Death in Blitz City

By David Young http://www.davidyoungnovels.com/

Published by Zaffre Books (an imprint of Bonnier Books) https://www.bonnierbooks.co.uk/news/category/zaffre/

349 pages ISBN 9781838774349

Publication date 7 July 2022

I was gifted a pdf copy in exchange for a fair review. I would like to thank David and his publisher for making this possible.

From the blurb

It is the most heavily bombed city outside of London – but for the sake of national morale the Hull Blitz is kept top secret. Only the politicians in Whitehall and Hull’s citizens themselves know of the true chaos.

Newly posted Inspector Ambrose Swift cannot believe the devastation he finds. But for Swift and his two deputies – part-time bare-knuckle boxer Jim ‘Little’ Weighton and Dales farmer’s daughter Kathleen Carver – it’s murder, not the war, that’s at the forefront of their minds.

When a series of sadistic killings is wrongly blamed on locally stationed black American GIs, Swift, a one-armed former WW1 cavalryman who tours the rubble-strewn city on a white horse, soon discovers these are no ordinary murders. The fetid stench of racism, corruption and perversion go to the very top. And for Swift, Weighton and Carver, finding the real killers means putting their own lives at risk – because powerful forces in the US and Britain cannot let the war effort be undermined. Not even by the truth.

Synopsis

A woman lies dead in the rubble, seemingly just another casualty of a bombing raid. The police are called and DI Swift and DS Weighton can quickly see why. This is no tragic accident but murder, the woman has been strangled and her body mutilated. On closer inspection Weighton realises that he recognises her, its ‘sweet’ Sarah Houghton. He had come across her before as she was a part-time prostitute who used a café on Hedon Road close to the docks.

Starting at the café the trail leads to a US Army camp in the outlying village of Cottingham which is the base for the 1023 Port Battalion made up of black enlisted men and white officers. The GIs went to the local dance halls and their slick dance moves attracted the local girls. Here Sarah and black GI Archibald Davis fell in love. When Archibald is also murdered and his body sexually disfigured the murderer appears to be leaving a message, are local racists sending a warning or is this something far deeper?

Swift left London to get away from the heat after he helped to bring down a home-grown fascist group. When he is anonymously sent a pin badge from the Imperial Fascist League his home in Beverley doesn’t feel quite so safe.

As the case develops there are more murders, corrupt politicians to deal with and so-called internal justice at the army camp which leaves Swift and Weighton in a race against time.   

My thoughts

Death in Blitz City is an action-packed tale of racism and corruption, which lead to murder, set in wartime Yorkshire.  It perfectly captures the destruction on the fabric of a city and its effect on the local people where life can be a struggle just to survive.  

There is always something a little bit special when you read a book set in your hometown, be it the familiarity of the place or just being able to place the action within a known geography. Being born a bred in the east of Hull there is many familiar places signposted throughout the novel including a pub I drank in for many years and one of the few remaining traditional joke shops in the city centre. The action doesn’t remain in Hull though but covers much of the East Riding and even right up to Scarborough.

Hull’s part in the Blitz is somewhat overlooked due to the news reporting at the time, Hull being referred to a Northern Coastal town. The Hull Docks were an obvious target but it also an easy target for bombers returning from West or South Yorkshire who could not find their primary target. There were civilian deaths and much of the fabric of the city was destroyed. There are still gaps in the houses in some of the streets mentioned which have never been built upon.

The first problem in any novel set on the Home Front is that apart from those in reserved occupations most men between 18 and 40 were enlisted. Here Ambrose Swift has lost an arm in the Great War and Jim Weighton rejected from active service due to heart valve problems. Swift is a decent honorable man; Weighton is his strong arm but is no fool himself. They are joined in the investigation by the farmer’s daughter Kathleen Carver which seems natural as women were increasingly brought in to cover the work that was traditionally a male domain. Carver is confident and competent, quickly proving to be a great asset and tackling the sexism she experiences straight on. Whilst not exactly being able to shatter the glass ceiling women were able to prove themselves more than capable in work, something well reflected in the novel. Three engaging main characters with interesting back stories to develop in the novels that will hopefully follow.

The plot is fictional but has been skilfully woven around real locations and some facts. This has been executed so well that I was unsure some of the fictional parts until I read the author’s notes. It has that authentic feel about it that any historical novel needs to be enjoyable. The locations and historical reference are enough to place it in a local and timeframe without taking over the flow of the story.

Racism is central to the plot and feels only too real with so many black enlisted men poorly treated by their white officers. This aspect is covered with sensitivity, we see some of the background in Detroit and how even moving to a different continent does change the ingrained feeling with the Jim Crow laws being taken with them but at least in the end there is a desire to do the right think.

The pacing starts steady as the setting is described giving the reader a sense of the destruction and its effects on ordinary people but is then ramped up for a chase and a race against time to save the life of an innocent man. The dialogue is great even including some mangled Hull pronunciations, our odd dialect and flat vowels.

Death in Blitz City is an intelligent look at the privations and changes thrust on people during war and how the struggle to do the right thing becomes even more important. If you enjoy historical crime fiction or novels set during the war, you’ll struggle to find many much better than this.

Death in Blitz City can be purchased direct from the publisher here

The author

David Young was born near Hull and, after dropping out of a Bristol University science degree, studied Humanities at Bristol Polytechnic. Temporary jobs cleaning ferry toilets and driving a butcher’s van were followed by a career in journalism on provincial newspapers, a London news agency, and international radio and TV newsrooms. He now divides his time between Twickenham and a writing base on Syros in Greece, and in his spare time supports Hull City AFC.

Launch events

If you are in Hull (on 6 July 2022) or Newcastle (7 July 2022) there are launch events with tickets available from Eventbrite (links posted above). David will also be appearing at the East Riding Festival of Words, in Beverley, on 15 October 2022.

Best Served Cold

By Gabriel Galletti http://www.gabrielgalletti.com/

Published by Red Kimba Press

372 pages ISBN 9781739851002

Publication date 1 February 2022

Best Served Cold is the first book in the Chad Hilton series.

I was sent a paperback copy to enable me to take part in this Blog Tour. I would like to than Anne at Random Things Tours for the invitation to participate and of course the Author the publisher.

From the blurb

Grudges harboured and hatreds hidden but not forgotten.

Then a catalyst ignites the flame…
Someone in Leeds is settling old scores.

The Police ask Chad Hilton, an ex-pro footballer turned criminal profiler, for help. But his wife’s infidelity and his addiction to painkillers are pushing him close to the edge.

As the body count rises, can Chad uncover the murderer before his demons destroy him?

Synopsis

A rapist is operating seemingly with impunity in Leeds, the police seem powerless and are no closer to catching him. In desperation DI Lee Wallace persuades his boss to allow Lee’s old friend and ex-professional footballer turned criminal profiler, Chad Hilton, to join the team and provide some psychological insight.

As if that was not enough to keep Lee busy, the Chief Superintendent is on the warpath after being rebuked by the local MP for not taking the case of a missing businessman serious. Lee and Chad are then side-lined into this investigation. When a retired catholic priest and a carer then go missing, is this merely a co-incidence?

Chad’s life is troubled enough, he is estranged from his wife who had recently had an affair and the pain in his knee, a legacy from his playing days, is so acute that he is hooked on the powerful pain killer fentanyl. He’s taking more and more of them just to get through the day. When he starts getting troll tweets from ‘Napoleon’ he thinks they are the work of a crank and ignores them. They become more vitriolic and personal, as if he is being observed and when threats are made about his wife he has to start to take them serious.

With Lee and Chad working the case and Chad’s ex-teammate Freddie Jackson’s underworld connections alerted can the mysterious Napoleon be tracked now before it is too late?

My thoughts

Leeds and its greater conurbation are a great setting for a crime series and one that has perhaps been underutilised compared to some other cities of a similar size. There is new money wealth, with its property developments, penthouse apartments and on trend bars, but there is also poverty and urban decay alongside it. A broad canvas which the author uses to full effect

Much of the characterisation within the novel revolves around the friendship of the three main male characters, detective Lee and ex-players Chad and Freddie. We see the loyalty between them, but we also see some of the friction too. Freddie’s criminal enterprise naturally doesn’t sit well with Lee, who tries to keep him at arm’s length even when he needs his help. Chad must be more pragmatic because he relies upon Freddie for additional fentanyl he needs over his prescription. We also see the strong bond between men who shared the same dressing room in Freddie and Chad, warriors together, and the compassion of Freddie knowing that he must get his friend off fentanyl quickly before it kills him.

In a genre where it is common for the main detective to be a damaged soul it is unusual for the police consultant to be so affected. Chad’s addiction to fentanyl seems credible, there are still sportsmen who end their careers almost crippled although thankfully far fewer than even 20 years ago. Infidelity amongst the rich and famous is no surprise either. The interesting thing with Chad is the move from footballer into criminal profiler. In a world where footballers are not known for their intelligence this is a smart idea and I trust in future novels we shall see the motivations behind this. The ‘profiling’ parts within the plot are more creative and ‘blue sky thinking’ in nature rather than trying to deduce his brand of toothpaste the killer uses, which is a wise move, serial killers being a rarity in the UK.

The plot is well constructed and tricksy with the perpetrator not being revealed until late in the book. The writing style fits the plot well and after a period of set up the action zips along nicely. The chapters are short and are used to good effect during the final 100 pages to rachet up the tension.

The novel isn’t entirely plot driven, there is plenty of background and setting so that anyone new to Leeds will get a fair idea of the city. There’re some nice individual touches too; Jas drives a Beemer (BMW) but treats the inside like a dustbin, Lee’s happy family life and Freddie’s love of opulence which would make the average LA rapper gasp. The dialogue is good and there’s some nice dry humour asides within the mayhem and murder, like Lee’s children relegating Chad to goalie like the ‘fat kid in the playground’ or the bishop eschewing his vows of poverty and being a 21^st century Friar Tuck. Cheekiest of all is in the naming of the perpetrator of the crimes which somewhat coincidently is the same as a well-known football referee, albeit spelt slightly differently.

Sport is notoriously difficult to capture convincingly on screen and on the page so Mr. Galletti has wisely chosen to keep it as background colour. This works well especially with the proximity of the ground and the police headquarters. I haven’t mentioned the club by name, but I’m sure most people can guess it, petty footballing rivalry prevents me from typing it out in full.

Best Served Cold is a fast paced, urban crime thriller with complex plot which keeps readers guessing the outcome until the final pages.

Best Served Cold can be purchased from Amazon here

After a forty-year career in business spanning four continents I sat at the keyboard and began to write my first novel. Could I do it? Indeed, should I do it?

One Pandemic and three lockdowns later, and with huge assistance from Cornerstones Literary Agency and fantastic thriller writers Mark Leggatt and Neil Broadfoot all my passions – Yorkshire, Crime Thrillers and Leeds United have come together to produce my debut novel Best Served Cold, the first in a series set in Leeds and introducing Chad Hilton as the flawed ex footballer turned profiler.

Don’t forget to check out the other stops on the tour.

The East German Police Girl

By Natalia Pastukhova

Published by Brown Dog Books (Self-Publishing Partnership) https://www.selfpublishingpartnership.co.uk/about-us/

256 pages ISBN 9781829525001

Publication date 26 May 2022

I was sent an electronic copy of the novel to participate in its Blog Tour. Many thanks to Brown Dog Books, Natalia Pastukhova and Team LitPR for allowing me to participate in the tour.

From the blurb

In a small university town in East Germany, during the hard winter of 1955, a plot emerges – tangled but uncontrived – to put a lump in your throat.

Told to the author by her grandfather, it is a tale of fear, distrust and bravery. Threads of doubt and deceit are interwoven with endearing touches of goodness, dry humour and the bygone patterns of everyday life. Its gravity is simple yet emotional.

Synopsis

Uta Dietl is a young female officer in the Border Police. Tolerated for now, her prospects in the force are limited and her future seems as restricted as that of most young persons in the East.

Uta’s boss, the head of the Border Police, Lorenz Bauss still broods over his unrequited lost love from twenty-five years ago.

Christoph and Isolde are brother and sister. Their father was executed towards the end of the war, their mother is in a home on the Baltic coast, so they provide each other with comfort and support. Isolde is a talented musician who dedicates herself to her art. Christoph is a student with a part-time job on the railways. He also has a nocturnal pastime of sticking up subversive posters which he prints himself. If he is ever caught there will be a high price to pay. Christoph’s girlfriend Greta is manipulative but at heart just another lost soul.

When three officials arrive from Berlin, with a secret agenda to find stolen Nazi gold, the delicate equilibrium becomes unbalanced. Links to the final days of the war become apparent and a chain of events is set off which will have implications for all of them, some grave, for others the feeling that destiny is being fulfilled. The question is who possesses the inner strength and good luck to survive and prosper?

My thoughts

The East German Police Girl is a creative, and intriguingly written and structured novel, quite different to the mainstream. The prose is quite dense at times, being packed with detailed descriptions and an extensive and impressive depth of vocabulary. It is these descriptive qualities which stood out for me, capturing a time and place. There are also allusions to classical opera, the works of Richard Wagner and tragedies in general.

Its set in 1955 and already we can see that the Soviet backed East is quickly falling far behind the West with its economy kick started with Marshall Plan aid. This is highlighted by Bauss who observes that the quality buildings remaining were built during the Third Reich whereas the poor-quality modern replacements are made using shoddy materials and unskilled labour. In the East food is rationed and when it can be obtained its basic and dull. Personal freedoms are also controlled with a night-time curfew in place. For some it is as if the war continues.

Men in the main are misogynist wielders of power, determined to get what they want. When it comes to women this is via sexual harassment, coercion or rape. Here sex is just another commodity, not something to be given away for nothing if it can be bartered for something of value. Not outright prostitution but a means for women to provide for themselves and survive. The faint echoes of the spring of 1945 when the Red Army unleased a tsunami of rape and pillage in revenge for atrocities against their people. Brutality begats more brutality.

We also see the corruption within the State apparatus. There is a thriving black market for goods with severe penalties for those who are caught, but many of those benefitting are the very people in control. Where a black marketeer can be murdered in cold blood by high-ranking officers with no retribution. Where those in power be it within the party apparatus or the various security services are a new bourgeoisie with access to luxury whilst ordinary folk must live on cabbage soup. For many people paranoia prevails as it could be your neighbours or even your friends who inform on you to the Stasi. Once under scrutiny the chances of a fair trial and clean slate are slim.

As a central character Uta is engaging, with her pragmatism and intelligence. She is perceptive enough to see a future, an opportunity and to carry out a plan. Isolde is the tragic heroine of novels of the past, her fate seemingly preordained but to die at the hands of others rather than incurable disease. Christoph is one of the few good men in the novel, an idealist but essentially a weak man. Lorenz Bauss is the most intriguing character of all. He seems to be the embodiment of evil, state-controlled evil at that, and even muses “…is anyone wicked without reason” but also holds capacity for compassion. His motivation seemingly driven by the rejection of Susanne all those years ago. He does find solace but with much collateral damage along the way.

There are nuggets of humour amidst the dark. These being both observational and situational, those created by the absurdity of the position the East German people find themselves in. Despite their suffering the need for humans to find light relief.

The East German Police Girl is a very atmospheric and evocative read with beautifully descriptive passages of a grimy life in a dark and dangerous time but with the promise of a brighter future for some.

The East German Police Girl can be purchased direct from the publishers here

The author

Natalia Pastukhova was born in Saint Petersburg on the day it reacquired that name. She read English and Italian at university before joining the Russian security services and working abroad.

She enjoys archery, writing, playing the violin badly and spending most of her time in England.

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The Siege

By John Sutherland https://policecommander.wordpress.com/ @policecommander

Published by Orion Publishing Group https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/ @orion_crime @orionbooks

356 pages ISBN 9781398707566

Publication date 23 June 2022

I was allowed access to a pdf review copy on Net Galley https://www.netgalley.com/ @NetGalley.  Thanks to the author and publisher for organising this.

From the blurb

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?

Synopsis

Lee James Connor is a disaffected young man, still haunted by the death of his mother, who exists in a twilight world of the internet and skunk cannabis, cut off from society. He survives on benefits and a regular allowance paid by a father he despises. He wants to make a big statement with his life.

Lee researches and makes detailed plans to take hostages. He’s run through the plans so many times in his head, he done visualisation exercises and even a dry run. He’s convinced nothing can go wrong.

Arriving at the church hall he discovers fewer people around than expected its parents evening at the local school. That means there are fewer hostages to exploit, but also fewer to control. Still feeling positive about his chances, he puts his plan into action.

Despite all his planning there is one thing he didn’t bargain for, the effects of personal interactions during the evening. Lee tries to keep himself apart, but negotiator Alex is determined to talk him out of the siege and hostage Grace tries to befriend him on a human level and make him question his motives.

My thoughts

This is a tight and tense novel concentrating on the psychological effects of close confinement in a hostage situation on the hostages, the hostage taker and those in law enforcement who battle to contain the situation and resolve it. As a police procedural it is convincingly put together, as one would expect from an author writing from experience. Who knew post-it notes would play such an important part in proceedings? It is no mere police procedural though it is much deeper than that.

The plot is straightforward, a hostage situation covered from the start to the finish with no deviation, so it remains focussed throughout. The pacing is steady as befits a real-life situation, only taking on a degree of urgency as matters come to a head.

The structuring rejects the conventional chapters rather switching from the point of view narrative of the three principal characters. So we see the position from Alex, Grace and Connor’s perspective. (Interestingly Lee is referred to by his surname Connor apart from three of four sections where he is identified on a more personal level as Lee.) This works well as it is just important to know what these characters are thinking as well as what they are saying. The dialogue itself is on the whole low key as befits people trying to control a situation, though there are some standout exchanges between Grace and Lee which cut the heart of the matter.

Concentrating on three main characters keeps the storyline tight and allows for a detailed inspection of their motivations. We see how Lee is radicalised online, becomes consumed with hate, mainly directed at immigrants, but also the deep-seated catalyst for this. Alex has just returned from a negotiation that didn’t work out how he wanted, the hostage taker resorting to ‘suicide by cop’ at the end. Although not fault of Alex he carries the burden of this heavily. The most interesting character of all is that of Grace who became widowed at a young age and is battling with loneliness. In trying to understand and empathise with people, even Lee the hostage taker, we can see how she finds her inner strength and fortitude in adversity, something I think we can all take from reading this.

The central theme is not allowing hate to triumph over good. It is easy to fall into a default mode of hate rather than taking time to understand people and situations. We see this as Grace tries to reach Lee using the words of Martin Luther King, expressing that if she was to meet Lee’s hatred for her with more hate then they would get nowhere. We also have the warning of online radicalisation and that it is just as likely to affect disaffected white youths as Muslim religious extremists. There is also the issue of super strong cannabis which can damage the psyche of users. This is considerably different to the cannabis establishment members may have dabbled with in their youth, much more potent and dangerous.

The Siege is a tightly plotted intense read that also demonstrates people have the capacity for great compassion.

The Siege can be purchased from various outlets via the publisher’s web site here

The author

Picture from author’s website

John Sutherland is a father of three who lives with his wife and children in south London. For more than twenty-five years he served as an officer in the Metropolitan Police, rising to the rank of Chief Superintendent before his retirement on medical grounds in 2018. John is a sought after public speaker and commentator on a broad range of issues, who regularly appears on TV and radio and writes for major newspapers. His first book, BLUE, written and published while he was still serving in the Met, was a Sunday Times bestseller. It tells the remarkable stories of his policing life and describes his long road to recovery following the serious nervous breakdown that ended his operational policing career.

Dirty Little Secret

By Jonathan Peace https://www.jpwritescrime.com/

Published by Hobeck Books https://www.hobeck.net/

305 pages ISBN 9781838486129

Publication date 31 May 2022

Dirty Little Secret is the first novel in the DC Louise Miller series.

I was sent an electronic copy to enable me to take part in this Blog Tour. I would like to thank Rebecca at Hobeck Books and the author for the invitation to participate.

From the blurb

Yorkshire. Late 1980s. Louise Miller is just settling into her new home community before starting a new job as a female detective constable. Out running one morning she discovers a murder victim in a phone box. She is instantly on the case, searching for justice for the victim. However she also needs to try to establish herself in a male dominated police culture…

Synopsis

When Louise Miller finds a young girl’s body in a telephone box whilst out for a run her training quickly kicks in and she sets about securing the scene and contacting her new colleagues. She hasn’t even officially started and already male officers are treating her dismissively.

The girl is identified as Joanna Greene just as her parents finally decide to report her missing after three days. The victim’s home life was far from the ideal loving happy family and she was suffering psychologically with night paralysis and disturbed sleep. Investigation leads to the support group Joanna attended and the forthright psychologist Karla Hayes. Miller and Hayes clash at first but there is a thawing in their relationship and Miller feels a connection with her.

As well as a murder investigation on her hands Miller also comes up against local low-life racist thug and wife beating bully Terry Jacobs but proves she is quite capable of looking after herself.

When a second young girl from the support group goes missing there is fear in the community and the pressure on the team to get a result is increased. Miller is aware that PC Craig Johnson attends the same support group, though he kept the fact quiet. Was his silence due to embarrassment or an indication of guilt as his behaviour seems to spiral out of control? Miller must tread carefully to maintain the limited goodwill and respect she has been shown by her colleagues, but will she ever be accepted as one of their own?

My thoughts

The first book in a new series can be a little tricky; too much background and the storyline is lost whereas not enough and you might not get the emotional buy-in for your main character. Here I think the author has achieved a nice balance we know Louise is returning to her hometown where she was fostered by her aunt and uncle after her parents died. She’s quickly into the action of the story and bonding with PC Elizabeth Hines who manages to discover she is a lesbian. So here we have a likeable character and the promise of interesting reveals to come.

The setting of the series in Ossett in West Yorkshire allows for that small town feel, insular and a little left behind the mainstream. If Wakefield can be described as Sin City you can get a true feel of the sleepy backwater Ossett is, though not immune to violence and dark deeds behind closed doors.

The late 1980s will appeal to many readers, near enough for us to remember but far enough back to preclude some modern techniques (notably DNA) so that its old-school old-fashioned detection work. No doubt as the series progresses the breakthroughs will be introduced. There are social and cultural refences to anchor the plot in time, but these have been well judged and neither take over the story or become a bore. So, we learn of the tributes to the death of Wally Batty (Joe Gladwin) in The Last of the Summer Wine and Louise being partial to a bit of Huey Lewis and the News, as many were, though I can categorically state that in East Hull it never was ‘Hip to be Square.’

The other aspect of the time setting is those were certainly unenlightened times especially for women in a male dominated workplace. The interaction of Hines and Miller promises two women against adversity, a sort of West Yorkshire Thelma and Louise in a panda car. There’s some great dialogue, the mens insults and put downs are to be expected (here somewhat toned down I would imagine) though I was expecting a little more of the Yorkshire dialect and strange words that nobody else uses. There’s humour too with Sgt Harolds’ 6 pairs of boots in 30 years all half a size too small and Maltby being nicknamed ‘Brickhouse’ though these have been used sparingly which considering the themes is a wise decision.

The plot is dark and disturbing, some might find parts a little harrowing, but all the time Mr Peace manages to stay on the right side of the line of taste. Crimes against children are always highly charged and emotive have been confidently handled here.

Dealing with the disadvantaged in society in fiction can be problematic but here the author has shown restraint and balance. Some are real scumbags, others struggling with problems and just trying to survive and some just unlucky. All are given some degree of humanity and indeed compassion, meaning there are no 2D characters there just to be objects of hate. All strata of society hold good and bad people and Mr Peace has nailed it here.

An excellent dark police procedural with menacing undertones that has you waiting for the next instalment.

Dirty Little Secret can be purchased direct form the publisher here

The author

Jonathan Peace is a husband, cat-dad and author of the WDC Louise Miller novels.

A Yorkshire lad at heart, Jonathan sets his gritty psychological police procedurals in a fictionalised version of his hometown during the 1980s. The first book, Dirty Little Secret is due to be released this year by Hobeck Books, with the second in the series, From Sorrow’s Hold publishing later in 2022.

​He is currently writing the third book while finishing a degree in creative writing at Derby University.

​He now lives and works out of his home in Derbyshire, where he shares his writing office with his author wife, Lucy, and their three cats.

Jonathan is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association.

Don’t forget to check out some of the other stops on this Blog Tour