Mindf*ck: Cambridge Analytica and the Plot to Break America by Christopher Wylie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a scary book and a warning to all of us who click 'Accept' to the T&Cs on websites and apps, T&Cs written and presented in such a way that no-one could be expected to read them; those of us who Accept All cookies because it is too awkward to change the settings every time we visit a site (ever noticed that, even if you do choose which cookies to enable, the Accept All button is still the most prominent one on the form, that you have to look carefully for the Save My Choices option?). Most 'users' think that their data is unimportant; they may have read of meddling in elections, but those are targeted at the politicians...

Mind*ck, written by an insider, who admittedly is at pains to paint himself as the hero in certain situations, explains just how your data is used to target advertising, steer you towards 'news' which reinforces your prejudices, and determine your personality to place you in a silo where everything you read online, the clickbait, is selected by algorithms to control the way you think. It sounds like Science Fiction but it is all too plausible. And despite Wylie's epilogue, setting out a vision for regulation, the simple truth appears to be that we have gone too far; we are living in a world where lies are more palatable than the truth, where most people know, deep-down that they have been lied to, that laws have been broken but for them, and for the lawmakers, it is easier to accept the outcome that challenge it...

Or perhaps Wylie is wrong, Perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps Brexit truly is the will of the majority. Perhaps Trump did make America Great Again, and Steve Bannon, and Dominic Cummings, are visionaries who will lead us to a great awakening. Perhaps.

Or perhaps we are all F*cked.

View all my reviews

#BlogTour - The Stars Undying by Emery Robin

 

 THE STARS UNDYING

Emery Robin

 

 

Publishing 10^th November 2022, in paperback, £8.99

 

LOYALTY, LEGACY AND BETRAYAL...

 

Princess Altagracia has lost everything. After a bloody civil war, her twin sister has claimed not just the crown of their planet Szayet but the Pearl of its prophecy, a computer that contains the immortal soul of their god. Stripped of her birthright, Altagracia prepares to flee the planet - just as Matheus Ceirran, Commander of the interstellar Empire of Ceiao, arrives in deadly pursuit. Princess Altagracia sees an opportunity to win back her planet, her god, and her throne . . . if she can win over the Commander and his distrustful right-hand officer, Anita.

 

But talking her way into Commander Matheus's good graces, and his bed, is only the beginning. Dealing with the most powerful man in the galaxy is almost as dangerous as war, and Altagracia is quickly torn between Matheus and the wishes of the machine god that whispers in her ear.

 

For Szayet's sake, and her own, Altagracia will need to become more than a princess with a silver tongue. She will have to become a queen as history has never seen before - even if it breaks an empire.

 

A spectacular space opera debut perfect for readers of Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice and Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire, inspired by the lives and loves of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.

 

Praise for The Stars Undying

 

‘A glittering triumph that weaves together history and tragedy into a star-spanning epic. I fell into this book and didn't come out for a long time’ - Everina Maxwell

 

''Gorgeously written, clever and captivating’ - Kristyn Merbeth

 

‘Dazzling, transportive, boundless, precise - and dares to ask, what if Mark Antony was the hottest butch girl in space?’ - Casey McQuiston

 

‘Takes the larger-than-life figures of the ancient world and recasts them against a backdrop of drowned worlds and interstellar empires with extraordinary verve’ - Emily Tesh

 

'Beautifully written, with poise and wit and grand epic sweep, The Stars Undying has everything I want from a space opera’ - AK Larkwood

 

'Deftly wields the conventions of science fiction to make old stories new... I did not know I could weep for Antony, love Cleopatra, or lament Caesar, but through Ana, Gracia, and Ceirran, I do’ - Maya Deane

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I have always been interested in Roman history, particularly Julius Caesar, since I had a picture book on Roman legions as a child. I studied Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar at O-level and Antony and Cleopatra at A-level, have read multiple biographies of Caesar, histories of the Roman Republic and Empire, even struggled through a few fictionalised versions of the dictator’s life. But I have rarely, if ever, before come across a book which adds so much perspective to this period of history, and the protagonists, by taking the characters and themes and dropping them into a completely different time, and space, adding depth and making the story brand new. 

It is difficult to comprehend that THE STARS UNDYING is a debut novel, so assured is Emery Robin in drawing realistic, flawed characters an giving them a voice different from any of the histories and biographies. The story of Gracia and Ceirran, and of Ana, can be read as a standalone space opera, full of political intrigue and empire-building, and would, I imagine, be thoroughly satisfying; but if the reader knows that Gracia is Cleopatra, Ceirran is Caesar, Ana is Mark Antony, and so on, it adds a deeper understanding of both the novel and its characters and of the historical figures on which they are based. It is not perfect, the alternating view points of Gracia and Ceirran can be a little overwhelming, and it might have benefited from a glossary, such are the number of characters; but it is a hugely entertaining, moving, and impressive debut. 

Robin knows the history and many of the expected events, and some of the myths, are present - the carpet, the dictator’s triumph, a stunning echo of Pompey’s treatment by the Egyptians which takes the breath away - but there are also little touches which make the initiated smile, without ever detracting from the flow of the novel, such as ‘Ceiao’s greatest speaker’, Cachoerian, being so susceptible to flattery that ‘the same flattery worked every time’ just as was Rome’s greatest speaker, Cicero.

One of the novel’s greatest strengths is the new light is sheds on Cleopatra. The previous books I have read, great though many of them are, are dominated by the male protagonists, Cleopatra being very much relegated to supporting character. Here, Gracia is as strong, stronger, than her male counterparts, she really drives the political manoeuvring in the plot. She is, by her own admission, a liar, an unreliable novel, but she is strong and assured, ruthless, and, even at the end of the book, I am still unsure what to make of her. But I look forward to finding out.

The Medici Murders by David Hewson

The first in a brand-new mystery series from the acclaimed author of The Killing and Devil’s Fjord.



‘Serious history buffs are in for a treat’ –Kirkus Reviews



Venice is a city full of secrets. For hundreds of years it has been the scene of scandal, intrigue and murderous rivalries. And it remains so today.



1548, Lorenzino de Medici, himself a murderer and a man few will miss, is assassinated by two hired killers.



Today, Marmaduke Godolphin, British TV historian and a man even fewer will miss, is stabbed by a stiletto blade on the exact same spot, his body dropping into the canal.



Can the story of the first murder explain the attack on Godolphin? The Carabinieri certainly think so. They recruit retired archivist Arnold Clover to unpick the mystery and to help solve the case. But the conspiracy against Godolphin runs deeper than anyone imagined.

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‘Remember, always, that in Italian story means both ‘history’ and ‘story’. The gap between truth and fable is slender, sometimes barely visible at all.’

I enjoy David Hewson’s writing, the clarity and precision of his prose, well-constructed plots, and the meticulous research such that his are steeped in local colour, you can hear and smell Hewson’s Italy. In THE MEDICI MURDERS Hewson returns to Venice, the setting of LIZARD’S BITE, one of his Nic Costa mysteries, and his standalone, THE SHOOTER IN THE SHADOWS. His new novel is unlike either of those books, but just as readable.

THE MEDICI MURDERS is narrated by Arnold Clover, a retired archivist who had planned to retire to Venice with his late wife but now lives there alone. Clover is unexpectedly recruited by Carabinieri Inspector, Valentina Fabbri who claims that Arnold can help her solve the murder of famed British TV Historian, Marmaduke Godolphin, ‘The Duke’ having employed Clover as a researcher for a proposed documentary series planned to reveal the ‘shocking’ truth about the 16th Century murders of two members of the Medici family. As Arnold recounts the events leading up to the discovery of Godolphin’s body in a Venice canal, we are introduced to the members of The Gilded Circle, former students of The Duke, a university group the younger Clover envied, wishing he was a member. We also meet Godolphin’s wife and son, and various characters, whose livelihoods, in publishing and television, are intertwined with Godolphin’s.

Hewson has great fun with the history, both real and speculative, and mocking Godolphin, in whom we can see many TV historians who rarely let facts overpower salacious conjecture. The mystery is intriguing, full of red herrings and with a full cast of suspects and a satisfying conclusion. It is perhaps a little less realistic, not as gritty as the Costa novels, but no less entertaining for that. But the novel’s greatest strength is its evocation of Venice, the sights and sounds and smells. It really made me want to return to this unique city.

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David Hewson explains the concept behind the Arnold Clover novels in the following link to his Blog. It is a fascinating glimpse into the research and planning that goes into his stories. 

https://davidhewson.com/2022/09/26/introducing-arnold-clover-a-different-kind-of-hero/

All of the Marvels: An Amazing Voyage into Marvel’s Universe and 27,000 Superhero Comics by Douglas Wolk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I was 7 or 8 years old, my mother took me to Harry McCormick's newsagents to choose a new comic, replacing The Beano and The Beezer of which I have become tired. I chose one with a bright red and blue character on the cover - Spider-man Comics Weekly Nr 100. This black and white UK reprint of the original US comics was my first introduction to the Marvel Universe, a love affair that has lasted almost 50 years.

Unlike their Distinguished Competition, Marvel has never pressed the reset button, and Douglas Wolk's ALL THE MARVELS argues that the interconnectedness of all the stories, at least since, maybe even well before, Fantastic Four issue one in 1961, the fact that any event in their history can impact later stories, is part of the key to Marvel's success. Wolk read over 27000 comics, those featuring the major characters, Spider-Man, Avengers, Hulk, but also lesser known protagonists, like The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and Dazzler, and he finds the threads which bind the whole thing into, as he puts it, the longest continuous, self-contained work of fiction ever created.

Wolk's book is entertaining, the footnotes possibly even more so. He took me right back to Harry McCormick's and the world of wonders that that first reprint opened up. I'm now re-reading Master of Kung-Fu and Black Panther and looking forward to revisiting with Stan and Jack and Steve and Roy and Gerry and the rest...

View all my reviews

#BlogTour - The Party House by Lin Anderson

'A real page-turner' – Ian Rankin

The Party House by Lin Anderson is a deeply atmospheric psychological thriller set in the Scottish Highlands, for fans of Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware and Sarah Pearse’s The Sanatorium.

Devastated by a recent pandemic brought in by outsiders, the villagers of Blackrig in the Scottish Highlands are outraged when they find that the nearby estate plans to reopen its luxury ‘party house’ to tourists.

As animosity sparks amongst the locals, part of the property is damaged and, in the ensuing chaos, the body of a young girl is found in the wreck. Seventeen-year-old Ailsa Cummings went missing five years ago, never to be seen again – until now.

The excavation of Ailsa’s remains ignites old suspicions cast on the men of this small community, including Greg, the estate’s gamekeeper. At the beginning of a burgeoning relationship with a new lover, Joanne, Greg is loath to discuss old wounds. Frightened by Greg’s reaction to the missing girl’s discovery, Joanne begins to doubt how well she knows this new man in her life. Then again, he’s not the only one with secrets in their volatile relationship . . .

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My first experience of the author, Lin Anderson’s THE PARTY HOUSE is very much a psychological thriller. The novel begins with the disappearance of Ailsa Cummings, a seventeen-year-old who vanishes from the woods surrounding the village of Blackrig in the Scottish Highlands, presumed by many to have run away, perhaps back to her former home in Glasgow. Five years later, the village is slowly recovering from the  devastation caused by the deaths of five children and a district nurse, their deaths due to a Covid 19 variant introduced by lockdown breaking visitors to the eponymous Party House, owned by an investment company. Post-lockdown, the return of outside guests to the resort causes some in the village to take their anger out by destroying a hot-tum on the property, inadvertently exposing the remains of Ailsa, her body buried below its base.

The story is told, in the third person, by Greg Taylor, the head gamekeeper at the estate, and his new girlfriend, Joanne Addington, newly arrived from London. Greg and Joanne have only recently met, he a little taken aback by her acceptance of his invitation to come to Blackrig. Both, it quickly becomes clear, have something to hide, Greg feeling guilty for what he sees as his part in introducing the virus into the village, Joanne hiding from something, or someone, back in London. But do either, or both, of them have deeper secrets to hide?

Lin Anderson draws very realistic relatable characters. Both main characters are flawed, are hiding things from each other. The newness of their relationship and their, understandable though frustrating, reluctance to share their thoughts, leads to tension between them. The arrival of Greg’s egotistic boss and of the police investigating Ailsa’s death intensifies the tension. Greg, with all of the men who were in the village when Ailsa disappeared, is once again under suspicion. His tendency to lose his temper makes Joanne question the speed in which they became entangled, as does Greg’s ex’s obvious dislike of her.

The book is very evocative of the highlands near Inverness. Lin Anderson perfectly captures the uniqueness of remote communities and the wariness towards outsiders. THE PARTY HOUSE is one of the first novels I have read to describe the devastating impact of Covid 19, the effects continuing even as the village emerges from lockdown measures. The book is thrilling, the tension slowly building to a stunning conclusion. I enjoyed it tremendously and look forward to exploring the author’s Scotland set Rhona MacCloud series of crime novels.

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Lin Anderson is a Scottish author and screenwriter known for her bestselling crime series featuring forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacCloud. Four of her novels have been long listed for the Scottish Crime Book of the Year, with FOLLOW THE DEAD being a 2018 finalist. Her short film River Child won both a Scottish BAFTA for Best Fiction and the Celtic Film Festival’s Best Drama Award and has now been viewed more than one million times on YouTube. Lin is also the co-founder of the international crime writing festival Bloody Scotland.

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh

INTRODUCING DC FFION MORGAN, IN THE UNMISSABLE NEW SERIES FROM #1 BESTSELLER CLARE MACKINTOSH

'Superb, with echoes of Agatha Christie' PATRICIA CORNWELL
'A dark delight of a murder mystery' JANICE HALLETT
'Detectives Leo and Ffion make a storming debut' BELINDA BAUER
'Mackintosh is just getting better and better' PETER JAMES

On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests.
His lakeside holiday homes are a success, and he's generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbours. This will be the party to end all parties.

But not everyone is there to celebrate. By midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.

On New Year's Day, DC Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects.
The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbours, friends and family - and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.

With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn't who wanted Rhys dead . . . but who finally killed him.

In a village with this many secrets, a murder is just the beginning.Sometimes, revisiting the past is the only way to rescue the present . . . 

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Going into a new Clare Mackintosh novel is like opening a lucky bag - you know you are going to get something good but you’re not sure what it will be like. The last three of her books I have read have been uniformly good but radically different - AFTER THE END, a profoundly moving story about the choices faced by parents of a terminally ill child; HOSTAGE, a plane hijack novel which flew much higher, and was better written, than another, very hyped book on a similar theme which was released at the same time; and this, THE LAST PARTY, a modern whodunnit with interesting characters, snappy dialogue and an intriguingly fun protagonist in DC Ffion Morgan.

There are echoes of Agatha Christie, even the likes of Midsummer Murders, in the story of the investigation into the murder of the developer of a lakeside holiday complex on the Welsh border. The holiday homes are occupied by a cast of suspects, each less likeable than the last, each seemingly with a reason to want Rhys Lloyd dead. Ffion, like Lloyd, a local also has to consider her friends and neighbours as potential suspects - few in the village welcomed the influx of rich English people on their lake. Ffion’s situation gets even more complicated when she is paired with Detective Leo Brady from Chester Police, who turns out to be a one night stand to whom she gave a fake name.

As might be expected from Clare Mackintosh, the story is a little darker, the characters more rounded than your typical cosy murder mystery. There is a lot of humour in the book but it goes deeper, into relationships, workplace bullying, racism, exploitation. There is a lot more going on than appears on the surface and that is something that THE LAST PARTY shares with the author’s other novels. DC Ffion Morgan will apparently return and I really hope that THE LAST PARTY is the first in a successful series.

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With over 2 million copies of her books sold worldwide, number one bestseller Clare Mackintosh is the multi-award-winning author of I Let You Go, which was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and the fastest-selling title by a new crime writer in 2015. It also won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2016. Both Clare's second and third novels, I See You and Let Me Lie, were number one Sunday Times bestsellers. All three of her thrillers were selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club, and together have been translated into forty languages. After the End was published in 2019 and became an instant Sunday Times bestseller, and in 2021 Hostage flew straight into the top ten. Together, her books have spent more than sixty weeks in The Sunday Times bestseller lists.

#BlogTour - Cold, Cold Bones by Kathy Reichs

Sometimes, revisiting the past is the only way to rescue the present . . . 

Winter has come to North Carolina and, with it, a drop in crime. For a while, temporarily idle forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan is content to dote on her daughter Katy, finally returned to civilian life from the army. But when mother and daughter meet at Tempe’s place one night for dinner, they find a box on the back porch. Inside: a very fresh human eyeball.

 

GPS coordinates etched into the eyeball lead to a Benedictine Monastery where an equally macabre discovery awaits. Soon after, Tempe examines a mummified corpse in a state park, and her anxiety deepens. 

There seems to be no pattern to these random killings, except that each mimics in some way a killing that a younger Tempe witnessed, analysed, or barely escaped. 

Who or what is targeting her, and why? 

Helping Tempe discover the answers is Detective Erskine 'Skinny' Slidell, retired but still volunteering with the CMPD cold case unit - and still displaying his gallows humour. But as the two infiltrate a bizarre survivalist’s lair, even Skinny’s mood darkens. 

And then Tempe’s daughter Katy disappears.

Electrifying, heart-stopping and compulsive, this is Tempe’s most personal and dangerous case yet . . . 

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COLD, COLD BONES is the 21^st novel in Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan series, and the first I have read. I am usually loathe to jump into the middle of a series, particularly one so long-running, but I didn’t feel lost and the novel can absolutely be read as a standalone. Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthropologist who helps police investigations by studying the bones of the deceased. She has a grown daughter, Katy, who has just returned from her second tour of duty in the United States Army and Tempe is helping Katy set up her own place. I felt that I got to know the characters very quickly, the slight tension between the mother and her adult daughter. Tempe narrates the story and Kathy Reichs writes her in a very conversational, familiar way; she addresses the reader directly, as a confidant; ‘You get the picture…’

When Tempe finds a human eyeball in a package left on her doorstep, a startling enough discovery, she finds map coordinates etched in miniature on the surface, coordinates which lead her and, retired, cold case detective, Skinny Slidell to the location of a head which went missing from a dodgy crematorium a few years earlier. Then a mummified corpse is found hanging from a tree, in circumstances which echo a previous investigation in which Tempe was involved. Tempe begins to suspect that someone is intentionally mimicking her previous cases to target her.

Not having read any of Kathy Reichs’ previous work, I am unsure whether the echoed murders are those that constant readers are familiar with, but, again, my enjoyment was unimpaired as Tempe recalls each, initially with some confusion and then growing anxiety when it becomes clearer that the killer is targeting not only Tempe but also those close to her.

COLD, COLD BONES is an exciting and thrilling mystery. I enjoyed the characters, particularly the relationship between Tempe and Skinny. The crimes reminded me of the likes of the movie Seven. There is some body horror, macabre humour, particularly from Skinny, and just enough red herrings and assorted creepy suspects to keep the reader guessing. The novel works because of the skill in which Kathy Reichs writes Temperance Brennan. This may well be a series I have to go to the beginning of…

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About the Author 

Kathy Reichs’s first novel Déjà Dead, published in 1997, won the Ellis Award for Best First Novel and was an international bestseller. Kathy was also a producer of Fox Television’s longest running scripted drama Bones, which is based on her work and her novels. Kathy uses her own dramatic experiences as a forensic anthropologist to bring her mesmerizing thrillers to life. One of very few forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, Kathy divides her time between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Montreal, Québec.

Thanks to @RandomTTours, @simonschusterUK, @Tr4cyF3nt0n, and @KathyReichs

 

#BlogTour - All I Said Was True by Imran Mahmood

When Amy Blahn was murdered on a London office rooftop, Layla Mahoney was there. She held Amy as she died. But all she can say when police arrest her is that ‘It was Michael. Find Michael and you’ll find out everything you need to know.’ 

The problem is, the police can’t find Michael – there is no evidence that he exists. And time is running out before they have to either charge Layla with Amy’s murder, or let her go. 

As a lawyer, Layla knows that she has only forty-eight hours to convince police to investigate the man she knows only as ‘Michael’ instead of her. But the more she attempts to control her interviews with police, the more the truth leaks out – and how much of that truth can Layla risk being exposed? 

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‘Every one of the billions of stars and planets - every single one is just cause and effect. They exist in their current states because of the things that happened beforehand. Do you think you’re immune from cause and effect, but whole galaxies aren’t?’

Imran Mahmoud’s third novel, ALL I SAID WAS TRUE, is narrated by Layla Mahoney, a personal injury lawyer, being questioned by police in connection with the murder of Amy Blahn. Layla’s story unfolds NOW, as she is interrogated by detectives who have 48 hours in which to decide whether to charge her, and THEN, as we find out how she came to on the roof of her husband’s workplace cradling the dead body of a woman whom she claims not to know, and, in particular, her strange relationship with a man called Michael, a man she claims is really responsible. 

As with the protagonists of Mahmood’s previous novels, YOU DON’T KNOW ME and I KNOW WHAT I SAW, Layla is an unusual, perhaps unreliable, narrator. It is clear from the start of her interrogation that Layla knows more than she initially offers, that she seems to be giving up her information to a planned timetable. She maintains that Michael killed Amy but the police cannot find any evidence that Michael was on the roof, or that he actually exists. THEN, Layla tells us that Michael saved her from being run over by an out of control car on a London street. Thereafter, Michael appears at intervals, claiming that he has not been following Layla, that their meetings are not coincidental, that they are in fact linked in some way, that they are intended to prevent some terrible occurrence. At times the reader might question whether there is something supernatural going on here, or Michael may just be a liar who Is following her…

‘And then there’s this one immovable fact - I can’t face a murder charge. I didn’t do it. But there’s a danger in saying too much which would be worse for me that a murder trial.’

Imran Mahmood is clearly the master of unconventional narrators. Layla is a complex character; we know she is withholding information from both her interrogators and from us as readers, that she is playing some longer game,  but she also appears to have episodes when she is unsure of herself, when she questions the reality of what she sees, when she makes very questionable decisions. And yet, Layla is entirely relatable and three-dimensional. There is a lot going on in ALL I SAID WAS TRUE and, like Layla, Mahmood gives us just enough information to keep us on tenter hooks while keeping the big reveals until later. It is a delicate balance but it really works. ALL I SAID WAS TRUE builds on the craft of the author’s previous novels, honing it to an even sharper edge; a thoroughly entertaining mystery.

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Imran Mahmood is a practising barrister with thirty years’ experience fighting cases in courtrooms across the country. His debut novel You Don’t Know Me was chosen by Simon Mayo as a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice for 2017 and longlisted for Theakston Crime Novel of the Year and for the CWA Gold Dagger, and was made into a hugely successful BBC1 adaptation in association with Netflix. His second novel I Know What I Saw was released in June 2021, was chosen as a Sunday Times crime novel of the month and reached no. 2 on the Audible charts. He has been commissioned to write three screenplays and is working on his next novel. When not in court or writing novels or screenplays he can sometimes be found on the Red Hot Chilli Writers’ podcast as one of the regular contributors. He hails from Liverpool but now lives in London with his wife and daughters. @imranmahmood777

#BlogTour - The Woman on the Bridge by Holly Seddon

A STRANGER IN NEED - WOULD YOU INVITE THEM INTO YOUR HOME? 

'Strangers On A Train meets The Pact in this high concept thriller: daring, dramatic and totally original, I loved it.' Gillian McAllister

How far would you go to save a perfect stranger?

Maggie is trapped. Dumped on her wedding day, rejected by her family and hounded by a man determined to make her suffer.

Charlotte is desperate. Double-crossed by her only friend and facing total ruin, she will go to any lengths to save what matters.

Two women, one night. A decision that will change everything.

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Charlotte screams into the emptiness.

THE WOMAN ON THE BRIDGE is a clever, twisty, tightly plotted thriller which grabs the reader right from the opening sentence and doesn’t let go until the conclusion. When we meet Charlotte, she is hurtling through the night in her late mother’s Tesla, wishing the electric car had a screaming engine note to accompany her own screaming. Charlotte has had a bad day having discovered that her friend, Anna, whom Charlotte has taken on to help her run the antiques business inherited from her father, has uncovered some financial irregularities and intends to blackmail Charlotte into relinquishing control of the business. Her screams are understandable. And then she meets Maggie.

Maggie is perched on the rail of a bridge, dressed in a stained wedding dress, deciding when to jump. Despite, perhaps because of, her own troubles, Charlotte talks Maggie down, takes her into her car, and then into her home. There is an uncomfortable rapidity to the friendship the women share. They share their stories and frustrations as they dry off and warm up. Maggie spends the night in Charlotte’s cottage and in the morning she suggests that they might be able to help each other. And soon things begin to spiral out of control…

Holly Seddon is a wonderful writer. Her prose flows effortlessly. Her dialogue is naturalistic and her characters believable. The book alternates between Charlotte’s and Maggie’s viewpoints and we really get to understand the pain and confusion each feels as they find themselves thrown together seemingly by fate. As the page-turning plot develops, the women become more entangled, the stakes getting higher. As Gillian McAllister says, it really echoes Strangers on a Train, except that both characters are very likeable, even if their decision making is questionable. And then Holly Seddon pulls the rug out from below the reader’s feet…

The twists in the novel are as deliciously fiendish as they are unexpected. THE WOMAN ON THE BRIDGE is gripping and exciting, and incredibly good fun. The book is full of ‘you’re kidding me’ moments. It races towards the conclusion like the Tesla in the first chapter and, unlike the car, it makes a hell of a noise when it gets there.

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Holly Seddon is the international bestselling author of TRY NOT TO BREATHE, DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES, LOVE WILL TEAR US APART, THE HIT LIST and THE WOMAN ON THE BRIDGE.

After growing up in the English countryside obsessed with music and books, Holly worked in London as a journalist and editor. She now lives in Kent with her family and writes full time.

Alongside fellow author Gillian McAllister, Holly co-hosts the popular Honest Authors Podcast. You can find her on Twitter @hollyseddon, Instagram and Facebook @hollyseddonauthor.

Thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers, @Tr4cyF3nt0n, Orion Books @orionbooks and Holly Seddon @hollyseddon for the invitation to the Blog Tour.

Two crime-writing legends join forces for the first ever case of DI Laidlaw: the original gritty Glasgow detective who inspired an entire genre

William McIlvanney’s Laidlaw trilogy changed the face of crime fiction in the 1970s and 1980s, inspiring an entire generation of crime writers including Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, Denise Mina, Chris Brookmyre – and Ian Rankin.

When McIlvanney died in 2015, he left half a handwritten manuscript of Laidlaw’s first case – his first new novel in 25 years. Now, Ian Rankin is back to finish what McIlvanney started. 

In The Dark Remains, these two iconic authors bring to life the criminal world of 1970s Glasgow, and the relentless quest for truth.

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William McIlvanney’s three Laidlaw novels are classics of the crime genre, the touchstone for ‘Tartan Noir’, gritty, realistic depictions of Glasgow’s criminal underbelly. The Laidlaw novels have inspired many crime-writers, including Val McDermid, Alan Parks, one of my current favourites, whose Harry McCoy series really takes up the Laidlaw mantle, and, of course, Ian Rankin, whose Rebus novels can stand alongside McIlvanney’s on the top plinth. That said, I was still nervous about Rankin reviving Laidlaw. I should not have worried.

THE DARK REMAINS takes us back to Laidlaw’s early days, some time before LAIDLAW, when McIlvanney’s DI is just starting out. Ian Rankin apparently worked from notes and drafts left by William McIlvanney when he sadly passed and is is to his credit that it is impossible to tell just how much of each author is in the finished book. I suspect that there may be more Rankin than McIlvanney but I could be completely wrong, because this feels like a Laidlaw novel; the tone is the same; 1970s Glasgow feels exactly the same; the dialogue is as witty and the humour as dark as in the original trilogy. Laidlaw is younger, less sure of himself, but he is recognisably the same character, albeit feeling his way into his career, setting out on his mission, bending the rules where necessary.

The city of Glasgow is as much a character in the novel as Rebus’s Edinburgh is in Rankin’s own series, and he captures it perfectly, the grime, the poverty, a Glasgow unsure of its direction prior to the City of Culture cleanup. Jack Laidlaw is a complicated character, driven, playing by his own rules, tortured by his calling, literate yet tough; I love the character and revisit the Laidlaw novels often. It is tribute to Ian Rankin that I will be including THE DARK REMAINS in my regular re-reads.

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William McIlvanney is the author of the award-winning Laidlaw trilogy, featuring Glasgow’s original maverick detective. He died in December 2015. 

Both Laidlaw and The Papers of Tony Veitch gained Silver Daggers from the Crime Writers’ Association, while the third in the series, Strange Loyalties, won the Herald’s People’s Prize. 

The McIlvanney Prize, named in his honour in 2016, is awarded annually for the best Scottish crime novel of the year.

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Ian Rankin is the number one bestselling author of the Inspector Rebus series. The Rebus books have been translated into thirty-six languages and are bestsellers worldwide.

He is the recipient of four Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Awards, including the prestigious Diamond Dagger, and in 2002 he received an OBE for services to literature. He lives in Edinburgh.

@beathhigh | ianrankin.net

#BlogTour - Good Cop, Bad Cop by Simon Kernick

Brave hero or criminal mastermind?

Tonight we find out. 

Undercover cop Chris Sketty became a hero when he almost died trying to stop the most brutal terror attack in UK history. With the suspects either dead or missing, the real motive remains a mystery.

But someone is convinced Sketty is a liar.

A criminal mastermind.

A murderer.

Blackmailed into revealing the truth, Sketty will share a twisting tale of betrayal, deception and murder...with a revelation so shocking that nothing will be the same again.

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I got off to a bad start with Simon Kernick having struggled with one of his early novels, which just didn’t gel with me. It has to be said though that Kernick is in good company - I abandoned the first Lee Child I started and have no idea, having re-read it and others, why… I did enjoy the author’s last novel, KILL A STRANGER and looked forward to GOOD COP, BAD COP. And I was not disappointed. 

GOOD COP, BAD COP is a fast moving, high octane undercover cop thriller which hits the ground running and doesn’t let up until the end. The novel tells the story of Chris Sketty, a retired cop who, fifteen years ago, heroically saved the lives of innocents caught up in one of the worst terrorist attacks in the UK. We are introduced to Sketty as he tells his story to Dr Ralph Teller, a man who believes Sketty anything but a hero, and believes he has enough evidence to blackmail Chris into telling the truth. Sketty then narrates his tale, of how he was recruited to work undercover to expose a rogue police officer in London’s Gang Intelligence Unit, and of how things spiralled out of control leading to the terrorist attack on the Villa Amalfi restaurant.

Sketty’s world is a tough one, the men with whom he works, tough men. It is very masculine and the reader is unsure just how truthful Sketty is being; has he been seduced by the violence and criminality? The suspense is intense and Simon Kernick ramps it up even further by the use of short chapters with cliff-hanging, ‘little did I know’ endings. You are encouraged to keep reading to find out what happens. The pace is breathless; even the odd interruption from Teller simply accelerate things as they remind you that this could be a story told by a very good liar. 

I am so glad I gave Simon Kernick another chance - it was definitely a case of ‘it’s me, not him’ and I now have a back catalogue to work through. For me GOOD COP, BAD COP is one of the thrillers of the year so far. Thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers, @Tr4cyF3nt0n, @headlineepg, @RandomTTours and, of course, the author @simonkernick for the invitation to the BlogTour.

#BlogTour - The Guest House by Robin Morgan-Bentley

KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE.

WHATEVER THE COST… 

Jamie and Victoria are expecting their first baby.

With a few weeks to go, they head off for a final weekend break in a remote part of the North Pennines. The small and peaceful guesthouse is the ideal location to unwind together before becoming parents. Upon arrival, they are greeted by Barry and Fiona, the older couple who run the guesthouse. They cook them dinner and show them to their room before retreating to bed themselves.

The next morning, Jamie and Victoria wake to find the house deserted. Barry and Fiona are nowhere to be seen. All the doors are locked. Both their mobile phones and car keys have disappeared. Even though it’s a few weeks early, Victoria knows the contractions are starting.

The baby is coming, and there’s no way out.

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THE GUEST HOUSE is a taut, incredibly tense psychological thriller which cleverly builds suspense by releasing little bits of information to the reader through the first person narratives of Jamie and Victoria, the expectant couple who visit the titular guest house for some relaxation prior to the birth of their first child. I listened to the the audiobook version of the novel, read expertly by the narrators, primarily playing Jamie and Victoria. And I was completely drawn in from the start.

The narration alternates between the couple, and between THEN, at the guest house, and NOW, several weeks later. It is clear that something terrible happened during the couple’s getaway; Victoria is no longer pregnant, but there is no baby. It also becomes increasingly clear that something is very wrong in the relationship. Jamie, the more sympathetic of the two, and not just because of his cerebral palsy, is haunted by whatever happened at the guest house. Victoria seems certain that, if the truth was to come out, she would be in serious trouble because of something she did.

The couple’s meeting with their hosts is strange right from the off. Barry and Fiona are an odd couple. There is a really creepy atmosphere and Robin Morgan-Bentley’s writing in these scenes reminds me of something out of a John Wyndham novel, or of one of the better Hammer Horror movies; there is something very English and very wrong; we are not sure exactly why but there is something very disquieting about the house and the hosts.

It would be unfair to give anything away beyond the set up. There is a lot more happening than we might originally think and Morgan-Bentley keeps us guessing throughout, teasing plot points and dropping little pieces of information through Victoria’s and Jamie’s accounts, and they often don’t fully tally with each other. It is quite a way into the novel, through several chapters of anxious, hair-standing-on-the-back-of-the-neck tension, before the reader begins to suspect what is actually going on. And, even then, Morgan-Bentley ramps things up even further with unexpected twists. 

THE GUEST HOUSE is a pleasure to read, or to listen to. An uneasy, uncomfortable pleasure, but a pleasure nonetheless. Thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers, @Tr4cyF3nt0n, @orionbooks and, of course, the author, @rmorganbentley for the opportunity to experience THE GUEST HOUSE.

About Robin Morgan-Bentley

Robin Morgan-Bentley was born and grew up in London. After studying Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge University, he went on to work for Google before moving to Audible, where he has been working since 2014.

His debut thriller, The Wreckage, was nominated for the CWA Dagger John Creasey New Blood Award, the CrimeFest Specsavers Debut Crime Award and Capital Crime's Debut Book of the Year Award.

Robin lives in Buckinghamshire with his husband and son. 

#BlogTour - The Siege by John Sutherland

Nine hostages. Ten hours. One chance to save them all.

Lee James Connor has found his purpose in life: to follow the teachings of far-right extremist leader, Nicholas Farmer. So when his idol is jailed, he comes up with the perfect plan: take a local immigrant support group hostage until Farmer is released. 

Grace Wheatley is no stranger to loneliness having weathered the passing of her husband, whilst being left to raise her son alone. The local support group is her only source of comfort. Until the day Lee James Connor walks in and threatens the existence of everything she’s ever known.  

Superintendent Alex Lewis may be one of the most experienced hostage negotiators on the force, but there’s no such thing as a perfect record. Still haunted by his last case, can he connect with Connor – and save his nine hostages – before it’s too late?

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THE SIEGE is the story of a hostage situation in south London. When Lee James Connor, a loner, inspired by an anti-immigrant, firebrand right-wing extremest leader, takes a community church centre and its nine attendees hostage, we see the events of an entire night play out through the viewpoints of Connor, Grace, one of his hostages, and Alex, the lead hostage negotiator assigned to the incident. 

As might be expected from a former police negotiator, John Sutherland writes from experience and that experience makes the novel very realistic. Sutherland writes in a very mannered, ‘correct’ way which initially feels documentary-like, almost reportage, but that ultimately is the novel’s strength. We are taken through the events minute by minute, hour by hour, in the heads of the negotiator, the hostage, and the hostage-taker, all of whom, even the latter, treated as real people, people with their own flaws and issues. 

In less experienced, more bombastic, hands, Lee Connor would be a monster, Alex Lewis, a maverick who would save the day through some risky, heroic strategy, Grace the terrified hostage needing rescue. Here the drama is created through realistic characters and, unfortunately, all too realistic situations. I was drawn in completely; it is a very emotional read, the tension heightening with every chapter. The protagonists are good, ordinary people, trying to do the right thing in a frightening situation; the antagonist, a troubled young man whose actions, while not in any way condoned by the author, can be understood, given the society in which we live today. Sutherland subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, points the finger at those in politics and the media who thrive on division with no heed to the consequences of their words.

I would be really interested in going back the John Sutherland’s non fiction work about his life in the police service, and I look forward to his next novel.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Sutherland is a married father of three, who lives with his wife and children in South London. He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1992, serving for more than 25 years until his retirement in 2018. Having won the Baton of Honour as the outstanding recruit in his training school intake, he rose through the ranks to become a highly respected senior officer. During his career, he worked in a variety of roles across the Capital, both in uniform and as a detective. He is an experienced Hostage & Crisis Negotiator and Premier League Football Match Commander. His last operational posting was as the Borough Commander for Southwark.

John is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller, ‘Blue: A Memoir’ and ‘Crossing the Line’, which was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the week. His first thriller, ‘The Siege’ is being published in 2022.