The Boat Trip

By Heather J Fitt @HeatherJFitt

Published by Bloodhound Books https://www.bloodhoundbooks.com/ @Bloodhoundbook

256 pages ISBN TBA

Publication date 26 June 2023

I was sent an electronic copy to enable me to take part in this Blog Tour. I would like thank Heather Fitt for the invitation to join and of course the Publisher.

The Cover

A yacht caught in the vastness of a boiling ocean. A very striking cover with the various shades of blue and blue/green.

From the blurb

Duchess is about to set sail from Scotland to St. Lucia. But before she even leaves port, a crew member storms off in anger. It’s only the first in a series of events that will beset Helen, the skipper, her best friend, and the remaining crew.

During a port of call in the Canary Islands, an experienced sailor is found badly beaten onshore. As a replacement, Helen calls in her son—despite objections from her crew who know of his unsavory reputation. Then, a near-fatal allergic reaction raises the tension level—and finally, during a fierce storm, someone goes overboard.

Is this a run of bad luck or is one person at the heart of the turmoil and violence? And if so, can the culprit be identified before they reach the Caribbean?

My thoughts

Despite spending much of my working career at a group of companies specialising in supplying ships and providing marine safety products, I hate boats. I can get seasick in a rowing boat on East Park boating lake and the last time I took the North Seas ferry back from Rotterdam in a force 10 storm I was like the character from ‘The Raft of The Medusa’ that Théodore Géricault forgot to paint, as I clung onto my mattress for dear life. I’m told modern cruise liners are brilliant, but I remain unconvinced and after reading The Boat Trip I can’t imagine any trip soon.

The start is rather bold, as the reader comes across the yacht skipper Helen in hospital with two broken legs. She is fretting about the future and rueing her recent past, the trip that caused all the trouble. Here she lays out the mistakes she made, which gives away some of the plot but piques the interest rather than puts you off. There are a great many secrets within and these are gradually exposed throughout the story, making it quite a page turner.

Essentially this is a story about human frailty; about making mistakes and not learning from them, not being able to put right wrongs and not taking heed of the warning signs. Helen’s biggest mistake is the reason behind her taking the assignment on. She thought it would be a straightforward task, where she is out of harms way and can earn some easy money. It transpires that the trip provides none of this. The second major error was to involve her son Danny. The original plan was for son Connor to be a crew member, but when Hugo is laid low in Gran Canaria she decides to rope in Danny at short notice to fill the gap. Connor is a nice young man; Danny is a waster who has ending up with a life in crime and to whom a trip to the Caribbean provides ‘opportunities.’

The novel is very much in the psychological realm, as ten people are corralled on a boat together in the middle of the vast Atlantic Ocean with only a satellite phone to contact the outside world, when in range. Crew members fall out with each other, tensions mount, tempers fray and accusations fly. When one of their number is lost at sea, ‘man overboard’ it is originally seen as a terrible accident, but after time doubts form. Is there a killer in their midst, was what happened back in Gran Canaria connected? The tension and paranoia here is where the story telling excels and nicely judged by not being overplayed.

I’ve already set out my lack of sailing credentials, but the nautical side felt credible to me without becoming too specialist and boring. It certainly brings home the need for crews to be a team, to work together and foster a sense of harmony. They are together twenty-four-seven for several weeks, with no place to escape, it can be like a floating prison with no exercise yard. Trivial falling outs prove difficult, the vitriolic arguments onboard Duchess prove almost insurmountable. Here there is plenty of dialogue as home truths are delivered and prejudices aired, though one member appears to be taking it in their stride on the periphery. If anything was missing it is perhaps a bit of black humour to defuse the tensions, but the nearest we got to that was some glib comments by Danny.

No trip across the Atlantic should be plain sailing, so the reader is treated to the seasickness of the Bay of Biscay followed by a humdinger of a storm mid-crossing. This bit is excellent as we can see all the preparations needed before the storm hits as well as the exhilaration of sailing through it. Helen has a particularly tough time, battling the storm, her crew and trying to find the MOB member. Thankfully she doesn’t have to resort to the ‘custom of the sea’ which would be too much to swallow.

The core theme is family and protecting the ones you love. Helen’s friend Erin is beating herself up over the death of her daughter Rhea, whilst Helen’s deep maternal instinct is to try and protect Danny, whereas for the rest of the crew there isn’t a boat hook long enough to keep him safely at bay.

A Boat Trip should be a nice holiday, but for some it’s their personal Hell. An excellent fast paced psychological thriller examining human frailty.

The Boat Trip can be purchased via Amazon here

The author

Heather was born in Scotland and after moving around Europe with her parents and sister, settled in Hampshire where she met her husband, Stuart.

After leaving the rat-race in 2018, Heather re-trained as an editor and proof-reader and entered the world of publishing. These days she works as a part-time freelancer and a part-time Commissioning Advisor for Bloodhound.

Heather was inspired to start writing her novel by the authors who have become her closest friends. Now the ideas are flowing she has plans to write several more over the coming years.

When she isn’t reading, Heather enjoys spending her time watching sport –­ especially her beloved rugby – and exploring the British countryside with Stuart.

Don’t forget to check out the other reviews on this Blog Tour:

Chemical Code #FionaErskine #ChemicalCode

By Fiona Erskine http://thechemicaldetective.com @erskine_fiona

Published by Point Blank https://oneworld-publications.com/imprint/point-blank/ @PointBlankCrime (an imprint of Oneworld Publications)

432 pages ISBN 780861542031

Publication date 29 June 2023

Chemical Code is the fourth novel in the Jaq Silver thriller series.

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

The Cover

A cautious but confident woman approaching the Brazilian jungle. Nice cover, I like the colour scheme and the subliminal message it carries.

From the blurb

Racing towards the dark heart of Brazil, explosives expert Jaq Silver has one goal – vengeance. When her enemies take what she treasures most, she resolves to make them pay. Unsure who to trust, alert to hidden agendas, Jaq is hunting solo. As summer temperatures rise, the web of danger and corruption tightens around her. What is in the mysterious box, Jaq has inherited from her grandmother? Can Jaq be sure she is chasing down the right target? And who is pursuing her?

My thoughts

Chemical Code is a novel that starts much as it intends to carry on. An apparent routine visit, to speak to the owner a factory that produces ethanol from sugar cane, proves nothing of the kind for Dr Jaq Silver. She is captured in the car park by three men. An attempted escape leads to a fight, escape followed by a discharge of toxic gas, entertainingly gruesome death and an all-out chase that sees Jaq train surfing. All of that in the first 10 pages. Phew. If that doesn’t grab thriller fans, I’m not sure what will.

From here the storyline follows two time periods, the first-person reflections of Jaq and one following multiple characters covering the events six weeks earlier until the two combine. There’s rather a lot to take in and digest with a broad cast of characters who are helpfully listed in the front of the book. Many of these have appeared in the earlier novels of the series so will be familiar to existing readers, new readers shouldn’t be put off though as it is very accessible as a starting point.

Jaq Silver is the principal character, but she does take a back seat for large portions of the storyline as we follow the exploits of Trainee Federal Police Agent Graҫa Neves. She is much maligned and very much bottom of the Agency food chain, and we meet her with instructions to not let a Harley Davidson motorcycle out of her sight. There is a major distraction and Graҫa is made scapegoat. At this point things become interesting for both her and the reader and it becomes difficult to avoid spoilers.

The pacing is rapid, with action scenes regularly interspaced. Much of the storyline follows a pattern of hunter and hunted, with these flipping in some cases, some develop into chases, others into set piece scenarios, ambushes, that don’t always go to plan. Jaq is a woman wanted by many, but one determined to do what she set out to do, can she achieve it before they catch up with her?

Jaq Silver is a magnificent creation, a strong woman working in a hostile male dominated environment. A chemical engineer with a natural aptitude for explosives and an eye for attractive athletic men, she’s full on in everything she does, and big bangs ensue. Courageous to the point of recklessness and determined to the point of obsession, her strengths can prove to be weaknesses after all. This woman ends up in hot water more often than the average Japanese snow monkey, but still manages to come out smelling of roses. Her brilliant analytical mind and cool head prove to be her saviours, but what if one day she reads the runes wrong. As she discovers you need all the facts to make the right decisions, she is not perfect.

Graҫa is a great foil as the maligned trainee who eventually proves her worth. It is through her and her observations that the reader gets the flavour of Brazil, the one away from the affluent beachfront, the hard-working people away from the barrios. The scenes with her grandmother enjoying a simple family meal and company are quite touching. Whereas, the destruction, corruption and paramilitary control is only too real.

Jaq’s enemies are a delicious combination of the mad, bad and dangerous to know. Ex boss Frank has taken corporate greed to the level of becoming a sociopath albeit a high functioning one, Colonel Cub who is head of RIMPO (the paramilitary protectors of the miners) is straight of Bond Villain central casting and deserved a novel of his own. Vicious and nasty with little regard for life, but totally believable in some of the lawless states.

For such a big country Brazil is probably underrepresented in crime fiction, but here the author has managed to create a broad vivid picture of a vast, ecologically important, and unique country. Jaq journeys into the heartland by train and jeep, visits shanty towns and mine works that scar the landscape. Mining is a dangerous and dirty job in highly regulated western nations, here we get a sense of life for the illegal unregulated garimpeiros miners. Deprived men working in unimaginable conditions, desperate for a life changing find but likely to get an early grave. In the research notes at the back of the book there is reference to a photographic exhibition that proved the inspiration which I recommend accessing (link here), awe inspiring whilst at the same time chilling to the core.

What makes Fiona Erskine’s writing a real tour de force is the ability to write a real kick-ass thriller that contains technical information, hammering home serious points, that the reader absorbs almost subliminally. There is no posturing or lecturing, it’s never boring or dumbed down. In the Chemical Code we get a precis of the dangers of mining, the damage it does to the landscape, flora, fauna and man. She is clearly proud of being a chemical engineer and hopefully this series will inspire young and gifted men and particularly women to become involved. Some still picture engineers as men in cloth caps like Fred Dibnah hitting things with big hammers, but time as moved on and we need skilled and creative engineers more than ever before.

Chemical Code is a fabulously intelligent thriller that flips the usual dynamic, with a feisty chemical engineer as heroine and a serious message at its core. This combination of imparting scientific knowledge with arch villainy is surely unique and very entertaining.

Chemical Code can be purchased direct from the publisher here

The author

Fiona Erskine is a professional engineer based in Teesside, although her work has taken her around the globe. As a female engineer, she has often been the lone representative of her gender in board meetings, cargo ships and night-time factories, and her fiction offers a fascinating insight into this traditionally male world. She is the author of The Chemical Detective, The Chemical Reaction and The Chemical Cocktail, all published by Point Blank. The Chemical Detective was shortlisted for the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award and The Chemical Reaction was shortlisted for the Staunch Prize in 2020.

Don’t forget to check out the other reviews on the Blog Tour:

The Tumbling Girl

By Bridget Walsh @bridget_walsh1

Narrated by Jasmine Blackborow @JazziBlackborow

Published by Gallic Books https://belgraviabooks.com/pb/ @BelgraviaB, Bolinda Audio bolinda.com @Bolindaaudio

287 pages (10 hours 20 minutes) ISBN 9781038642516

Publication date 25 May 2023

The Tumbling Girl is the first book Variety Palace Mysteries series.

I was allowed access to an audio review copy on Net Galley https://www.netgalley.com/ @NetGalley.  Thanks to the Author and Bolinda Audio for organising this.

The Cover

Pure Victoriana, its perfect.

From the blurb

1876, Victorian London. Minnie Ward, the feisty scriptwriter for the Variety Palace Music Hall, is devastated when her best friend is found brutally murdered. She enlists the help of private detective Albert Easterbrook to help her find justice, even though he already has his hands full trying to catch the notorious Hairpin Killer.

Together they navigate London, from its high-class clubs to its murky underbelly. But as the bodies pile up, Albert’s burgeoning feelings for his amateur partner start to interfere…

The narration

I loved the narration; she demonstrated a great range of voices and had the working-class ones like Minnie down to a tee. Also, I had the feeling that she was enjoying what she was doing which adds to the pleasure.

My thoughts

Variety theatre was the entertainment of the masses during the Victorian era and a chance for toffs to rub shoulders with the hoi-polloi, experience a frisson of danger before returning to the safety of their townhouse or mansion. A happy hunting ground for the rich and influential to partake in some decadent behaviour and take advantage of vulnerable working class show girls. It spawned a phenomena known as ‘Whitechapel Tourism’ before the dark days of the summer of 1888. A hotbed of vice and melodrama, the perfect setting for a modernised ‘Penny Dreadful’. Think ‘The Good old Days’ but an episode where Leonard Sachs gets bludgeoned in the interval with his gavel, and I think there’s a few people who fancied having a go at that over the years.

The failure of the authorities to investigate the death of a performer, Rose a young acrobat from the local variety theatre, merely chalking it down as a suicide, is a clear indication of the attitudes prevalent at the time. Some would argue that for some, like prostitutes they are not much better this century. Friend Minnie and Rose’s mother are determined to prove that it was a case of murder, but what can two women do in this man’s world. They enlist the help of a private detective, in this case Albert is a true gentleman detective, a loner who reluctant to find Minnie inserting herself into his investigation. He’s a soft-hearted truth seeker with a lot to learn about backstage life but Minnie is the perfect guide and along the way they both learn important things about themselves and each other.

Albert comes from a family of wealth and influence. He proves to be a disappointment to them when he decides to be a policeman, prompting as much opprobrium for this choice as he might if he came from a family of crooks. After some years of service in the force, he leaves to become a consulting detective. From a business point of view, he is too much of a soft touch, failing to charge the going rate, so it is a good job he has private funds to fall back on. His housekeeper Mrs Burn helps to keep him focused as well as seeing to his household needs and giving advice and imparting wisdom. It is she who warns him about letting opportunities slip through his fingers.

Minnie is a kind-hearted young woman who hides it under tough carapace thanks to a torrid upbringing and formative years, that ultimately led to a life on stage. No longer performing herself, she writes material for other performers, such as songs and sketches, as well being an unpaid de facto second in command to ‘Tansie’ (Mr Tansford) the owner of the Variety Palace Theatre.

Being the first novel in a planned series there is a fair degree of scene setting and background to be absorbed, but much of this has been cleverly absorbed into the storyline. Here we discover the motivation behind Albert’s career choice and the reasons why Minnie ended up on the stage only to eventually give it up.

The setting in the variety theatre is a stroke of genius as it provides great opportunity to change the narrative flow with interludes. These shows were incredibly popular and offered true variety even dipping into the territory of the other contemporary entertainment of the circus freak show. So, a one-legged dancer and the Mexican boneless wonder can easily be incorporated into the bill and moments of great levity are provided by a true cheeky monkey. A primate destined for literary stardom or perhaps more accurately notoriety!

The investigation is involved and quite twisty as suspects are eliminated. Naturally expect surprises, shocks and a little theatrical deception. A key aspect is a stanhope, no not a Northeast detective called Vera, but a piece of jewellery that hides a viewer for an enclosed microscopic photograph of a loved one. A true piece of Victorian ingenuity.

The principal motivation is the exercise of power. Power that becomes drug like, with a bigger fixed needed each time, which means bigger risks, but also the smug sense of satisfaction knowing that you are going to get away with it.

The writing is upbeat and the story skips along nicely. The dialogue is great, with Minnie getting some fabulous cutting remarks in, I think it is this that makes it work so well as an audiobook.

The Tumbling Girl brings the golden period of variety theatre vividly to life, only to remind us that gory death was never far away in Victorian England. A lovely new series for fans of historical crime fiction to enjoy.

The Tumbling Girl can be purchased via the publisher here

The Bolinda Audiobook that I listened to can be purchased from Audible here

The author

I was born in London and now live in Norwich with my husband and two dogs. After a degree in English Literature, and a few abortive career choices, I found my home as an English teacher for 23 years. I completed my PhD in Victorian domestic murder at London University in 2009, but my fascination with Victorian crime never left me. In 2019 I completed the Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) MA at UEA where I was awarded the David Higham Scholarship and received the UEA Little, Brown Award for Crime Fiction. I am represented by Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann.

The Tumbling Girl, the first in a series of crime novels set in the 1870s and featuring an intrepid, working-class heroine and her somewhat posher sidekick, will be published by Gallic in 2023.

Source: Goodreads profile

The narrator

Jasmine is currently shooting as Charly in Guy Ritchie’s THE GENTLEMEN for Netflix opposite Theo James and Joely Richardson.

She plays the Princesse de Lamballe in MARIE ANTOINETTE penned by Deborah Davis for CAPA Drama, Banijay Studios France, the BBC and CANAL+.

Other recent credits include Marie in SHADOW & BONE for Netflix, independent feature films SCHOOL’S OUT FOREVER for Rebellion Productions, THE ART OF LOVE on Netflix and the BAFTA nominated short AAMIR.

Theatre credits include THE BREACH directed by Sarah Frankcom at Hampstead Theatre and most recently the lead role in SUPER HIGH RESOLUTION directed by Blanche McIntyre to rave reviews.

Source: Management company Accelerate Management

Blood on the Shore #SimonMcCleave #BloodOnTheShore

By Simon McCleave http://www.simonmccleave.com @simon_mccleave

Published by Avon Books UK https://www.avonbooks.co.uk/ @AvonBooksUK (an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers)

320 pages ISBN 9780008524883

Publication date 22 June 2023

Blood on the Shore is the third novel in the Anglesey Crime Series, featuring DI Laura Hart.

I was kindly sent an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for a fair review. My thanks to Ella and the team at the Publisher and of course the Author for arranging this.

The cover

An arresting cover, blood on the boards, sunset or sun rise at a secluded beach, with a strap line that punches straight to the gut.

From the blurb

The beautiful Isle of Anglesey has been rocked by the brutal murders of three female students at a local college. DI Laura Hart is called in to track down the murderer – who the papers have dubbed the Anglesey Ripper – before he strikes again.

She quickly identifies a suspect but just as she is about to pounce, he slips through her fingers.

Laura and the Beaumaris CID must pursue the serial killer across the island in an increasingly dangerous game of cat and mouse – but he’s always one step ahead of them. And soon, the hunters will become the hunted…

My thoughts

This is the first novel in the Anglesey Crime series I’ve read, but I would advise readers to start at the beginning with book 1 (The Dark Tide) to ensure maximum enjoyment. This is a series with a narrative thread running through it and whilst there are enough references to follow the storyline, I felt that I was missing out. Laura is an experienced officer with teenage children and has relocated to Anglesey following the murder of her husband and fellow officer Sam. It is this back story that runs through the series as Laura, with help from DCI Peter Marson, digs into what happened that evening. An unauthorised private investigation that revolves around crime gangs and corrupt police officers, one in which Laura is unsure who to trust.

To mangle the old football cliché this is a book of two parts or at least contrasting styles. What starts out as a relatively sedate police procedural leads to a disturbing revelation and then an explosion of action into a frantic all-out thriller. Skilfully executed, it certainly caught this reader off guard.

The serial killer is ever popular in crime fiction, and whilst their more natural habitat is the United States and California in particular, we have had a few in the United Kingdom. Its fiction, so anything goes, but for me the more theatrical ones belong in Tinseltown, over here our mass murderers seem to be dourer and more mundane. In Blood on the Shore, we have just that a dull understated murderer, the sort you wouldn’t suspect which makes him all the scarier for it. He does possess some charm, but he’s no Ted Bundy, what he is best at is using an easy going, persuasive manner, the sort that has you thinking no don’t get in the car.

The motivation behind the killing spree is explained, and it’s sickening and downright disturbing. It should prompt a degree of sympathy and understanding for a genuine psychopathy, but there is no attempt at trying to create some antihero element like Hannibal Lecter. This murderer is very self-aware and unabashed, a true sociopath who has moved from killing for the psychological relief to just killing for pleasure. A murderer who now will kill anyone who stands in his way. The murders are graphic but lack the real visceral edge which put some readers off.

Fans of the true crime genre will appreciate some of the references to real life killers. He might have been named ‘The Anglesey Ripper’ in the fictional media, but these modern references anchor it to the present day and demonstrate policing errors of the past.

The action is well conceived and at times beautifully executed, making it a true thriller. Elements will surprise the reader, and there’s the sense that there’s always a bit more to come, which never allows you to settle. Its real edge of the seat stuff and once the action ramps up many readers will read on until the finish.

Anglesey initially strikes as an odd place to host a crime series, but it is cleverly used in this case, limiting the size of the ‘manhunt’ but also managing to confine the area of the action. It also provides a myriad of opportunities for settings that are not open to more urban settings. Laura may well have moved there for a new start that is a quieter and safer environment for her family, but violence can occur anywhere.

My copy out in the wild, a sunny morning on the Humber

As the main protagonist Laura is engaging and one who will find reader empathy, with her unusual almost tangible tether to the past. The love for her family is clear as is her determination to protect them, which makes her a formidable character. The unresolved question remains, will her determination to unearth the past end up haunting her, some things are best left in the past. This is the hook dangled to convince readers to follow the series, and it is an effective one at that.

The hunt for a disturbing serial killer Blood on the Shore will have you on the edge of your seat. An exhilarating thriller.

Blood on the Shore can be purchased through the publisher’s website here

The author

Simon McCleave is a million-selling crime novelist who lives in North Wales with his wife and two children.

Before he was an author, Simon worked as a script editor at the BBC and a producer at Channel 4 before working as a story analyst in Los Angeles. He then became a script writer, writing on series such as Silent Witness, The Bill, EastEnders and many more. His Channel 4 film Out of the Game was critically acclaimed and described as ‘an unflinching portrayal of male friendship’ by Time Out.

His first book, The Snowdonia Killings, was released in January 2020 and soon became an Amazon Bestseller, reaching No 1 in the UK Chart and selling over 350,000 copies. His twelve subsequent novels in the DI Ruth Hunter Snowdonia Series have all ranked in the Amazon Top20, with most of them hitting the top of the digital charts. He has sold 1.5 million books to date.

The Dark Tide, Simon’s first book in an Anglesey based crime series for publishing giant Harper Collins (Avon), was a major hit in 2022. Reaching Amazon’s UK top ten, it became the highest selling Waterstone’s Welsh Book of the Month ever. In Too Deep, the second book on the series was released in January 2023. Blood on the Shore is the third book in the Anglesey series.

The Snowdonia based DI Ruth Hunter books are now set to be filmed as a major new television series, with shooting to begin in North Wales in 2024.

The Murder of Anton Livius #HansjörgSchneider #TheMurderOfAntonLivius

By Hansjörg Schneider

Translated by Astrid Freuler @AstridFreuler

Published by Bitter Lemon Press https://www.bitterlemonpress.com/ @bitterlemonpub

232 pages 9781913394875

Publication date 15 June 2023

The Murder of Anton Livius is the third in the Inspector Peter Hunkeler series to be translated into english.

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

The cover

A man walking through a snowbound forest, indicative of Hunkeler’s search for the truth.

From the blurb

Inspector Hunkeler is summoned back to Basel from his New Year holiday to unravel a gruesome killing in an allotment garden on the city’s outskirts. An old man has been shot in the head and found in his garden shed hanging from a butcher’s hook.

Hunkeler must deal not only with the quarrelsome tenants of the garden but with the challenges of investigating a murder that has taken place outside his jurisdiction, across the French border in Alsace. The clues lead to the Emmental in Berne, and then events from the last weeks of the Second World War in Alsace come to light, the wounds of which have never healed in the region.

My thoughts

The adage is that ‘a change is as good as a rest’ and this surely holds true for reviewing books. The Murder of Anton Livius delivers two things a little bit different, the setting and the prose style.

The novel is set in and around the city of Basel. Many people know (football fans especially) that Basel is a city in Switzerland but how many realise its unique position. Basel is situated right on the border between Switzerland and France but also bordering Germany. This is central to the novel as Inspector Hunkeler crosses the border frequently. The victim is found on allotments, but these encroach into France and so become the responsibility of the police in Alsace to investigate.

The prose style is probably more in keeping with novels of the past and readers who concentrate on more modern novels may find it a little bit staid. Whether this is down to the age of the author and the creative influences of his past is unclear. The cover mentions several possible influences, for me it reminded me of the Martin Beck novels (written by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö) of the late sixties. A little unusual perhaps but no bad thing in our hurried modern world.

The investigation is set in the current (first published in Germany in 2007) but has clear links back to the war years as Hunkeler’s investigation progresses. In determining who would murder Anton Livius it becomes necessary for Hunkeler to discover who the man really was. Not entirely clear from the start it gets more complex as it becomes apparent that this is an assumed identity and answers may be found during the wartime years. He finds difficulty in establishing the facts of this period, essentially down to the reluctance of people who were around at the time to talk. There is the pervading sense that people have moved on and just want to bury their past. Otherwise, how can harmony be achieved in an area where three countries abut, and people need to get on with their everyday lives. Hunkeler is determined to get to the truth though and the only others interested are some young hackers who, with no demons to fight, now go searching for them in a past that is not theirs.

The setting adds another level of complexity as we experience the co-operation, or rather lack of it, between jurisdictions set in different countries along with the police and prosecutor dynamic that seems so alien to Anglo Saxon countries. Hunkeler seems the only man able to navigate between them using a mixture of flattery and persuasion, which is no mean feat. There is the added complication of the timing too, New Years Day onwards, as there are holidays as well as heavy snowfall to hamper progress. Possessing skis and snow chains just seems exotic to this reader but is the norm in these countries.

This is a novel based upon dialogue and the investigative process rather than action. There is some urgency towards the end, but many scenes are set in cafes and restaurants with characters who enjoy their food and drink too much to rush.

Hunkeler is the careworn but dogged detective who is continually asking questions, following up leads and getting answers, at times by this persistence wearing people down. Doughty but not dour, he is quite affable and able to mingle well as we find him eating and drinking with allotment holders as well as prosecutors. A man almost too straightforward and likable to be the main protagonist in a modern crime novel, but it is this that makes the story work.

In The Murder of Anton Livius, a determined detective uncovers a truth nobody wanted revealing.

The Murder of Anton Livius can be purchased via the publisher’s website here

The author

Hansjörg Schneider lives in Basel and began his professional career as a journalist and essayist.
He is the author of a number of highly acclaimed plays and of the bestselling Hunkeler crime series, now with ten titles published.

The translator

Astrid Freuler lives in Lidney, Gloucestershire. She is a young translator from German and has published translations of non-fiction and fiction, including the crime thriller A Shadow Falls by Andreas Pflüger.

Don’t forget to check out the other reviews on this Blog Tour:

Voices of the Dead

By Ambrose Parry @ambroseparry

Published by Canongate Books https://canongate.co.uk/ @canongatebooks

416 pages ISBN 9781838855475

Publication date 15 June 2022

Voices of the Dead is the fourth novel in the Raven and Fisher Mystery series.

My review of A Corruption of Blood, the third novel in the series can be found here.

I was allowed access to a pdf review copy on Net Galley https://www.netgalley.com/ @NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I would like to thank Anne at Random Things Tours @RandomTTours for the invitation to participate in the Blog Tour and of course the Author and Publisher.

The Cover

Will Raven’s pocket watch, the only tangible memory of his father. Mesmerism is a key part of the storyline but unlike stage hypnotists there are no swinging pocket watches. A decorative cover but little dull if I’m honest.

From the blurb

Edinburgh, 1853.

In a city of science, discovery can be deadly . . .

In a time of unprecedented scientific discovery, the public’s appetite for wonder has seen a resurgence of interest in mesmerism, spiritualism and other unexplained phenomena. Dr Will Raven is wary of the shadowlands that lie between progress and quackery, but Sarah Fisher can’t afford to be so picky. Frustrated in her medical ambitions, she sees opportunity in a new therapeutic field not already closed off to women.

Raven has enough on his hands as it is. Body parts have been found at Surgeons’ Hall, and they’re not anatomy specimens. In a city still haunted by the crimes of Burke and Hare, he is tasked with heading off a scandal. When further human remains are found, Raven is able to identify a prime suspect, and the hunt is on before he kills again. Unfortunately, the individual he seeks happens to be an accomplished actor, a man of a thousand faces and a renowned master of disguise.

With the lines between science and spectacle dangerously blurred, the stage is set for a grand and deadly illusion . . .

My thoughts

We find Wilberforce now a married man, with a young son and a heavily pregnant wife. He should be happy, but he is strained, his son James is fractious, and it seems that when he is awake, if he is not crying or screaming then he is about to do so. Raven seems a trigger for this behaviour. Wife Eugenie can soothe James, but she is being worn down by it all. Raven exploits any excuse to be out just to get some peace. When he is home Eugenie is putting him under pressure to set up a practice of his own, her father is an eminent doctor, and she is used to the better things in life. Raven feels there is still much for him to learn from Dr Simpson, but it is his lack of funds that makes him reluctant to strike out on his own, he doesn’t want to borrow from Eugenie’s father and be beholden to him. This leaves Eugenie frustrated and she still has her doubts over Raven’s friendship with Sarah Fisher.

Sarah herself is frustrated at not being able to practice medicine in her own right. She is capable of so much more but cannot get beyond being a nurse. Developing branches of medicine are cut off from her, their practice being the sole preserve of gentlemen. Even the generous benefactor and supporter Catherine Crowe is unable to give her the necessary boost on the career ladder. Medicine is no place for ladies. When Sarah hears about a renown practitioner of mesmerism setting up in Edinburgh, she sees this as a possible opportunity not to be missed. Dr Simpson dabbled in it some years ago but if she can get involved and the science behind it is proved it could be the making of her.

Another fabulously atmospheric adventure set in nineteenth century Edinburgh, a city perfectly suited to the subject and a fabulous canvas to work with. The wealth and prestige of the New Town, the squalor and deprivation of the Old Town. The city becomes as much character in its own right and is beautifully created along with its cast of colourful, unscrupulous and at times deadly inhabitants.

The skill of the storytelling is the ability to incorporate real people and incidents into a fiction and at the same time keeping it entertaining and cogent. There was a mesmerism mania (one of many fads to sweep Victorian Britain) and McLevy did end up with a second career (as hinted at in the dialogue). Here fact and fiction meld together seamlessly and is embellished by fragments of everyday life that are almost tangible.

The plot can be distilled into the search for the identity of body parts that are found, the motive for the murder and ultimately uncover the murderer, but this being Edinburgh the shadow of the resurrectionists is never far away. This is merely the framework for an investigation, around it is woven a complex story of deceit, deception and misdirection. These are the days of the music hall, so there are showmen, magicians and performers throughout who all play their part. Some are incorrigible whilst others seek redemption. Will Sarah’s hopes for mesmerism flounder in a tidal wave of trickery and dishonesty?

This is a series where the characters continually develop as each instalment progresses. At the core remains the relationship between Sarah and Raven, it is this that binds everything together. Now just very good friends, they have an alliance which is drawn by intrigue and inevitably leads to danger. They could have been partners but for Raven’s fear of what marrying a maid would do to his fledgling medical career. They seem destined to spark off each other but never to flame, a classic will they, won’t they, as first Sarah marries and becomes widowed and then Raven marries. Whilst he flounders, Sarah is developing a special friendship with a man of lowly standing who is trying to climb the social ladder, seeing a bit of herself in his efforts to do so. Sarah’s battle for acceptance is a theme running throughout the series.

Once again Inspector McLevy and moneylender Callum Flint have key roles to play, but the focus is on the sad story of Gregor who works for Flint. Here the once formidable Gregor (who Raven originally called Gargantua) is close to death due to his medical condition. He manages to extract an important promise from Raven and in exchange manages to demonstrate humanity and impart unexpected wisdom. Raven faces great angst in trying to keep his side of the bargain and act upon advice given.

The story is carefully woven, moving at a gentle pace, until the point of Eugenie’s impending labour when it takes on a sudden urgency as the chapters get shorter and the danger begins to manifest. They face two simultaneous races against time and several people are placed in dangers way. Decisive action and bravery are required, but will they be enough?

Voices of the Dead is a beautifully imagined historical crime story, set in Victorian Edinburgh, that delivers action and insight in equal measure. Simply a superb series and a firm favourite of mine.

Voices of the Dead can be purchased via the Bookshop.org here

The authors

Ambrose Parry is the penname for two authors – the internationally
bestselling and multi-award-winning Chris Brookmyre and consultant
anaesthetist of twenty years’ experience, Dr Marisa Haetzman. Inspired by
the gory details Haetzman uncovered during her History of Medicine degree,
the couple teamed up to write a series of historical crime thrillers, featuring
the darkest of Victorian Edinburgh’s secrets. They are married and live in
Scotland. The Way of All Flesh, The Art of Dying and A Corruption of Blood
were shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year.
A Corruption of Blood was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger in 2022.

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Canticle Creek

By Adrian Hyland

Published by Ultimo Press https://ultimopress.com.au/ @ultimopress (an imprint of Hardie Grant Publishing) https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/books @HardieGrant

344 pages ISBN 97881761151163

Publication date 25 May 2023

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

#crimefiction #Australia #CanticleCreek #AdrianHyland #UltimoPress #environment #drought

The Cover

Simply beautiful. Art and artists play an important part in the novel so quite appropriate.

From the blurb

When Adam Lawson’s wrecked car is found a kilometre from Daisy Baker’s body, the whole town assumes it’s an open and shut case.

But Jesse Redpath isn’t from Canticle Creek. Where she comes from, the truth often hides in plain sight, but only if you know where to look. When Jesse starts to ask awkward questions, she uncovers a town full of contradictions and a cast of characters with dark pasts, secrets to hide and even more to lose.

As the temperature soars, and the ground bakes, the wilderness surrounding Canticle Creek becomes a powderkeg waiting to explode.

All it needs is one spark.

My thoughts

This is a novel with outsiders at its core. Jesse is from the Northern Territory but in essence is still an outsider, as she learns about becoming as one with the landscape from indigenous officer Danny Jakamarra. He is teaching her how to survive in a harsh environment and to love the land, she is receptive, and this will lead to greater acceptance. When Adam Lawson is found dead near Windmark after apparently murdering a local woman Daisy Baker, Jesse is both surprised and disturbed. Surprised because Adam was a talented artist, yes, he had got involved with criminal and anti-social acts, but that was more small-town boredom than anything vicious. She is disturbed because she was instrumental in him getting a suspended sentence, providing he worked at a roadhouse and lived with her father Sam, an artist. Adam quickly absconded from Sam’s, and this is the first they have heard about him. Even though the case against Adam appears cast-iron Jesse goes down to Windmark. Attending a gallery showing with her father providing the perfect cover to do some investigating of her own. But is this an attempt to salve her conscious or does she really believe they are just rubber stamping a convenient conclusion? Nobody would like to believe the murderer was a local.

Kenji Takada, a Japanese artist, was just passing through when he came across Canticle Creek, captivated he painted it and decided to put down roots and stay. Here he captures the landscape and leaves his own mark on the area. His daughter and granddaughter are the continuing strong influence on the area.

Nadia is also an outsider, originating from Bosnia, fleeing conflict with her mother but on her death being trafficked into a life of drugs and prostitution. A chance meeting with Nick Takada provides a window to another life with getting clean the goal, rehab and eventually love. Nadia is scarred by the life, physically and mentally, a small slight body with an almost ethereal presence. At her core though, Nadia is a survivor.

This is real bonza Aussie fiction suffused with the local language, laid back way of life, take it or leave it attitude and peculiar sense of humour. There are glimpses of life in the Northern Territory and indigenous encampments, small town Australia and the suburbs of Melbourne. There’s former Aussie Rules footballers, rough loggers, and part-timer firemen a close-knit community, but one that doesn’t always get along.

The plot is Jesse investigating the murder of Daisy and the resistance she comes up against. Criticism is difficult to take, doubly so when it comes from an outsider, but this outsider brings an objectiveness to play. Along with a stubborn persistence and a casual approach to danger this makes Jesse a loose canon to some, but eventually a grudging acceptance from others as they realise what a great cop she is.

Change plays an important role too. Nadia wants to change her life; Sam suddenly broadens his artistic horizons so late in life and Dom wants to redevelop the area to boost the local economy. At the same time there are those resistant to change and what it entails, the logging that scars the landscape and building work that destroys natural flora and fauna. Daisy Baker’s love of nature is clear from her artwork and activism, her murder was not the senseless crime it first appears. Seemingly disparate elements all skilfully woven into a storyline that is cautionary and modern but also with a rich vein of old-fashioned power and greed running through it.

 The vistas are sweeping and observed through an artist’s eye or on horseback. It’s a parched landscape though, like a tinderbox, drought is felt everywhere, a carless spark could lead to disaster.

The writing is fluid, slow and languid at times before a sudden burst of high activity and danger. The action is gripping, quite exhilarating, conveying a genuine sense of urgency and jeopardy. Life and death that almost feels tangible with some remarkably powerful, visceral and disturbing imagery at play.

To some Australia retains the image of harsh man’s world, but here it is strong, determined women who make the difference. Jesse, Nadia, and Possum follow Daisy’s lead and are more perceptive to what is going on and when it really matters possess the necessary courage. Brute strength is not always the answer, sometimes you need to listen to the message and act upon it before time ultimately runs out.

Canticle Creek is a brilliantly written police thriller that delivers a real sense of danger but also a powerful polemic on what man is doing to the environment. A novel deserving of a wide audience and certainly one of my favourite reads of the year.

Canticle Creek can be purchased from the Bookshop.org here

The author

Adrian Hyland is the award-winning author of Diamond Dove, Gunshot Road and Kinglake-350, which was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for non-fiction in 2012. His books have been published internationally, including in Britain and the US, and translated into a variety of languages, including German, French, Swedish and Czech.

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The Wood Life #MarkWood #TheWoodLife

By Mark Wood

Narrated by Mark Wood @MAWood33

Published by Clipper Audio (an imprint of WF Howes Ltd) https://www.wfhowes.co.uk/ @WFHowes

304 pages (7 hours 50 minutes) ISBN 9781004109678

Publication date 11 May 2023

The Wood Life is the winner of the 2023 sports book awards sports entertainment book of the year.

I was allowed access to an audio review copy on Net Galley https://www.netgalley.com/ @NetGalley.  Thanks to the Author and Publisher for organising this.

The cover

First impression from the cover, the man himself with that expression and raised eyebrow, this is going to an amusing quirky book. On this score I was not disappointed. Also, as a lover of puns is that something of a clever play on The Good Life?

From the blurb

Hallo – I’m Mark Wood. As an England and Durham cricketer who was born, raised and refined in Ashington, Northumberland, my life has been quite unique. Over the course of my career so far, I’ve won an Ashes and a World Cup in an international career that at the time of writing is going on seven years and counting.

Being a fast bowler like myself is up there with the toughest of all sporting pursuits, like being Tyson Fury’s punchbag or working behind the bar during the darts at Ally Pally.

Being a cricketer? There’s nothing like it. And doing it for England? Well, I’m lucky to call it a profession. There’s been a lot of hard work along the way. Plenty of sacrifices and pain to accompany the good times that make them all worthwhile.

I’ve been everywhere, from Barbados to Brisbane, Chester-le-Street to Chennai, waiting rooms to operating tables. I’ve played in some of the most exotic locations in the world and eaten margherita pizzas in every single one of them.

To be honest, it’s amazing I’ve waited this long to bring out my own self-help book.

The narration

As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, I’m not a fan of authors reading their own work, narration is a talent or skill that is better left to the professionals. Here though it is one of those exceptions, I would go so far as to say that I don’t think anyone could have done it any better. Mark Wood is a true original and that comes through on the audiobook, where there is a sense of mischief and fun, especially where he reads the comments of friends and colleagues. There is one piece where he is quoting Joe Root and he can barely do it without sniggering and snorting, here is a man having too much fun, but it is infectious.

My thoughts

A not-so-helpful self-help guide is a fair summary. It is more a case of how to survive in the modern world in general and cricket specifically. In this aspect it is quite personal, how he manages with his unique personality. Mark Wood comes over as a thoroughly likeable, well-adjusted albeit madcap man who surprisingly is tea total.

It is autobiographical in essence but is more anecdotal than settling out his life in a linear progression. Judging by this he is going to have a great second career on retiring, in the media or after dinner circuit. There are also interludes, comments by his family, friends and colleagues which add to the fun, prick his bubble, or keep him in is place. A foreword by his international captain Ben Stokes and an epilogue by comedian and podcast collaborator (Middle Please, Umpire) Miles Jupp book end it perfectly and are heartfelt tributes. In a world of sports superstardom, it is great to see such a sincere and grounded individual, a man proud of his background and family.

All sport has become so much more professional than even just a generation ago, with sports science, travel, preparation, and nutrition all regimented. Where cricket differs is that there is still an incredible amount of downtime to fill amongst all the action. Football and rugby players experience this boredom during World Cups, which last only four or five weeks, but when on tour cricketers are away from home for months on end. In professional cricket there are long periods of inactivity even within matches, such as when your team is batting or long days in the field. Non cricket fans may recall that a few years ago one cricketer even pretended to have an invisible pet horse with him on the outfield, yes that was this Mr Wood and a very entertaining story it turns out to be.

Time on their hands (there is a whole section on how to kill time) still leads to a bit of mischief which you can read about, and it also breeds superstition. Many sportsmen have some superstition, be it over they put boots on or being last out of the changing room. Here they are dialled up a few notches and it explains why someone would be sat on top of a washing machine in the laundry room during a World Cup final.

Most damaging of all though is the effects this has on a young family, the periods of separation and missing out on children growing up. Things may have got a little easier as families are allowed to join the tours at certain points and new technology with Zoom, but it is still a big sacrifice. This was really brought home during the Covid bubble period when cricket was restarted. Here we can see into the diary of a man who appreciates the rewards and sacrifice trade off and is trying to navigate it the best way he can and enjoy the journey. In this I wish him every success.

Why not sample a bit of madcap world of Mark Wood with The Wood Life, If the Ashes go the way of recent contests, we may well need it. I think even non cricket fans will enjoy this unique slant on life.

The Wood Life audiobook can be purchased via Amazon here and the hardback version via the Bookshop.org here

Middle Please, Umpire the cricket podcast can be found here

Relentless Melt

By Jeremy P Bushnell http://jeremypbushnell.com/ @jbushnell

Published by Melville House https://www.mhpbooks.com/ @melvillehouse

344 pages ISBN 9781685890322

Publication date 8 June 2023

I was sent a paperback proof copy to enable me to take part in this Blog Tour. I would like to thank Tom at the Publisher and the Author for the invitation.

The Cover

A faceless person in Edwardian style male dress, complete with walking stick and straw boater at a jaunty angle against a background of swirling colours. Odd and quite trippy for a book which is slightly out of the ordinary.

From the blurb

The year is 1909, and Artie Quick—an ambitious, unorthodox and inquisitive young Bostonian—wants to learn about crime. By day she holds down a job as a salesgirl in women’s accessories at Filene’s; by night she disguises herself as a man to pursue studies in Criminal Investigation at the YMCA’s Evening Institute for Younger Men.

Eager to put theory into practice, Artie sets out in search of something to investigate. She’s joined by her pal Theodore, an upper-crust young bachelor whose interest in Boston’s occult counterculture has drawn him into the study of magic. Together, their journey into mystery begins on Boston Common—where the tramps and the groundskeepers swap rumors about unearthly screams and other unsettling anomalies—but soon Artie and Theodore uncover a series of violent abductions that take them on an adventure from the highest corridors of power to the depths of an abandoned mass transit tunnel, its excavation suspiciously never completed.

Will Theodore ever manage to pull off a successful spell? Is Artie really wearing that men’s suit just for disguise or is there something more to it?  And what chance do two mixed-up young people stand up against the greatest horror Boston has ever known, an ancient, deranged evil that feeds on society’s most vulnerable?

My thoughts

I think that this is going to be one of the strangest books I review this year. It is an odd and quirky blending of genres that will delight some and frustrate others. I’m an avid crime fiction reader and I enjoyed it, but I’m always open to new ideas, rigid crime purists might struggle though. If you read it with an open mind and an open heart, then I think the chances are you enjoy it.

The novel is divided into three sections being in approximate thirds, with each one having a distinctive style and clear purpose.

In the first section, ‘The Evening Institute for Young Men’ we are introduced to the principal character Artie who has enrolled on a course of instruction, one of criminal investigation. The first surprise (if you ignore the blurb) is that Artie is not actually a young man but a young woman. This ruse is rumbled by the instructor in the first lesson, he is a respected detective. Her disguise was to dress as a man as the course is not open to young ladies. It is 1909 there are so many restrictions on the activities of women, but Artie finds a modicum of freedom when she dresses as a man and continues to do so. She wants to investigate mysteries and enlists the help of her friend the wealthy and slightly foppish Theodore. A slightly odd friendship, but an enduring one that forms the spine of the novel. Together they embark on a quest to discover the source of some disturbing screaming.

In the middle section, ‘The Boston School of Magic’ it transpires that Theodore has been studying magic under the master magician W.D. Gannett, who appears to be like a modern illusionist, but later we discover that he can cast magic spells. Theodore introduces Artie to him and later they discover that Gannett’s daughter Dorothy, a skilled magician in her own right, is no longer his assistant. There is no trace of her. The deeper that Theodore and Artie dig, the more magic seems to play a part in their mystery.

The final part of the story is, ‘The Excavated Prison’ is what crime readers might think of as the ‘reveal’ but in essence is a confrontation of good against evil.

The writing style is fun and upbeat, I found it engaging throughout even though I’ve read very little fantasy (not even Harry Potter). The danger with mashing up styles and genres is that you end up disappointing everyone, but I think this has been skilfully avoided here, as the story morphs from crime into fantasy and then the supernatural. Through it all it remains light-hearted.

Artie is the central character, and a delightful one at that. She is a young woman who is determined to avoid the constraints of society but is still a little naive to the ways of the world. Theodore provides great support and the scenes where they are together having a strange chemistry, that is non-sexual, that just seems to work. He is an Edwardian version of a modern rich boy slacker albeit one who is considerably more dapper. The leftfield character is Artie’s brother Zeb. He is four years older and got involved with juvenile gangs and petty mischief, which led to shop lifting and then into full blown robbery. Once an important part of Artie’s home life, they start to drift apart until one day he leaves and doesn’t return. It is one of his suits that he left behind that Artie starts to wear. As the case develops, she realises she needs his help and once they start talking it becomes clear that there is more to Zeb and his reasons than we were led to believe.

Some of the themes are clear such as women being denied rights and opportunities, and consequently the victims being girls no one would miss. Others are deftly hidden until you get a gradual dawning realisation as you progress.

Embrace the strange and grab a copy of Relentless Melt for an entertaining journey into the unexpected.

Relentless Melt can be purchased via the Bookshop.org here

The author

Source: Author’s website

Jeremy P. Bushnell is the author of two earlier novels with Melville House: The Weirdness and The Insides. He teaches writing at Northeastern University in Boston, and lives in Dedham, Massachusetts. He is also the cofounder of Nonmachinable, a distributor of optically interesting zines and artists’ books.

Source: Publisher’s website

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To Die in June #AlanParks #ToDieInJune

By Alan Parks https://www.alanparks.co.uk/ @AlanJParks

Published by Canongate Books https://canongate.co.uk/ @canongatebooks

309 pages ISBN 9781805300786

Publication date 25 May 2023

To Die in June is the sixth novel featuring Harry McCoy. Click on the links to see my previous reviews in this series Bloody January (book 1) February’s Son (2) and May God Forgive (5)

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

The Cover

Dark and moody, a man walking alone as McCoy tends to plough his own furrow. The backs of people seems to be vogue on book covers, or perhaps it’s a cap raise to a popular Glasgow artist who can’t seem to paint faces. I like the cover and it certainly in keeping with the content.

From the blurb

A woman enters a Glasgow police station to report her son missing, but no record can be found of the boy. When Detective Harry McCoy, seconded from the cop shop across town, discovers the family is part of the cultish Church of Christ’s Suffering, he suspects there is more to Michael’s disappearance than meets the eye.

Meanwhile reports arrive of a string of poisonings of down-and-outs across the city. The dead are men who few barely notice, let alone care about – but, as McCoy is painfully aware, among this desperate community is his own father.

Even as McCoy searches for the missing boy, he must conceal from his colleagues the real reason for his presence – to investigate corruption in the station. Some folk pray for justice. Detective Harry McCoy hasn’t got time to wait.

My thoughts

Well, we reach the sixth month of this fantastic series that just seems to get better. I believe book one wasn’t written specifically with a series in mind, but here we are up to book six with logic dictating another six to follow. Will they represent some kind of autumn and winter of decline for Harry? After that, who knows, so let’s enjoy these novels while we can.

It’s ‘Flaming June’ in 1975 and Harry McCoy’s life is as stable as it’s ever been, his drinking is under control, his ulcer is dormant and his relationship with actress Margo Lyndsey is blossoming. But it cannot last, and the foundations of this contentment are undercut. Old acquaintance Liam and an odd lad called Gerry gate-crash a gala dinner Harry and Margo are attending, with information for Harry. They may be from the fringes of society, but Harry is the one cop in Glasgow who would care. Margo is intrigued as Harry sits them down and sorts them out with food a drink. Even to the extent of ignoring a comedian called Billy who has a penchant for denim and pointy beards (it can’t be him can it?) Their story seems far-fetched, down and outs are being murdered, poisoned they think.

The City of Glasgow Police has been absorbed into the new Strathclyde force and Murray sees this as an opportunity to winkle out some corruption by posting McCoy and Watson to the station in Possil. It seems that there is a spate of post office raids with the local police conveniently arriving just after the robbers have made their escape.

Harry’s long-time friend Cooper, the local hard man and gang boss also has his eyes on Possil. He also sees Harry being there as an opportunity not to be missed. A continuing friendship but one that constantly threatens to undermine Harry’s career.

Also preying on Harry’s mind is the Church of Christ’s Suffering after the Minister’s wife commits suicide. She was seemingly suffering from a disturbed mind, believing her dead son was alive and missing, and then the brother of one of the members of the congregation is tortured and beaten to death.

Never a dull moment in 1970s Glasgow, there is so much going on within the plot but like a variety performer of the period the author adroitly keeps all these plates spinning in an entertaining fashion. The story moves along at a fair clip but never feels hurried, there is always space for descriptions of Glasgow, its inhabitants, and their lives. We have the rich and famous juxtaposed with those who are on the street looking for their next fix or drink. Red Biddy, the mixture of red wine and methylated spirits, drunk by the desperate features prominently, these are people willing to risk their lives for a drink.

Whilst not quite as brutal and visceral as May God Forgive it is very much a warts-and-all look at the Glasgow of then, not now. No punches are pulled and it is so much the better for this, somehow almost making the brutal and debased poetic.

What sets Harry McCoy apart from other current fictional detectives is his humanity. By sensibility he could almost be a Quaker, but we already know of his mistrust and hatred for religion as it is a theme throughout the series. Other cops abuse down-and-outs or occasionally use them as touts. Harry befriends them, actually listens to them, and tries to make a difference to their lives. His father is one of them, but Harry has a conflicted view of him, much of his suffering as a child was because of his father, who is now in terminal decline. Harry knows that he cannot solve all their problems, but just the act of listening and supporting them can make them feel part of the human race not an outcast like a medieval leper.

Watson and Murray vie to be Harry’s guardian angel or at least save him from himself. Murray was his mentor through his early years, Watson has the settled normal family life Harry is destined never to have. Much as Harry endeavour towards self redemption there is still the sense that he is constantly one short step from a major booze bender or a seriously bad decision. Part of the fascination is the thought will Harry drink with the devil once too often, be that Cooper or some other hoodlum, and end up being hoist by his own petard.

To Die in June is Glasgow at its darkest and crime writing at its grittiest. A simply magnificent series.

To Die in June can be purchased via the Bookshop.org here

The author

Alan Parks worked in the music industry for over twenty years before turning to crime writing. His debut novel Bloody January was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, February’s Son was nominated for an Edgar Award, Bobby March Will Live Forever was picked as a Times Best Book of the Year, won a Prix Mystère de la Critique Award and won an Edgar Award. The April Dead was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year and May God Forgive won the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2022. He lives and works in Glasgow.

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