Arctic Sun (Tom Fox Book Three) by Jack Grimwood

 

Arctic Sun (Tom Fox Book Three) by Jack Grimwood.

Published 16th November 2023 by Michael Joseph.

From the cover of the book:

Kola Peninsula, 1987. High in the Soviet Arctic, a tiny village houses an apocalyptic secret . . .

When research zoologist Dr Amelia Blackburn ventures north to investigate the ravages of the Chernobyl reactor meltdown, she stumbles on the evidence of another sinister disaster on the Norway-Russia border - one that appears far from innocent. Mother Russia will stop at nothing to prevent this information from being revealed, putting Amelia and her team in grave danger from the moment they leave the site.

When the news reaches London, the eyes of British intelligence turn to the one man with the knowledge and skills to bring her back to safety - and find out what has really happened in the frozen North.

Major Tom Fox thought he'd put his intelligence career behind him, but wrapped in a custody battle for his young son, Charlie, a request from his high-ranking father-in-law forces his hand. When the reluctant spy reaches Russia, it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary mission.

As Fox and Amelia fight for their lives - and their country - in Russia, Charlie is lead into dangers of his own in England. Three lives are about to be embroiled in the darkest secrets of the Cold War conflict - and a plot that, if left unchecked, will echo through history . . .

***********

November, 1987. Kola Peninsular, Russia. A secret, underground Soviet research station on the Norway-Russian border is destroyed by an explosion. The Russian authorities are keen to deflect attention from what was going on beneath this frozen landscape, and will silence anyone that knows too much.

Scottish researcher Dr Amelia Blackburn just happens to be nearby with her Sami assistant, studying the effect of the previous year's Chernobyl meltdown on the wildlife in the Arctic tundra, and they head north to investigate the strange radiation signal they have detected. As soon as they reach the site of the explosion they realise this is a scene not meant for their eyes. Their lives are now under threat.

The odd goings on in the Arctic have not escaped the attention of British Intelligence, and they need to send someone to investigate. The man of choice is Major Tom Fox, who has previously crossed paths with the resourceful Dr Blackburn. However, Fox considers his spying days to be over, and his current personal situation is more than enough to occupy his time without stepping back into the life of an intelligence asset. Persuaded by his spymaster father-in-law that his co-operation will help him gain custody of his son Charlie, Fox reluctantly sets off on a mission that takes him from Norway to deep into Soviet territory... where he meets old friends and enemies. It soon becomes clear that this is a mission far more dangerous than anything he has experienced before.

The action cuts slickly between the helter-skelter chain of events of the mission Fox is manoeuvred into at a time when his world is falling apart (with gripping scenes from both Fox and Dr Blackburn's perspectives); the adventures of Fox's son Charlie in rural Hampshire while his father is away; and the murky shenanigans of an undercover operation involving Fox in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1971.

Through these diverse storylines Grimwood beautifully blends elements of cracking Cold War espionage tale, gritty domestic drama, and pitch perfect political thriller about the bloody conflict in Ireland during The Troubles. The 1987 plotlines fit together beautifully, building a picture of different aspects of the Kola Peninsular disaster from multiple sides of the political equation, throwing up the reality about tenuous alliances and fierce rivalries, and bringing in familiar faces from Tom Fox's previous missions - one of whom is Dr Blackburn herself. It is not easy to see quite how the Derry storyline fits into the overall scheme of things until well into the book, even though this part of the story is equally gripping, but have no fear, because the lovely twists that arise from this exploration of Fox's past are all too relevant further down the line.

As someone who has not read the previous books, it did take me a little time to get to grips with the many threads that carry through this story from Fox's earlier missions and the emotional turmoil of his personal life, but Grimwood gives you the bare bones you need to catch up enough for this not to be a major issue. The mission itself is nicely contained within these pages, although I have no doubt that much of what happens here will have consequences for future instalments in the series. There are certainly thrills and spills enough to make me really want to catch up with all the complicated backstory between the characters - something I will definitely be doing in the future.

Grimwood crafts a plot here that thrums with everything you could possibly want from an espionage thriller, and it stands up well amongst the heavyweights of the genre. Despite its status as an unabashed page-turner, there is also a pleasing amount of emotional heft to this novel - which Grimwood ramps up through Charlie's side of the tale. I really enjoyed how he runs the themes of marriages under strain, and father-son and sibling relationships through the story too. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from cover and to cover, totally absorbed in Grimwood's writing, and cannot wait to go back and read the first two books, Moskva and Nightfall Berlin, which I have no doubt will be just as exciting as Arctic Sun.

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

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

About the author:

Jack Grimwood, a.k.a Jon Courtenay Grimwood, was born in Malta and christened in the upturned bell of a ship. He grew up in the Far East, Britain and Scandinavia. He's written for national newspapers, is a two-time winner of the BSFA Award for Best Novel, and was shortlisted for Le Prix Montesquieu 2015. His work has been translated into numerous languages. He is married to the journalist and novelist Sam Baker. Arctic Sun is his fourth thriller.

Joe Nuthin's Guide To Life by Helen Fisher

Joe Nuthin's Guide to Life by Helen Fisher.

Published 9th November 2023 by Simon and Schuster.

From the cover of the book:

Joe loves predictability. But his life is about to become a surprising adventure.

Joe-Nathan likes the two parts of his name separate, just like his dinner and dessert. Mean Charlie at work sometimes calls him Joe-Nuthin. But Joe is far from nothing. Joe is a good friend, he’s good at his job, good at making things and good at following the rules, and he’s learning how to do lots of things by himself.

Joe’s mother knows there are a million things in life he isn’t prepared for. While she helps guide him every day, she’s also writing notebooks full of advice about the things she hasn’t told Joe yet, things he might forget and answers to questions he hasn’t yet asked.

Following her wisdom – applying it in his own unique way – this next part of Joe’s life is more of a surprise than he expects. Because he’s about to learn that remarkable things can happen when you leave your comfort zone, and that you can do even the hardest things with a little help from your friends.

***********

Joe-Nathan loves routine, and for everything to be in its proper place, including the two separate parts of his name. He finds rules comforting, and takes great care to do a good job once he knows how to perform each task. His mother Janet helps to guide him through the things he needs to know to live an independent life, including advice about the less tangible things he needs to get to grips with to understand his fellow human beings, but she knows she will not always be here to answer Joe's questions. There are so many things Joe will need to discover for himself, and despite the notebooks of advice she has compiled for him, Janet is aware that he will have to learn many of life's biggest lessons on his own.

One of Joe's biggest trials is learning to read other people. He likes to be on good terms with all, but not everyone takes his open and genial nature in the right spirit, and this often perplexes him. He has made good pals amongst the staff at the Compass Store where he works, but cannot understand why 'Mean' Charlie refuses to be his friend, and has given him the hurtful nickname Joe-Nuthin... especially as Joe knows lots of things, particularly about woodwork, graveyard inscriptions, and his favourite tv show Friends. Joe is determined that he will win him over. All Charlie needs is a little help to see what a good friend Joe can be, and he is willing to push himself out of his comfort zone to do it...

Fisher fills this book with wonderful characters who quickly work their way into your heart. At the centre there is the beautifully written Joe, trying to negotiate this tricky old thing called life based on the wisdom of his caring mother Janet - who could teach us all a lot about understanding the world around us. In support, Fisher conjures up Janet and her OAP friends, Hazel and the delightful curmudgeon Angus (with a heart of gold); and the quirky Compass Stores gang, including Hugo 'Boss', Pip, and the feisty, foul-mouthed Chloe with her fists at the ready to defend Joe when required... not forgetting the loyal crowd at Joe's local, The Ink and Feather.

The gospel of Janet is the backbone to Joe's journey in this quiet and gentle story, but each of the lovely characters has something to add to aid him in the dilemmas that face him living day to day - some more usefully than others. There are so many scenes that evoke laughter and tears, but is the intensely emotional storyline that connects Joe and Charlie that gives rise to most of the glorious moments of heartbreak and joy, and the way Fisher explores sadness, friendship, and the dangers that come with making assumptions about people through Joe's thoughts and actions is truly awe-inspiring. There are certainly a lot of things Joe has trouble with, but he understands a lot more about helping someone through a sad situation than people realise.

I loved this book from the first page to the last, crying heart-felt tears throughout, before building up to a full on sob session at the gorgeous ending. Life affirming, heart-warming, wise, funny, and insightful, this is my 'in the feels' book of the year! 

Joe Nuthin's Guide to Life is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

 Thank you to Laura Sherlock PR for sending me a proof f this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Helen Fisher spent her early life in America but grew up mainly in Suffolk, where she now lives with her two children. She studied psychology at Westminster University and ergonomics at UCL, and worked as a senior evaluator in research at RNIB. She is the author of Space Hopper and Joe Nuthin's Guide to Life.

Her by Mira V. Shah

 

Her by Mira V. Shah.

Published in paperback 23rd November 2023 by Hodder Books.

From the cover of the book:

YOU WANT TO BE JUST LIKE HER. BUT DO YOU REALLY KNOW HER?

Rani has always felt like an outsider. First growing up among her white, wealthy peers. And now next to her successful, child-free friends. From the tiny rented flat she lives in with her family, she imagines being the kind of woman who owns the beautiful house across the street.

Then Natalie moves in. With her expensive clothes, adoring husband and high-powered job, she has everything Rani wants, and Rani can't help but be drawn to her new neighbour.

But as the two women strike up a friendship and begin open up, Rani wonders - is Natalie's perfect-seeming life too good to be true?

***********

Rani's life has not turned out quite as she was expecting. Living in a cramped flat with her husband and two small children, she feels just as much an outsider as she always has, and longs for the things that seem to have come so easily to her single, white friends. Every day, she looks longingly at her dream house across the street, wondering what it would be like to live there. So, when a pair of glamorous newly weds move into it she cannot help herself becoming fascinated by them.

The young bride, Natalie, represents everything Rani wishes she could be. Beautiful, with a high-powered legal career, and a wealthy husband who adores her, Natalie seems to be living the perfect life. Rani is determined they must meet, but when an unlikely friendship sparks between them, she glimpses something else going on beneath the glossy image that the couple portray to the world...

At first sight Rani and Natalie are two very different characters, living wildly opposite lives. However, when Shah lets you see behind closed doors on both sides of the street, you begin to realise there is a lot more to this situation than meets the eye. Both women feel they are living a lie, and Shah uses this to cleverly mix up threads of relatable domestic drama from Rani's side of the tale, with an unsettling psychological thriller plot about Natalie's past. 

This novel gradually burgeons into a story that is rife with elements of mystery, and as the twists and turns unfurl, you find yourself rapidly flipping the pages to ferret out the truth. Even though I did see some of these twists coming, Shah still knocked me sideways with some lovely little surprises, which I really enjoyed. Along the way, Shah has a ball spinning the consequences of envy, rage, and manipulation throughout everything that happens, and she examines a bevy of complex themes around mental health, controlling relationships, unresolved trauma, and identity. Both women's stories throw up topical issues, but Rani's tale is particularly affecting, as her experiences allow Shah to do an excellent job of exploring self-worth, different facets of racism, and the conflicting emotions that come with motherhood - lots that will resonate widely here, I think.

I loved the journey from slow-burn creep to fast-paced thrills and spills in this book, and Shah's writing style is both engaging and entertaining. Highly recommended if you like a psychological thriller that will hold you fast to the bitter-sweet end!

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

Thank you to Hodder books for sending me a copy if this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Mira V Shah is a writer, former City lawyer turned legal editor and the proud owner of three good dogs. She is the daughter of Indian African parents and lives in North London with her husband and the pack – merely a few miles from where she grew up, although she often dreams about retiring in Italy should her intermittent lottery entries prove successful.

She wrote her first ever novel in 2020 during the first UK lockdown after studying on the Curtis Brown Creative novel writing course. HER is latest thriller from Hodder & Stoughton in March ‘23 (e-book and audio) and November ‘23 (paperback).

His Favourite Graves by Paul Cleave

His Favourite Graves by Paul Cleave.

Published 9th November 2023 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

To catch a killer…

Maybe you’ve got to be one…

Acacia Pines, USA. Sheriff Cohen’s life is falling apart – his father accidentally burned down the retirement home, his wife has moved out, and his son is bullying other kids at school.

When high-school student, Lucas Connor, is abducted, Cohen sees a chance to get his life back on track – to win back his wife and scoop the reward money offered for Lucas’s safe return.

But as the body count rises, it becomes clear that Cohen’s going to have to make the kind of decision from which there’s no coming back … a decision with deadly consequences…

A furiously paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller exposing the dark underbelly of small-town life, His Favourite Graves is also a twisted and twisty story of father-and-son relationships, and the one last gamble of a desperate man to save everything…

************

Acacia Pines, USA. Sheriff Cohen's life is in freefall. His wife has left him, he suspects his son has become the very worst kind of high school bully, and his father's dementia is more than he can cope with. Things only get worse when Cohen is hit with a string of legal bills he cannot afford, after his father tried to burn down the old people's home where he was living, He desperately needs a way to revive his family's fortunes.

When Lucas Connor, one of his son's classmates, is abducted, Cohen begins to see light at the end of the depressing tunnel that has become his life. The reward money on offer is just the thing he needs to get back on track, if only he can find the boy and return him safely to his father... but little does he know that this path will set him spiralling further down into darkness...

Sheriff Cohen is caught between a rock and a hard place at the beginning of this story, and Paul Cleave uses his predicament to sow the seeds of a gripping thriller that is rife with intriguing themes. The fear of spoilers precludes me from waxing lyrical about how beautifully plotted this book is, so by necessity this will be a short, sharp kind of review. However, this is a must read if you love the notion of Stephen King-esque evil lurking within neat suburban homes, and the kind of twists and turns that you really do not see coming until they hit you square between the eyes. 

The story unfurls from the points of view of Cohen, Lucas, and a depraved villain of the piece, and Cleave weaves their plotlines together to disturbing effect. The pace is fast and furious from the word go, and the tension rises to fever pitch as Cohen's decision to stray from the path of righteousness stirs up layers of malevolent, American small town murk. The consequences of bad decisions, trauma, abuse, and psychological disturbance comeback to haunt those involved in an orgy of gritty scenes packed with violence, and as danger comes creeping across Cohen's own threshold you find yourself unable to look away for a second.

Along the way, Cleave builds emotional power into the breath-taking action by delving into father-son relationships, and I promise that much of the rawness he exposes will set you thinking about what sets people on a destructive path, and how monsters are made...

This is one of the best written, and most harrowing, thrillers I have read all year. I consumed it in one delicious bite, and needed a lie down in a dimly-lit room when I was done. I tip my hat at Paul Cleave for the clever title too! I cannot believe that this is the first Cleave book I have read, because it is, quite simply, outstanding. I already have his previous novel from Orenda Books, The Pain Tourist, lined up to absorb next - I cannot wait!

His Favourite Graves is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can support the very best of indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

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

About the author:

Paul is an award winning author who often divides his time between his home city of Christchurch, New Zealand, where most of his novels are set, and Europe. He’s won the New Zealand Ngaio Marsh Award three times, the Saint-Maur book festival’s crime novel of the year award in France, and has been shortlisted for the Edgar and the Barry in the US and the Ned Kelly in Australia. HIs books have been translated into over twenty languages. He’s thrown his Frisbee in over forty countries, plays tennis badly, golf even worse, and has two cats – which is often two too many. The critically acclaimed The Quiet People was published in 2021, and was followed in 2022 by The Pain Tourist - a number one bestseller in three countries.

The Continental Affair by Christine Mangan

 

The Continental Affair by Christine Mangan.

Published 3rd August 2023 by Bedford Square.

From the cover of the book:

Meet Henri and Louise.

Two strangers, travelling alone, on the train from Belgrade to Istanbul.

Except this isn't the first time they have met.

It's the 1960s, and Louise is running.

From her past in England, from the owners of the money she has stolen―and from Henri, the person who has been sent to collect it.

Across the Continent―from Granada to Paris, from Belgrade to Istanbul―Henri follows.

He’s desperate to leave behind his own troubles and the memories of his past life as a gendarme in Algeria.

But Henri soon realises that Louise is no ordinary traveller.

As the train hurtles toward its final destination, Henri and Louise must decide what the future will hold―and whether it involves one another.

Stylish and atmospheric, The Continental Affair takes you on an unforgettable journey through the twisty, glamorous world of 1960s Europe.

***********

1960s, continental Europe. Two people meet on a train heading from Belgrade to Istanbul. They seem to be strangers, but they have shared the most intense of experiences. A gulf of secrets divides them, and by the time they reach their destination, hard decisions are going to have to be made about their future.

The Continental Affair by Christine Mangan is a quirky combination of classic noir crime caper; gritty domestic drama; and melancholic romance; that pulls you into a story that thrums with the smoky glamour of a 1960's cinematic adventure.

The story follows two central characters: Louise, a young woman from England, who has fled her responsibilities, becoming accidentally embroiled in the dark deeds of European organised crime; and Henri, a former gendarme from Algeria, who has fallen in with the Spanish underworld. You meet Louise and Henri as they share a compartment on a train travelling to Istanbul, where they skirt around the events that have brought them together in the guise of strangers... and yet, a lot has happened before this moment.

As the train heads towards its destination, Mangan gradually reveals their closely guarded secrets, cutting between their recollections of the sins they wish to leave behind in England and Algeria, and the gangland money mishap that has brought Henri to follow Louise across the Continent. Suspense builds gradually, until their storylines come crashing together one fateful night in Belgrade, and you suddenly realise how intense their relationship is underneath the stilted conversations they have been engaging in. 

The facade eventually cracks when Henri and Louise reach Istanbul, and the story burgeons into chase across the city, as the are pursued by a shady figure who has been watching them both for some time - leading to an intriguing make-or-break climax that has you on the edge of your seat. For me, this is where Henri and Louise's bitter-sweet story should end. However, Mangan follows this with an epilogue which, although like a charming tale in itself, seems disjointed given the feel of the rest of the story. I must admit that I did not care for it as an ending, as it bursts the seductive bubble that she has created in everything that has gone before, and distracts from what could have been a pitch-perfect, delightfully noir, denouement.

Nonetheless, Mangan's writing is superb, and there are lovely elements to this novel that hold you fast. She does an incredible job working atmosphere into every scene, especially when it comes to the tension and faded glamour of the rail journey, and the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of exotic locations. There are delicious literary references throughout too - my favourite being the mentions of Agatha Christie, even if this story is far from Christie's brand of whodunit. It is the kind of novel that lingers in your imagination, and the way Mangan explores alienation, guilt, and desperate yearning is really very impressive. 

Highly recommended if you like a smouldering kind of novel, with a touch of a fever dream about it, that evokes time and place beautifully. I leave you to make up your own minds about the ending...

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

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

About the author:

Christine Mangan is the author of the national bestsellers Tangerine and Palace of the Drowned. She has her Ph.D. in English from University College Dublin, with a focus on 18th-century Gothic literature, and an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Southern Maine. She lives in Detroit.

Peril At End House by Agatha Christie

 

Peril at End House by Agatha Christie.

This edition published 22nd March 2018 by Harper Collins.

From the cover of the book:

Nick Buckley was an unusual name for a pretty young woman. But then she had led an unusual life. First, on a treacherous Cornish hillside, the brakes on her car failed. Then, on a coastal path, a falling boulder missed her by inches. Later, an oil painting fell and almost crushed her in bed.

Upon discovering a bullet-hole in Nick’s sun hat, Hercule Poirot decides the girl needs his protection. 

At the same time, he begins to unravel the mystery of a murder that hasn’t been committed. Yet...

***********

Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings are holidaying at the Majestic Hotel, in the picturesque Cornish seaside town of St Loo, where they meet an attractive young woman called Magdala 'Nick' Buckley. When Nick tells Poirot of a series of curious accidents that have befallen her, he is suspicious that someone means her harm.

In short order, Poirot and Hastings involve themselves in Nick's set at nearby End House, which is rapidly going to rack and ruin, to cast their eye on her friends and relations. Poirot cannot easily see why anyone would have a motive to kill Nick, but he is convinced she is in danger - and when someone close to her is murdered in what appears to be a case of mistaken identity, he knows he is on to something. Can he find the murderer before their plan succeeds?

Peril at End House is one of those murky Christie mysteries which finds Poirot dabbling in solving a crime that no one seems to believe likely, even though he maintains he is now retired. Of course, Poirot's senses are correct and he soon discovers that there is a dastardly mind at work behind the scenes, but who can it be and what can they hope to gain? 

Nick's ne'er do well friends are a suspicious bunch; her rather stiff, lawyer cousin seems a bit off; and there is something decidedly dodgy about the 'Australian' neighbours living in the lodge house. Poirot gradually uncovers their little secrets with the help of stalwart Hastings' incorrect assumptions, and a guest appearance from Inspector Japp... but the truth behind who is the villain of the piece evades him for quite a long time in this mystery. The light eventually dawns once he unscrambles the odd goings on around the love life of a missing pilot, an unexpected legacy, and shenanigans in connection with duplicate boxes of chocolates - and in a delicious bit of manipulating the suspects for his own ends, he traps the guilty party with an impromptu seance starring the very bemused Captain Hastings. 

Christie explores some lovely themes in this book, highlighting addiction and the media storm around pioneers of the golden age of flight, but it is her talent for examining the darker side of human emotion that shines out - cold-hearted greed and red-hot jealousy rub nicely up against each other, fuelling deception on a grand scale, and Poirot is pitted against a foe that he really does not see coming. It is one of the Poirot books that is absolute gold when it comes dear old, upright Captain Hastings too!

As usual I alternated between the text and the audio book, which is beautifully narrated by Hugh Fraser, which is especially fitting given the big part Captain Hastings plays in the proceedings. 

Peril at End House is my November pick for #ReadChristie2023 exploring greed as a motive for murder.

Peril at End House 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.

Unnatural Death (Scarpetta Book 27) by Patricia Cornwell

 

Unnatural Death (Scarpetta Book 27) by Patricia Cornwell.

Published 23rd November 2023 by Sphere.

From the cover of the book:

Two mauled bodies in the woods. Two top secret autopsies. The most chilling case of Scarpetta's career . . .

In this thrilling new instalment of the #1 bestselling series, chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta finds herself in a Northern Virginia wilderness examining the remains of two campers wanted by federal law enforcement.

The victims have been savaged beyond recognition, and other evidence is terrifying and baffling, including a larger-than-life footprint.

After one of the most frightening body retrievals of her career, Scarpetta must discover who would commit murders this brutal, and why.

***********

Chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta is called to the site of two bizarre deaths in a remote spot of the North Virginia wilds. Two campers, who have been under surveillance by the Secret Service, have been slaughtered in what appears to be a revenge attack, but exactly what killed them is a mystery. The evidence at the scene is confusing, and the presence of a larger-than-life footprint near the bodies is puzzling. In Scarpetta's view the deaths are certainly 'unnatural'.

A media frenzy ensues in the wake of the murders, fuelled by claims from a terrorist group calling themselves The Republic, and Scarpetta and her team find themselves caught up in one of their most terrifying cases yet - one which comes much closer to home than they are prepared for...

It has been a while since I immersed myself in a Scarpetta mystery, so it was a delight to delve into her world once more in the latest book in the series by crime-writing legend Patricia Cornwell. And what an absolute timely gem of a thriller it is.

Straight out of the gate, this is a book that grabs you with unsettling vibes, which Cornwell weaves deliciously throughout the interconnected plot-lines. From the brutal opening crime scene, set in an eerie wilderness rife with inexplicable sights and sounds; to the gripping series of events that make up the blow-by-blow finale in a perilous, blizzard-struck landscape; this is a book that will have the hairs on your neck standing firmly to attention. 

Cornwell layers her themes quite brilliantly to bring in realistic threads around insurrection and political shenanigans on the domestic and World stage, that touch on Scarpetta's professional and private lives - and burst through the genre boundaries between all-encompassing crime story, taut espionage thriller, and gritty domestic noir to perfection. Story-lines abound around technology, especially how it can be subverted, and Cornwell's insight into Post-Trump America is truly frightening. If this was not enough to keep you hooked, she underpins everything with luscious themes of greed and revenge. Of course, it goes without saying that the ongoing stories of the Scarpetta family are as complicated and compelling as ever. I especially enjoyed the emotional heft of Lucy's grief-stricken story-line, and the intriguing developments around the obsession of Scarpetta's faithful side-kick Marino with all things Bigfoot shaped.

Cornwell continues to take the Scarpetta series from strength to strength in a mystery with bite and bang-up-to-date subject matter, while holding true to everything I love about her characters. This was just like returning to old friends, and I cannot wait to go back and catch up with the books I have missed. 

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

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

About the author:

In 1990, Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. An auspicious debut, it went on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity Awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize—the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. Growing into an international phenomenon, the Scarpetta series won Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.

Today, Cornwell’s novels and iconic characters are known around the world. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Cornwell has written the definitive nonfiction account of Jack the Ripper’s identity, cookbooks, a children’s book, a biography of Ruth Graham, and two other fictional series based on the characters Win Garano and Andy Brazil. While writing Quantum, Cornwell spent two years researching space, technology, and robotics at Captain Calli Chase’s home base, NASA’s Langley Research Center, and studied cutting-edge law enforcement and security techniques with the Secret Service, the US Air Force, NASA Protective Services, Scotland Yard, and Interpol.

Cornwell was born in Miami. She grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston and Los Angeles

The Marlow Murders (Detective Rob Miller Mysteries Book Seven) by Biba Pearce

 

The Marlow Murders (Detective Rob Miller Mysteries) by Biba Pearce.

Published 20th October 2023 by Joffe Books.

From the cover of the book:

Debby Morris, mother of two, goes to a Christmas party at historic Hollyhock Manor in Marlow, and never comes home.

A MISSING MOTHER.

Her phone, handbag and Santa’s elf hat are found in a park near the River Thames. The police issue a nationwide search, but Debby is nowhere to be found.

Three weeks later, Debby’s body, still in her elf costume, is discovered five miles downstream from where she disappeared.

A DETECTIVE ON THE BRINK.

Detective Rob Miller is pulled from compassionate leave and put in charge. He’s still reeling from his last botched case, and he knows all eyes are on him — waiting to see if he’ll crack.

Meanwhile, another body is found with their throat slashed . . . and a link is discovered between the two cases that changes everything.

A RACE AGAINST TIME TO STOP A KILLER.

Rob and his team will need to pull out all the stops to catch a twisted killer before anyone else dies...

***********

In the run up to Christmas, young mother Debby Morris goes missing on her way home from a Festive get-together at Hollyhock Manor, Marlow. Her elf hat and mobile phone are found near the tow path the next morning, but she has vanished without a trace. Three weeks later, a woman's body is pulled from the freezing Thames: clad in an elf costume, there is no doubt that it belongs to the missing woman.

DCI Rob Miller is called upon to take responsibility for the investigation, even though he is still on extended leave following the repercussions of the Soho Killer case, and the crime is outside the usual jurisdiction of the Met's Major Incident Team. The word from above is not to ruffle the feathers of the affluent town's influential residents who attended the Hollyhock Manor event, but when one of the suspects turns up dead, it becomes inevitable that Miller will have to dig into the lives of Marlow's elite... even though it means putting the future of his team on the line.

The Marlow Murders picks up six months after the shocking events of The Soho Killer, which uncovered a monster - and almost lost Miller the woman he loves. This can be read as a standalone, but it is so much better if you have read the previous books, especially The Soho Killer, which plays a big part in how this investigation plays out - it is an absolute corker too!

Dragged back early from leave, Miller is forced to tread more carefully than his usual MO in this case, and politics complicates both the investigation and the relationship between Miller and his boss Felicity Mayhew. The legacy of the Soho Killer case overshadows the team, and Miller's personal feelings about being back at work, and they are under pressure to wrap up the investigation quickly. As multiple lines of enquiry throw up intriguing leads about the indiscretions of those who wish to keep their secrets, the story develops in classic Pearce style, holding you fast until damning truths about corruption and sins of the past hit you right between the eyes in a luscious twist and twist again ending.

One of my favourite things about Pearce's DCI Miller books is the way she draws her characters, especially the relationships within Miller's team and with his partner Jo. This story in particular carries a big emotional punch due to the events of the Soho Killer case, and although this means Jo is more in the background than normal, it does provide Pearce with an opportunity to allow Miller's boss Mayhew a bigger part in the story. I really enjoyed getting to know Mayhew better in this book, and loved the interplay with Miller and the new character PC Trent, who I hope we get to see more of in the future. There are fabulous Christmas thriller vibes too, which are perfect for this time of year. 

Biba Pearce has been one of my favourite crime writer discoveries over the last couple of years. If you are a fan of a well constructed crime story which combines gripping police procedural plotlines with an engaging cast of characters, then you will find this series a treat - especially if you live along the course of the river Thames, which is always a character in its own right in these books. I am already looking forward to book eight!

The Marlow Murders is available to buy now in paperback and ebook.

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

About the author:

Biba Pearce is a British crime writer and author of the Kenzie Gilmore, Dalton Savage and DCI Rob Miller series.

Now a full-time writer, Biba lives in leafy Surrey with her family and when she isn’t writing, can be found walking along the Thames path or rambling through the countryside.

Julia by Sandra Newman

 

Julia by Sandra Newman.

Published 19th October 2023 by Granta Books.

From the cover of the book:

London, chief city of Airstrip One, the third most populous province of Oceania. It's 1984 and Julia Worthing works as a mechanic fixing the novel-writing machines in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. Under the ideology of IngSoc and the rule of the Party and its leader Big Brother, Julia is a model citizen - cheerfully cynical, believing in nothing and caring not at all about politics. She knows how to survive in a world of constant surveillance, Thought Police, Newspeak, Doublethink, child spies and the black markets of the prole neighbourhoods. She's very good at staying alive.

But Julia becomes intrigued by a colleague from the Records Department - a mid-level worker of the Outer Party called Winston Smith, she comes to realise that she's losing her grip and can no longer safely navigate her world.

Seventy-five years after Orwell finished writing his iconic novel, Sandra Newman has tackled the world of Big Brother in a truly convincing way, offering a dramatically different, feminist narrative that is true to and stands alongside the original. For the millions of readers who have been brought up with Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, here, finally, is a provocative, vital and utterly satisfying companion novel.

***********

Millions of readers have pored over George Orwell's seminal book Nineteen-Eighty-Four, which tells the unforgettable story of Winsto Smith's acts of defiance against Big Brother. It is a book that everyone should read at least once, and its themes have echoed through Dystopian literature (and real life) in the years since it was published in 1949. But what of the other character that shares in Winston Smith's small rebellion - Julia Worthing, the fiction department mechanic who becomes his partner in sex-crime?

In Julia, Sandra Newman reimagines the character whose fascination with Smith eventually brings about her own downfall. Newman faithfully follows the events of Orwell's original, and it is especially interesting when you are reading the scenes you know well from Smith's angle through Julia's eyes. But Newman also does much more, by offering the fresh insight of a female perspective on Orwell's grey vision, filling out so much of this world of hate and propaganda with swathes of colour - even if most of them are shades of blood red. From the way Julia hides her own un-Party like behaviour, to her relationship with the women she shares a hostel with, and how she becomes an instrument of the very Party she is not sure if she despises or loves, Newman draws you in. Julia is a complex character to like, and for all the moments she earns your admiration, there are an equal number in which her actions appal, but Newman does a sterling job of exploring how and why she acts as she does - and by the end of the book I was a fan of her strength and courage. In parallel, Smith comes out of this worse than he does in the original book, particularly when it comes to the consequences of his arrogance.

This is an engaging read, and I really enjoyed how Newman expands on Orwell's work to make the world of Airstrip One seem much more than a background against which a grim story plays out. We see more of London, get a better idea of how people live (and die) under the Party system, and Newman explores the gulf between the have and have nots well (both within the Party and among the Proles). There are moments when the story slows in pace, and I do think there could have been some nips and tucks from the time Julia is engaged in Big Brother's honeytrap operation to the time she and Smith are captured. but overall it flows well and has plenty of menace, as befits a book about Orwell's world. The ending is enigmatic and well conceived too, with a chilling message about the circular notion of political ideology.

This is beautifully written, provocative and dark. It makes an intriguing companion piece to Orwell's original, and also stands up well as a modern Dystopian thriller. Highly recommended!

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

Thank you to Granta Books for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Tandem Collective UK for inviting me to be part of the Julia readalong in Instagram.

About the author:

Sandra Newman is co-author of How Not To Write A Novel. She is the author of the novels The Only Good Thing Anyone Has Ever Done and Cake, as well as the forthcoming memoir Changeling. 

She has taught writing and literature at Temple University, Chapman University, and the University of Colorado, and has published fiction and non-fiction in Harper’s, Granta, and London’s Observer, Telegraph, and Mail on Sunday newspapers, among other journals and newspapers.

Upstairs At The Beresford (The Beresford Trilogy) by Will Carver

 

Upstairs at the Beresford by Will Carver.

Published 9th November 2023 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

There are worse places than hell…

Hotel Beresford is a grand, old building, just outside the city. And any soul is welcome.

Danielle Ortega works nights, singing at whatever dive bar will offer her a gig. She gets by, keeping to herself. Sam Walker gambles and drinks, and can't keep his hands to himself. Now he's tied up in a shoe closet with a dent in his head that matches Danielle's broken ashtray.

The man in 731 has been dead for two days and his dog has not stopped barking. Two doors down, the couple who always smokes on the window ledge will mysteriously fall.

Upstairs, in the penthouse, Mr Balliol sees it all. He can peer into every crevice of every floor of the hotel from his screen-filled suite. He witnesses humanity and inhumanity in all its forms: loneliness, passion and desperation in equal measure. All the ingredients he needs to make a deal.

When Danielle returns home one night to find Sam gone, a series of sinister events begins to unfold. But strange things often occur at Hotel Beresford, and many are only a distraction to hide something much, much darker…

***********

Once a grand affair, the Hotel Beresford offers reasonable rates to souls who prefer to avoid awkward questions, and it attracts a mixed clientele who are not put off by the rumours of sinister goings on inside its faded facade.

The Beresford's current residents include the enigmatic jazz singer Danielle Ortega; the troubled Walker family, whose father is currently lying in Danielle's closet with bashed head; a dead drug addict with a traumatised dog; a seemingly happy couple who will soon come to a very sticky end; and a reclusive writer tortured by his inability to make the words flow. On reception the manager Carol has her hands full keeping everything in order, especially with another conference in full swing on the third floor. And spying on them all is the hotel's charismatic owner, Mr Balliol, in his penthouse, with a keen eye for a very particular kind of deal. It is all business as usual at the Beresford... and the business is much darker than even the rumour-mongers can imagine.

Welcome back to Will Carver's Beresford! This time Carver heads into prequel country to provide a demon's eye view of the shenanigans hinted at as happening 'upstairs' in his previous book, The Beresford.

Carver is once again channelling dark and delicious Ira Levin vibes with Hotel Beresford that pay homage to Levin's Bramford (with a lovely side order of Sliver), which dial up the horror factor to the max. There is murder and mayhem, depravity and debauchery, and as much hatred and heartache as you could desire on the menu for the intriguing characters that play on the Hotel Beresford stage, and the twisty plotlines keep you very much entertained in the unsettling way that Carver does so well. I was hooked from the first page, and could not look away until the slickly contrived ending that brings the story full circle to where The Beresford begins. 

I am also delighted to report that alongside the thrills and spills, Carver also brings in many more of the themes in his earlier books with much greater depth than he did in The Beresford. He has such a sharp, incisive way of getting into the contradictions that come with the messy human condition, and amongst the veritable smorgasbord of knotty issues on offer here, there is a lot to get your teeth into. What would it take for you to consider trading away your soul? Can purgatory be worse than Hell? Can Good ever exist without Evil? What are Heaven and Hell, anyway? These are big questions, and Carver explores them beautifully, touching on faith, sacrifice, sin, innocence, and redemption, with lashings of pitch black humour, a page-turning plot, and little nods to book and screen references that make you smile.

It is menacing and mischievous, it is wise and witty, it is Will Carver at the top of his grisly game - and it is one of my favourite books of the year. I sincerely hope we get to see what lies in store for Floor Three next. More please!

Upstairs at the Beresford is available to buy now in paperback and ebook formats. You can support the best of indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

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

About the author:

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. 

Will’s last title published by Orenda Books, The Beresford came out in July 2021. His previous title Hinton Hollow Death Trip was longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize, while Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Telegraph and Daily Express.