moments that are very tough to read among the unsavoury platter of acts Mason forces you to confront. However, the main focus of this book is actually the relationship between Wilkins and Wilkins, and Mason does a brilliant job of comparing and contrasting their different investigative styles, and lifestyle choices, as they go about solving crime in parallel. 

The pacing of this mystery is pitched to absolute perfection, and Mason keeps you guessing right to the very end of the story with his masterful plotting. Throughout he threads meaty themes of that examine facets of fatherhood and the weight of expectation with sharp insight, leading you on through reckonings and poignant reconciliations that pack a forceful emotional punch. Outstanding!

I cannot tell you how darned good the ending of this book is for fear of spoilers, but I can say that as soon as I closed the cover I immediately ordered myself a copy of A Killing in November... and pre-ordered book three, Lost and Never Found, which is due in January 2024. If Simon Mason is not already on your crime story loving radar, then he should be.

The Broken Afternoon is available to buy now in hard cover, ebook, and audio formats.

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

About the author:

Simon Mason is a writer of fiction. At first he wrote books for adults, then books for children, which grew up at roughly the same rate his own children grew up, and now he is back writing books for adults again.

His latest novels are crime thrillers. The first, A Killing in November, was published in January 2022. It is followed by The Broken Afternoon.

He is currently RLF Fellow at Exeter College, Oxford.

Hanging Out: The Radical Power Of Killing Time by Sheila Liming

 

Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing Time by Sheila Liming.

Published 26th January 2023 by Melville House.

From the cover of the book:

Almost every day it seems that our world becomes more fractured, more digital, and more chaotic. Sheila Liming has the answer: we need to hang out more. 

Starting with the assumption that play is to children as hanging out is to adult, Liming makes a brilliant case for the necessity of unstructured social time as a key element of our cultural vitality. 

The book asks questions like: What is hanging out? Why is it important? Why do we do it? How do we do it? And examines the various ways we hang out - in groups, online, at parties, at work. 

Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing Time makes a smart and funny case for the importance of this most casual of social structures, and shows us how just getting together can be a potent act of resistance all on its own.

***********

Hanging Out is essentially a series of essays by Sheila Liming covering various aspects of how people interact through different social situations, such as in groups, online, at work, and at parties. In these Liming proposes arguments supporting her view that we would all be better off if we just 'hung out' more with each other face to face.

I was expecting this to be an academic sort of book, so am surprised to find that it is actually quite a different sort of beast. It is based around Liming's own life experiences as an individual, and college professor, which she uses to support her theories about the advantages and disadvantages of the way people relate to each other in different settings. This makes it more accessible to a wider audience, although as someone with a background in psychology, I would have liked to have seen some scientific backing to her conclusions, which, although anecdotally sound, are sometimes a bit woolly. 

The most interesting thing about this book for me is the way she uses her years of teaching literature to bring in examples of the kind of behaviour she is talking about by referencing books and film. This adds a deeper intellectual aspect to the series of very personal stories about her life. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers is particularly used beautifully in the section about parties, although I think that citing Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh as a book promoting a beneficial way to 'hang with strangers' is a bit bemusing, no matter how much I love his work. However, if Liming's references encourage readers to then explore the works she mentions, then that is good with me.

Liming makes some really insightful obsevations about the modern world, particularly around the need to re-establish face-to-face contact in the wake of the isolation we have all experienced in Covid-19 times. In addition, her suggestion that an ever increasing reliance on digital platforms is less than ideal for developing, and maintaining, personal relationships, is one I think most of us can agree with.

This is a book for picking up and reading in sections, mulling over Liming's philosophy on life. It is very 'popular psychology' in the American style, but there is a lot to be gained from using her thoughts as a spring board to consider how you relate to others around you. She writes with refreshing honesty, and humour, which makes this book engaging and easily readable too. Her final section is the most useful of all I think, as she gives very sensible advice on how you can make changes to your own life in order to 'hang out' more with others. There are some great strategies to combat loneliness and isolation here, and this makes for a really positive ending to an intriguing book. 

Hanging Out 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:

Sheila Liming is an associate professor at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, where she teaches classes on literature, media, and writing. She is the author of two books, What a Library Means to a Woman and Office, and the editor of a new edition of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. Her essays have appeared in venues like The Atlantic, McSweeney's, Lapham's Quarterly, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Public Books, and The Point.

Mrs McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie

 

Mrs McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie.

The edition published 13th March 2014.

From the cover of the book:

An old widow is brutally killed in the parlour of her cottage…

‘Mrs McGinty’s dead!’
‘How did she die?’
‘Down on one knee, just like I!’

The old children’s game now seemed rather tasteless. The real Mrs McGinty was killed by a crushing blow to the back of the head and her pitifully small savings were stolen.

Suspicion falls immediately on her lodger, hard up and out of a job. Hercule Poirot has other ideas – unaware that his own life is now in great danger…

***********

The murder of an old char lady, called Mrs McGinty, might seem a case with little to attract the celebrated Hercule Poirot, especially when it seems the culprit has already been tried and found guilty. However, Poirot's interest is piqued when Superintendent Spence of the Kilchester police pays him a visit and confesses that he is not sure that the man they arrested is actually guilty of the crime, despite the evidence against him.

Poirot sets off to the quiet village of Broadhinny to look into the case himself, even though the interview he has recently had with the condemned man, James Bentley, was rather unsatisfactory on a number of levels. He begins his investigation by visiting the 'very nice' people who employed Mrs McGinty to scrub their floors and black their grates, to discover whether anyone else could have had a motive for killing the nosy old woman. His little grey cells are hampered by the uncomfortable surroundings he finds himself in as a paying guest of the chaotic Summerhayes family, but he begins to make headway when it comes to light that Mrs McGinty had cut out an article from the racy Sunday Comet about murder cases from the past involving four different women. Why was she so interested in this article, and was her interest in it the reason for her murder?

With the help of his friend, novelist Ariande Oliver, who is coincidentally also in Broadhinny working with the playwright Robin Upward on an adaptation of one of her novels, Poirot begins to see the light, but he does not realise that he is putting his own life in danger in the process.

Mrs McGinty's Dead is an unusual case for Poirot, as a village setting of this kind is normally the province of Miss Marple. It is a remarkable one for my favourite little Belgian detective to solve for another reason too, as he actually rather dislikes the man he is trying to save from the gallows. 

The village setting allows Christie to have a lot of well observed fun with the families who live in Broadhinny - all purportedly 'very nice' people, many of whom have intimate secrets they would rather keep from the knowledge of their friends and neighbours. This proves to be a goldmine for red herrings, which Christie exploits with her usual flair to misdirect you about the real reason for Mrs McGinty's untimely end, until one of Poirot's classic gatherings at the end of the book, when all is revealed.

I adore the way Christie uses four previous crimes to muddy the waters in this story, and this has to be one of her most deviously complex plots. The way she draws you in, completely fools you, and knocks you sideways with her genius is astonishing. I defy you to guess the murderer in this story, if you do not already know, as this really is deliciously complicated, with a lot of layers to unpick before the final, earth-shattering reveal.

It is a joy to see Poirot and the glorious Ariadne teaming up again in this book, as their partnerships are always so entertaining. There is so much humour to be derived from their interactions with each other, and with the other characters in the story - especially in Ariadne's frustration with Robin Upward's depiction of her problematic fictional detective, Sven Hjerson, and in Poirot's obvious horror at the conditions he experiences as a guest of the Summerhayes family.

This is my first reading of this particular Poirot mystery, and it has earned a place as one of my favourites. I listened to the wonderful audio book narrated by Hugh Fraser alongside reading the physical book, as I often do, and can highly recommend both methods for consuming Agatha Christie's work.

This is also the first book I have read as February's choice for the #ReadChristie2023 challenge, which explores the use of a blunt instrument as the murder weapon. I am now moving on to adventures with Tommy and Tuppence Beresford in Partners in Crime, which is the 'official' pick for this month, in a double whammy of February bludgeonings. I cannot wait!

Mrs McGinty's Dead is available to buy now in multiple formats.

About the author:

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

Dead Of Night (Berlin Wartime Book Two) by Simon Scarrow

 

Dead of Night (Berlin Wartime Book Two) by Simon Scarrow.

Published 2nd February 2023 by Headline.

From the cover of the book:

BERLIN. JANUARY 1940.

After Germany's invasion of Poland, the world is holding its breath and hoping for peace. At home, the Nazi Party's hold on power is absolute.

One freezing night, an SS doctor and his wife return from an evening mingling with their fellow Nazis at the concert hall. By the time the sun rises, the doctor will be lying lifeless in a pool of blood.

Was it murder or suicide? Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke is told that under no circumstances should he investigate. The doctor's widow, however, is convinced her husband was the target of a hit. But why would anyone murder an apparently obscure doctor? Compelled to dig deeper, Schenke learns of the mysterious death of a child. The cases seem unconnected, but soon chilling links begin to emerge that point to a terrifying secret.

Even in times of war, under a ruthless regime, there are places in hell no man should ever enter. And Schenke fears he may not return alive . . .

***********

Berlin, 1940. After Germany's invasion of Poland, many still hope that a peace can be agreed before the mayhem of all out war begins in earnest. The shortages are already being felt, as resources are diverted to the war effort, and the brutal, endless winter is starting to hit hard.

The apparent suicide of an SS doctor gives Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke something to distract him from the freezing temperatures, and his personal troubles. The doctor's wife is determined that her husband would never have killed himself, and asks Schenke for his help in proving that he was murdered. Schenke and his associates, Sergeant Hauser and Gestapo transfer Scharfuher Liebwitz, are inclined to agree with her view after examining the evidence. However, when they are ordered by the powers that be not to interfere with the official verdict of suicide, they must comply.

Instead, Schenke and his team turn their attention to the mysterious death of a young child, and what they uncover both chills them to the bone, and appears to be connected to the murder of the Berlin doctor in some way. They have stumbled across a huge secret which reaches far into the highest echelons of the Nazi Party, and in doing so, have put themselves in grave danger.

Dead of Night is a cracking thriller that cleverly uses a police procedural, and mix of fact and fiction, to explore some very disturbing wartime history. It is all too easy to be overwhelmed with the horror of the atrocities meted out by the Nazis in pursuit of their racial hygiene policies, but this story superbly distils down some of the horrors by bringing in a human element that not only makes this easier to shockingly get your head around in a small way, but also flays you to the emotional bone.

In this tale, we are still in the early days of WWII, in the strange period before all out conflict got underway, despite the declaration of war on Germany in September 1939. Hitler's plan to 'purify' the German nation, by disposing of 'defective' humans through secret programmes of euthanasia, lies at the heart of the story.

Intriguingly, this is a mystery set within the police department in Berlin in 1940, which I do not think I have read about before, and the concept is simply brilliant. Among the all the compelling police investigative elements you would expect, Scarrow brings in so much about the complexities of the political situation in Berlin at this time, and the twisted ideology of the Nazi Party. The picture he paints is flooded with menacing themes of suspicion, propaganda, persecution, in-fighting, and control, and these work deliciously against the atmosphere created by the freezing winter temperatures. The fear of spoilers prevents me from giving away too much, but the way he explores the conflicting feelings of apparently 'good' people coerced into heinous acts alongside those who fanatically adhere to them is done with such skill, delving into twisting threads around silence and struggles of conscience. Scarrow chooses his characters well too. The dynamic between Schenke and his team is really interesting, especially with young Liebwitz, who no one seems to trust given his Gestapo background. There is lovely character development across the story, that also bodes well for the next book in the series.

This is powerful stuff, that will deeply unsettle you, and an enthralling departure for Scarrow from the ancient times that are the subjects of his usual historical fiction novels. It is filled with black, white and shades of grey that leave you asking thought provoking questions about the motives and behaviour of humankind, and also how you would have behave yourself in the same circumstances - just what the very best kind of historical fiction should do. I have not read the first book in this series, Blackout, which is an error I will be putting right in short order, and I cannot wait for book three.

Dead of Night is available to buy now in hard cover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Headline 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:

Simon Scarrow is a Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling author. After a childhood spent travelling the world, he pursued his great love of history as a teacher, before becoming a full-time writer. His Roman soldier heroes Cato and Macro made their debut in 2000 in UNDER THE EAGLE, and have subsequently appeared in many bestsellers in the Eagles of the Empire series, including CENTURION, INVICTUS and DAY OF THE CAESARS.

Simon Scarrow is also the author of a quartet of novels about the lives of the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte, YOUNG BLOODS, THE GENERALS, FIRE AND SWORD and THE FIELDS OF DEATH; a novel about the 1565 Siege of Malta, SWORD & SCIMITAR; HEARTS OF STONE, set in Greece during the Second World War; and PLAYING WITH DEATH, a contemporary thriller written with Lee Francis. He also wrote the novels ARENA and INVADER with T. J. Andrews.

The One That Got Away by Charlotte Rixon

 

The One That Got Away by Charlotte Rixon.

Published 2nd February 2023 by Aria, Head of Zeus.

From the cover of the book:

Two years together. Twenty years apart. One day to change their story.

Benjamin's world is turned upside down the day he meets Clara. Instinctively, he knows that she is his person and he is hers, but the events of one devastating night will take their lives in very different directions.

20 years later, a bombing is reported in the city where Clara and Ben met, and she is pulled back to a place she tries not to remember and the first love she could never forget. Searching for Ben, Clara prays that twenty years of silence is about to end.

But is it too late to put right what went wrong?

This is not a love story. But it is a story of first love, of the mistakes people make, and the lengths they'll go to put things right.

***********

Benjamin has spent his adult life thinking about Clara, the young woman he was sure he was destined to spend his life with. Twenty years have passed since the tragic night that tore their relationship apart, and the two years they spent together have had a significant impact on the years that have followed.

Clara too has never gotten over her first love Benjamin, or the tragic way their relationship came to an end. Over the past twenty years, she has frequently thought about how things could have turned out differently, if they had been able to overcome the tragedy that parted them. 

When a bomb goes off in the crowded football stadium in the city where they met, Clara knows she cannot rest until she knows if footie fan Benjamin survived the blast. She throws caution to the wind and heads north on a reckless quest to find the man she cannot forget, whatever the consequences.

This is a story of all consuming first love, and how it can shape your life in the years that follow. Charlotte Rixon does an incredible job in telling this story, moving back and forth between the intense two years Clara and Benjamin spent together at university, and vignettes from their lives in the twenty years that have passed since their relationship came to a shocking end. In parallel, Clara's desperate search for Benjamin over a single day plays out, to beautifully to weave all the threads together.

From the very beginning, we know that there is a moment when Clara and Benjamin's relationship was broken beyond repair, impacting their ability to form fulfilling relationships in the future, but you do not learn what really happened until the threads of the past and present collide near the end of the story. Rixon keeps the suspense going with accomplished flair, while you try to understand what when on between these two young people.

The focus is very much on relationships throughout, from the fervent passion of youth, which Rixon describes with heart-aching authenticity; to liaisons between people who were never destined to be happy together. She uses the experiences of Clara and Benjamin to highlight some very difficult subjects along the way, particularly around addiction, abuse, illness, expectation, and mental health. This makes for some distressing scenes, but each and every one has a vital part to play in where Rixon is leading you. I would love to wax lyrical about how she does this with impressive insight and sensitivity, but to do so would inevitably involve spoilers, so I will leave you to discover how deftly she does this for yourselves.

This book held me spellbound, and I consumed it in one heart-wrenching session, unable to turn away until I knew where the story would lead. There is a lot of pain in these pages, and you will find yourself yearning for events to to turn out differently, but perhaps what happens between Clara and Benjamin is inevitable given the anguish and insecurity of the two damaged young people they are when they meet. This is not a love story as such, but it does examine poignant facets of romantic love and love of family and a way that truly tugs on your heartstrings - and in the end it leaves you with an uplifting message of hope. This is superbly written, unforgettable story, and it will stay with me for a long time. 

The One That Got Away is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Aria 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:

Charlotte Rixon is the pen name of Charlotte Duckworth, USA Today-bestselling author of suspense fiction published by Quercus. 

Charlotte studied Classics at Leeds University and went on to gain a PGDip in Screenwriting. She worked for many years as a magazine journalist, and is a graduate of the Faber Academy 'Writing A Novel' course.

The Night Man (A Wisting Book) by Jorn Lier Horst

 

The Night Man by Jorn Lier Horst.

Translated by Anne Bruce.

Published 2nd February 2023 by Michael Joseph.

From the cover of the book:

A BODY IN THE LAKE. A HEAD ON A STAKE . . .

Gruesome happenings in the quiet town of Larvik. Only one man is capable of solving them: Chief Inspector William Wisting.

Before long, more bodies are found. Media frenzy sweeps the locals into panic. And when Wisting's investigation leads him to a deadly underground crime ring, he fears the whole town may be in danger.

But at the heart of it is the gang's elusive leader: The Night Man.

Who Wisting must find if he wants to stop the murders. 
That is, if The Night Man doesn't get to him first . . .

**********

The small town of Larvik is shocked to the core when the head of a young refugee girl is found stuck on a spike in the town square. It is a sight that Chief Inspector William Wisting will never forget, but if anyone can solve this crime then it is Wisting. 

Wisting's journalist daughter Line also happens to be back in Larvik, and she is ideally placed to grab the best headlines about the crime - but the competition between media outlets is fierce and she is going to have to come up with something special to make an impression.

Both set out to unearth the clues that will point to the sadistic murderer, beginning with the theory that this might be an honour killing. However, as the leads open up it appears that there is a lot more at play than disturbed family values. The trail points to a mysterious figure called the Night Man, whose crimes do not end with the shocking murder of one young girl...

Yet again, Lier Horst pulls out all the stops to create a compelling mystery for Wisting to investigate, and Line has an equal share in tracking down the shadowy figure called Night Man too. Wisting and Line have their own preoccupations here - Wisting to solve more than one horrific crime, and Line to be at the leading edge of the media circus in Larvik. Both put their logical minds to good use in uncovering clues in this story, and there is lovely interplay between father and daughter to highlight how alike they really are. Wisting is surrounded by his trusty team, with Torunn and Nils on the case too. 

There are multiple twisty threads, with blind alleys to discount, before Wisting gets on the right track, and Line is characteristically reckless in pursuit of a story to put her ahead of the competition. Both end up in considerable danger, intriguingly in very different locations. As is Lier Horst's forte, their parallel investigations start slowly and then ramp up with delicious pace and tension, until the threads of the story collide. There is even some romance for father and daughter along the way. Wisting is particularly reflective this time around, musing on how the media coverage of crime has twisted over the years, and he shows off his knowledge of history to wonderful effect.

Lier Horst delves into some gritty themes in this investigation that bring a real edge to the classiest of crime stories. The focus is on the fate of unaccompanied refugee children being taken advantage of by the unscrupulous. He holds nothing back about the difficult circumstances asylum seekers face in their home countries, and the places where they seek sanctuary. He also explores discrimination, misinformation, and the extreme fringes of activism at both ends of the spectrum.  

Jorn Lier Horst is one of my favourite authors of Nordic noir crime, and Wisting is one of my favourite book characters. Everything about this latest story cements the Wisting books as the very best of everything I love about the genre, and I gulped it down whole in one tasty, page-turning bite. I cannot wait for the next one.

The Night Man is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

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

About the author:

JØRN LIER HORST worked as a police officer and head of investigations before becoming a full-time writer and has established himself as one of the most successful authors to come out of Scandinavia. His books have sold over two million copies in his native Norway alone and he's published in twenty-six languages.

The Wisting series, produced by the team behind Wallander and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was a hit BBC series in 2019 with a second series available now..

About the translator:

Anne Bruce studied Norwegian and English at the University of Glasgow and now lives on the Isle of Arran, Scotland. She has translated a number of crime novels by Anne Holt and Jorn Lier Horst, including the Petrona-Prize-winning The Caveman and When It Grows Dark, which was longlisted for the CWA International Dagger in 2017.

Never Go Back (An Annie Carter Novel) by Jessie Keane

 

Never Go Back (An Annie Carter novel) by Jessie Keane.

Published 2nd February 2023 by Hodder and Stoughton.

From the cover of the book:

Gangster Max Carter and his ex-wife Annie Carter are leading separate lives in separate countries: past hurts and broken promises cannot be resolved. But then a summons to Majorca and a tragic death makes Max question all that has happened to him over many years.

He had two brothers - both are now dead. His closest friend has been found hanging from a London bridge. As the police wrestle with a seemingly unsolvable case, Max is forced to revisit his painful past to find answers to a mystery that seems to make no sense at all. Who is targeting his family and why?

Annie Carter is at a crossroads in life. She has a luxurious lifestyle but no one to share it with, and Max clearly thinks she is in danger too. Her daughter, Layla, has left her mafia lover Alberto Barolli and is back in London, stumbling into the police investigation and making waves. You should never go back, so the old saying goes. But then, the Carter women don't follow the rules, they make them.

And when the truth of what's been happening is finally revealed, will the Carter family stand together - or will it finish them for good?

***********

Gang boss Max Carter and his ex-wife Annie are living separate lives, but secrets from the past are about to drag them back together. When Max discovers the truth behind a tragic death in Majorca, he realises that there may be a dangerous mystery figure at play in the fateful events that have torn his family apart. Both his brothers are dead, but he still has good men around him in London, and now might be a good time to gather his ex-wife and daughter into the fold to protect them from harm.

Annie is living a comfortable life in America, but she is lonely. Reluctantly she heads back to London for an uncomfortable reunion with Max, soon followed by their troubled daughter Layla. It is not long before Max's suspicions are proved to be true, and even if they have no idea who lies behind the sinister threat, they are not going to stand back and let the police handle an investigation on their turf.

Old sins will out. Will the Carter family survive the fall-out?

Never Go Back forms something of a companion piece to the Annie Carter series, as it spans the history of the Carter clan from the 1950s onwards, charting the rise to power of Max and his family to dizzy heights that rivalled the Krays and the Richardsons.

The story begins with Max's mother Queenie, in an intriguing plot line that holds this story together. The consequences of Queenie's actions ripple through time, raining tragedy on the Carter clan, and it is this previously untold story that plays out in the foreground of all that has befallen them - burgeoning into a new direction for the Carters as the twisty threads collide in an exciting climax.

As a new comer to this series, there was much to catch-up on, because this book covers a lot of gangland ground, but Keane fills in just enough detail to keep you up to date with the broad strokes of the relationship between Max and Annie, the significant events that brought them together and then parted them, and the fierce rivalry between the Caters and the Delaneys that has built to boiling point over the years. I loved how Keane delves right back in time to the high days of the 1950s when to rub shoulders with gangsters brought a certain cachet, and she name drops the celebrities who were closely associated with the scene - both on the right side of the law, and those most definitely well beyond it.

Keane builds nicely on this groundwork to echo the changes in gang culture over time. She excels in ramping up the tension, and pulling you along with the promise of reckonings to come. There is just the right level of gritty revenge-filled violence to keep the pace of the story going beautifully, coupled with the human interest of domestic drama. I really enjoyed how she plays skillfully with the push and pull of characters intimately tied to one another with a lot of baggage to work through. Keane weaves themes of family ties, betrayal, revenge, and divided loyalties throughout to pack a real emotional punch amongst all the action, and there is a lovely poignant kick to the conclusion of the story that I was not expecting. There are some glorious female characters to get behind here too.

Having had a taste of the Carters, I am now hungry for more, and will be going back to delve into the Annie Carter series in full in the not too distant future! 

Never Go Back is available to buy now is hard cover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton for ending me a hard cover copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Ed Public Relations for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Dubbed 'Queen of the Underworld', Jessie Keane is of Romany gypsy stock. She was born rich, in the back of her gran's barrel top wagon, and her family thrived until their firm crashed into bankruptcy and became poor. Her father died when she was a teenager and she fled to London to escape grim reality, finding there a lifelong fascination with the criminal underworld and the teeming life of the city.

Twice divorced and living in a freezing council flat, she decided to pursue her childhood aim to become a writer. She sold her wedding dress to buy a typewriter and penned her first Annie Carter book, Dirty Game.

This was followed by five more Annie Carter books, all Sunday Times bestsellers, then Ruby Darke arrived in Nameless, Lawless and The Edge. Jessie's stand-alone novels include Jail Bird, The Make, Dangerous, Fearless, The Knock and The Manor.