Murder under the Midnight Sun #StellaBlómkvist #MurderUnderTheMidnightSun

By Stella Blómkvist

Translated by Quentin Bates https://graskeggur.com/ @graskeggur

Published by Corylus Books https://corylusbooks.com/ @CorylusB

285 pages ISBN 9781739298944

Publication date 3 May 2024

Murder under the Midnight Sun is the second novel in the Stella Blómkvist series that has been transferred into English. Click on the link to read my review of the first book in the series Murder at the Residence.

Stella Blómkvist has been a bestselling series in Iceland since the first book appeared in the 1990s, and has attracted an international audience since the TV series starring Heiða Reed aired. The books have been published under a pseudonym that still hasn’t been cracked. The question of Stella Blómkvist’s identity is one that crops up regularly, but it looks like it’s going to remain a mystery…

I was sent an electronic copy to enable me to take part in this Blog Tour. I would like to thank Ewa Sherman @sh_ewa for the invitation to participate and of course the Author and the Publisher.

The Cover

The bleak beauty of Iceland on show but with a bloody fingerprint. Love it.

My review

A dapper businessman visits Stella with an unusual request of her. His niece Julia MacKenzie was last heard of in Iceland nine years earlier and the police investigation threw up few clues as to her whereabouts. Now his sister is dying of cancer, and they want Stella to re-open this cold case and find out once and for all what happened to Julia, to bring some kind of closure.

Stella’s friend the old hack Máki is busy beavering away for his blog and believes he has hit paydirt. A contact is leaking important documents proving espionage on the island during the Cold War. It has caused a bit of a stir and now the establishment is putting him under pressure to name his sources, so he needs Stella’s professional help.

As if she was not busy enough, Stella gets a call from a desperate TV presenter who she has recently worked with on filming a programme, one where Stella manged to find a severed arm in the ice. Her husband has just been charged with the frenzied murder of her father and her best friend so she’s desperate for help.

Plenty to occupy our heroine and top up her Stella Fund!

Once again, we have a lot of incidents and plot strands packed into a remarkably short novel. It will come as no surprise that the story quickly gets started and from then on progress is relentless. Despite this, there is still room for the characters to develop and express themselves. What is missing is any excess padding; stylistically there is a touch of the hard-boiled but without the detailed descriptions and acute observations. The author paints with a broad brush but with great confidence using bold, decisive strokes. Like her heroine of the same name, she knows what she wants to achieve and how to do it.

Stella is a fabulous central character, certainly arresting, sometimes captivating but perhaps not always completely likeable. Stella is one of life’s determined winners, a go getter with a can-do attitude whose absolute focus can make her seem a little cold or self-centred at times. She is a thoroughly modern, emancipated woman used to getting what she wants, be it in her search for the truth or for a sexual partner. Her sexual appetite is voracious, be it for men or women, and she’s very fond of Jack Daniels. There is a softer side though, as can be seen when she is with her young daughter Sóley Árdís.

To the reader’s great delight, she is also impulsive and headstrong, so we know she is not going to balk at danger, which she inevitably finds herself in. She may be a lawyer but she’s not one for the courtroom, this lady is more like a hard-bitten private eye, and she can deliver a put down.

The plot strands are intricate and quite twisty for such a short novel but come together pleasingly in the end. In Stella’s quest for the truth, she manages to uncover a series of secrets, lies and crimes from the past. Its not just the embers of the political past that is raked over, we discover more about Stella’s early life and there is an unexpected reunion.

The motivations and themes included are complex too, there is love and betrayal, some forgiveness but the driving force is revenge. As a nation that on a world stage still appears close-knit and insular, family and community ties figure throughout.

Great work from Quentin Bates in translating from the Icelandic but capturing its individuality and soul. The quirkiness from the first novel is still there, the car being referred to as the ‘silver steed’, the police as the ‘city’s finest’ as well as her mother’s epigrams on the nature of life. What humour there is, is as black as coal and as dry as a bone.

Murder under the Midnight Sun is cracking Nordic Noir with a compelling central character. Love her or hate her but Stella Blómkvist is impossible to ignore.

Murder under the Midnight Sun can be purchased via the publisher’s web site here

The author

Stella Blómkvist has been a bestselling series in Iceland since the first book appeared in the 1990s and has attracted an international audience since the TV series starring Heiða Reed aired. This series features tough, razor-tongued Reykjavík lawyer Stella Blómkvist, with her taste for neat whiskey, a liking for easy money and a moral compass all of her own – and who is at home in the corridors of power as in the city’s darkest nightspots.

The books have been published under a pseudonym that still hasn’t been cracked. The question of Stella Blómkvist’s identity is one that crops up regularly, but it looks like it’s going to remain a mystery…

The Translator

Quentin Bates is a writer, translator and journalist. He has professional and personal roots in Iceland that run very deep. He worked as a seaman before turning to maritime journalism. He is an author of a series of nine crime novels and novellas featuring the Reykjavik detective Gunnhildur (Gunna) Gísladóttir. In addition to writing his own fiction, he has translated books by Guðlaugur Arason, Einar Kárason, and crème de la crème of the Icelandic crime fiction authors Lilja Sigurðardóttir, Óskar Guðmundsson, Jónína Leósdóttir, Sólveig Pálsdóttir and Ragnar Jónasson. Quentin was instrumental in launching IcelandNoir, the crime fiction festival in Reykjavik.

Don’t forget to check out the other great posts on this blog tour:

Last Testament in Bologna #TomBenjamin #LastTestamentInBologna

By Tom Benjamin https://www.tombenjamin.com/ @Tombenjaminsays

Published by Constable https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/imprint/constable/page/lbbg-imprint-constable/ (an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/ @LittleBrownUK)

294 pages ISBN 9781408715574

Publication date 2 May 2024

Last Testament in Bologna is the fifth book in the Daniel Leicester 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 Publisher.

The cover

A very simple but straightforward cover that shouts out Renaissance Italy. It’s the Fountain of Neptune in Piazza del Nettuno that dates from 1566 and shows the bronze statue of Neptune himself. When you can use picture like this to capture the setting of your novel why choose anything else? It’s simply fabulous.

My review

A strange request in a last will and testament of Giorgio Chiesa leads to a most unusual request of Faidate Investigations. The deceased was an engineer specialising in automotives, whose brilliant invention was stolen and patented by his nemesis and arch-rival. His bequest is a third of his estate to investigate the circumstances of the death of his son Niki in a car crash. People die every day in road traffic accidents, but Niki was an expert driver, destined to be one of the greats of Formula 1, whose car simply left the road. Giorgio never believed it was an accident or suicide. He took his conviction, that it was murder, to his deathbed and his dying wish was for this to be proved posthumously, as a tribute to Niki. This conviction was strengthened by the fact that at his death Niki was employed as a racing driver by Giorgio’s great rival, Massimiliano (Max) Molinari.

‘Comandante’ Giovanni Faidate agrees to fulfil the terms of this legacy to the best of their ability, but as he is heading off to hospital for a hip replacement it will fall to his son in law Daniel Leicester to do the bulk of the investigative work. An assignment that will see him rubbing shoulders with the super wealthy and the criminal classes.

Mention Italy and thoughts that come to mind are fine food and wine, fabulous art and architecture, and very fast cars (though in the 70s and 80s they made plenty of rust buckets). If you do think like this, you are not going to be disappointed, as they all figure to some degree.

Anyone who has experienced the Italy that found away from the coastal sun traps of Sorrento and Rimini, will be captivated by the setting and appreciate the author’s fondness for the city. To counterpoint the glamour of the motor racing world we see the ordinary and mundane of urban life in a city rich in history. The cafes are not those of ‘café society’ but normal places where workers stop for a coffee or breakfast before work, something slightly alien to the British, but just a way of life in Southern Europe. This is captured so well that it had be thinking to my working visits to Livorno. Daniel’s daughter Rose is learning to drive, adding to the driving theme and the descriptions of life on Italy’s road rang so true. On one visit to our surprise, we were driven through a red light to which our driver remarked in the UK it is a command to stop, in Italy it is more of a suggestion!

The plot centres on discovering if Niki was murdered but ends up unearthing much more. Car lovers will love the descriptions of the supercars and the racing at Imola, with the ghosts of the past still there. The spirit of the days when Niki Lauda took on James Hunt are evoked, when Grand Prix were more like a chivalric joust, a contest of man more than machine, which at the time were seen as more fun but were reckless and infinitely more dangerous. Naturally a with such a setting the novel needs to work through the gears until it reaches top speed which it does with aplomb on the track and in the case.

The crimes uncovered are dark but certainly believable. Great wealth is rarely accumulated quickly by entirely fair means entirely. The love of money stimulates greed, the desire for more that leaves the rest of us wondering just how much is enough. There is also as sense that when you can afford anything you want it all becomes a little bit boring and you want the things you can’t buy or acquire.

Organised crime rears its ugly head, and the criminals are suitably nasty. There is jeopardy and danger with a side order of violence, which doesn’t always come from where one might expect it, as we build up to a satisfying conclusion.

Another key aspect of Italian life is the family and at Faidate Investigations they are one big family that live together. If they are not directly related, they are cousins or quickly subsumed as a ‘cousin’. This brings some lovely interactions and the human touch, such as Rose’s little secret that everyone knows apart from her father. There is care and concern as family members sort out their problems together which are touchingly portrayed as Giovanni’s hospital stay throws up complications and Dolores’ drops a bombshell from her past.

In Last Testament in Bologna the glamour and opulence of the super-rich collide with crime and skulduggery on a Formula 1 race track.      

Last Testament in Bologna can be purchased via the publisher’s website here

The author

Tom Benjamin grew up in the suburbs of north London and began his working life as a journalist before becoming a spokesman for Scotland Yard. He later moved into public health, where he led drugs awareness programme FRANK. He now lives in Bologna.

Don’t forget to check out the other great reviews on this blog tour:

Escape: The Hunter Cut #LADavenport #EscapeTheHunterCut

By L.A. Davenport https://pushingthewave.co.uk/

Published by P-Wave Press https://p-wavepress.co.uk/ @p_wave_press

482 pages ISBN 9781916937055 (EB)

Publication date 6 May 2024

I was allowed access to an electronic review copy to enable me to take part in this Blog Tour. I would like to thank the Blog Tour organiser Heather Fitt @HeatherJFitt, and of course Author and Publisher for arranging this.

From the blurb

In this all-new edition, Escape: The Hunter Cut takes the classic tale of L.A. Davenport’s debut novel Escape and retells it through John’s eyes, as he battles with himself and the events that threaten to overwhelm him.

The cover

A reworking of the original cover of Escape, dropping the female face and concentrating on the central main character. The crumpled paper/card effect to signify it is a reworking perhaps?

My thoughts

I know it has been done before, particularly with ‘fan fiction’, but I’m not sure there are two many books that I would re-read with it written from a different perspective. I can see the attraction for the author, they often go to great lengths to create scenarios and plots, so they might wish to develop the story from different viewpoint. I have not read the original version of Escape so this review will solely concentrate on the novel I have just read, with no comparisons.

The novel starts with a man on holiday, who we eventually discover is Dr John Hunter a surgeon. He is staying in a grand hotel in a glamourous unnamed town in Italy and we immediately discover he is a troubled man. He is constantly reminded of a woman, and questions why it is him who is still alive. His wife has recently died in a freak accident that left him unscathed, physically untouched but completely distraught and wracked with misplaced guilt. He has taken the trip to try to escape his familiar surroundings, to properly mourn his wife and start the healing and recovery process. Solo holidays are not the easiest and he finds himself lost and confused, using alcohol as a crutch.

The hotel guests include the great and the good, all wealthy, and some more odd characters including a slightly sinister Russian man, who John seems to come across wherever he goes. The hotel staff are as we might expect, slick and unobtrusive apart from a rather odd, over attentive manager. A man who initially irritates John, but later become a trusted friend.

One evening when he is out on the town, the demon drink takes over, so when everywhere else closes he ends up in a ‘gentlemen’s’ club. Here he is captivated by one of the hostesses, Jasna, but he’s convinced it’s not alcohol fuelled lust. They quickly develop a friendship away from the club, but this becomes the source of pain, angst and grave danger.

For an action thriller it is something of a slow burn, with the first third of the novel setting up the scenario, demonstrating the depth of John’s sorrow, how drink brings out his inner demons and the ubiquitous presence of Charles the manager. Like a true master of his calling, Charles has a habit of suddenly appearing, like the shopkeeper in the Mr Benn children’s cartoon, just when John needs him. Initially a bit creepy I thought, he turns out to be a rather engaging character.

If you ignore the blurb it takes a little while for the plot to become apparent, though there are markers along the way. Dr John is thrust into the world of the high-end criminal gang, dodgy nightclubs, drugs, prostitution, extortion and violence, a world he has no real knowledge or experience of.

John is an unconvincing action hero and proves to be so as he tries to sort out the mess of his own making. He doesn’t get angry and turn into the Hulk or Rambo, he is a surgeon and not a particularly worldly wise one, so his efforts are somewhat lacking so more realistic. He is a prodigious drinker though, putting so much away that it would have the spirits of Oliver Reed and Jeffrey Bernard nodding in admiration. He is put through the whole gamut of emotions from being distraught, through love to the desire for vengeance. Not the most likeable hero at times but he is a good man who starts questioning himself and his purpose, before he embarks on something of a modern chivalric quest for justice (or is it vengeance). Instead of slaying a dragon he is after a murderous crime boss and like all quests this is not straightforward, his actions result in people around him being killed. This produces more self-doubt that he casts aside.

There is plenty of action for the thriller lover, and the brutal violence that comes with the subject matter. The criminals are thoroughly unpleasant without becoming parody and dish out a severe beating for John.

Jasna is nicely judged, whichever version of her ‘truth’ is correct, or whether it is somewhere in between. The interaction between John and Jasna is low-key and quite touching which is nicely judged considering ‘surgeon falls for hostess on holiday whilst grieving his wife’ is edging into fiction cliché territory. The reader is unsure of their motives or indeed who is exploiting who, so it never ends up as Pretty Woman, more a reminder that there is good in us all.

In Escape: The Hunter Cut Dr John Hunter must conquer his own inner demons whilst he battles for justice.

Escape: The Hunter Cut can be purchased direct from the publisher here

The author

L.A. Davenport is an Anglo-Irish author and journalist, and has been writing stories and more since he was a wee bairn, as his grandpa used to say. Among other things, he likes long walks, typewriters and big cups of tea

Don’t forget to check out the other stops on this blog tour:

Edge of the Land #MalcolmHollingdrake #EdgeOfTheLand

By Malcolm Hollingdrake https://malcolmhollingdrakeauthor.co.uk @MHollingdrake

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

262 pages ISBN 9781915817419

Publication date 16 April 2024

Edge of the Land is the third book in the Merseyside Crime Series. Click on the link to read my review of Catch as Catch Can the first book in the 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 of course the author for the invitation to participate.

The cover

A distinctive local landmark is always a great bet for a cover and this one is magnificent. It’s a clocktower from Liverpool Docks which ends up playing a part in the story. If you visit Liverpool it’s something to look out for.

• 

My review

The waterways of the Liverpool docks contain many ghosts and shadows. It’s a place to disappear… a place to die. (from the blurb)

Well, that should grab the attention of the potential reader and it’s a great summary of the novel.

The death of one homeless alcoholic on the streets sadly is no shock; just another tragic statistic, someone with bad luck, let down by the system or by family and friends. A second death in similar circumstances a couple of days later, registers as unusual with the police, but there seems to be no connection or suspicious circumstances for now. However, it will soon become clear that they have a serial killer on their hands…

Danny Maynard is a young man who is no stranger to trouble and has already served time for drugs offences. When attacked and savagely beaten on the orders of a drugs gang, he denies it to the police and goes on the run. Slipping into the shadows, he is off their radar but DI April Decent and DS Skeeter Warlock are fearful for his safety. Danny does appear to be a survivor though and a resourceful one, as he leaves a series of clues behind like a trail of virtual breadcrumbs.

A two-strand storyline with one baffling and motiveless; the other with a puzzle at its core. The plotting is very clever to make this story come together and maintain the intrigue throughout.

The murder of the homeless people is quite shocking in its callousness, such that the reader will think who would do such a thing and why? This feeling is accentuated by the humanity which the author gives these victims, their circumstances may tragic, but these are people with feelings trying to keep hold of some semblance of dignity. There are sadly many such people on our streets and they all have a story to tell, sometimes it is just bad luck or a need to escape abuse that sees them there.

The puzzle is a cracker, it takes the form of photographs left behind on a mobile phone. These are subtle clues though, the pictures are not easy to decipher as they’re taken odd angles, are close ups or part details. A real rebus for the squad to solve, as they embark on a Magical Mystery Tour of the City requiring a team effort to solve. Different officers latch onto things they recognise, which is more realistic than a Sherlock like supersleuth figuring it all out. It’s all very cleverly assembled and I’m sure that people familiar with Liverpool will enjoy identifying the locations as they read along. It’s a little bit harder for those of us with little knowledge of the city, it’s a shame that these photographs are not reproduced even if just on his website.

One thing is clear though is the affection the author has for Liverpool, which brings a vibrancy to the prose. He doesn’t avoid the grubby, seedy, run down parts of the city, they are used to pronounced effect, as are the waterways of canals and working dock areas. Overall, though, the portrayal is that of a modern, vibrant city, one that is changing but steadfastly proud of its heritage and welcoming to the visitor. Buy the book, organise your city break now and check out the landmarks, statues and musical past.

Another fine aspect is that not all the characters are polarised, but rather shown is shades of light and dark. Danny can hardly be regarded as good, but as the reader discovers more of his background he will be seen in a more sympathetic light, and I found myself rooting for him. A common theme throughout is whether characters possess the capacity to change, to escape their past and even break the cycle of brutality. It has been established that the victims of abuse can go on to be an abuser themselves, but it doesn’t have to be so if other opportunities are presented. It can also fester as a desire for revenge.

April and Skeeter are great central characters, determined but also well balanced and they provide counterpoint to the angst of the storyline. It’s not all about them tough as DC Kasum Kapoor DC Tony Price do much of the leg work, as you would expect their rank to. They also inject banter and light-hearted moments. Overall, the chemistry between the team members becomes believable.

The clues are a fantastic way of controlling the pace of the narrative; no matter what resources and urgency the police introduce there is always a feeling that they are a couple of steps behind. Then the tipping point is reached, and everything unwinds a race against time. Nothing about the story is given away cheaply, so the jigsaw pieces only start to fit together in the final chapters, leaving a satisfying finale that demonstrates we all need a plan in life.

Edge of the Land is an thrilling police procedural packed with contrasts and mystery.

Edge of the Land can be purchased direct from the publisher here

The author

Photograph (c) Tony Bithell

You could say that the writing was clearly on the wall for someone born in a library that they might aspire to be an author, but to get to that point Malcolm Hollingdrake has travelled a circuitous route. Malcolm worked in education for many years, including teaching in Cairo for a while. Malcolm has been happily married to Debbie for over forty years. They met in their first weekend at Ripon college through strange and unusual circumstances. Serendipity was certainly cupid on that occasion. Malcolm has written a number of successful short stories, has twelve books now published in the Harrogate Crime Series. He is also working on the third book of the Merseyside Crime Series which Hobeck will be publishing. The books introduce us to DI April Decent and DS Skeeter Warlock. Malcolm has enjoyed many diverse hobbies including flying light aircraft, gliders and paragliders, learning to fly at Liverpool Airport, designing and making leaded windows and collecting works by Northern artists.

Don’t forget to check out all the other great reviews on this blog tour:

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Dark Rooms #LyndaLaPlante #DarkRooms

By Lynda Le Plante https://lyndalaplante.com/ @LaPlanteLynda

Narrated by Rachel Atkins

Published by Bonnier Audio, Zaffre (an imprint of Bonnier Books UK) https://www.bonnierbooks.co.uk/imprints/zaffre/ @ZaffreBooks

336 pages (9 hours 52 minutes) ISBN 9781804180334 (PB)

Publication date 18 August 2022

Dark Rooms is the eighth novel the Jane Tennison Thriller Series.

I reviewed an audiobook using the BorrowBox library app https://www.borrowbox.com/ @BorrowBox. I would like to thank Tracy Fenton @Tr4cyF3nt0n from Compulsive Readers for the opportunity to take part in the #TEAMTENNISON review project.

Clink on the links to read my reviews of Tennison, Hidden Killers, Good Friday, Murder Mile, The Dirty Dozen, Blunt Force and Unholy Murder. My review of Taste of Blood the nineth novel in the series will be posted on this blog in the first week in May.

The Cover

A nice atmospheric cover, consistent with the series, featuring (presumably) Jane approaching an imposing property, which is a key setting for the story.

The narration

Another excellent job by Rachel Atkins, who demonstrates a good range of voices, including a fabulous portrayal of family matriarch Beatrice. She is an English woman who has lived in Australia for some years and so has an accent that takes part of both, but also needs to cover a breadth of emotions.

My review

Jane has finally been promoted to Detective Inspector. It was a tough, obstacle strewn, route for her, including the obligatory return to uniform for a year, but now she has made it, her career is set to take off.

As with the previous novel in the series, Unholy Murder, it is the 1980s building boom that throws up a desperate case for Jane to investigate. Builders are busy working on a prestigious property development at a large house that had previously been converted into flats. The property has a substantial but neglected garden and a full-length cellar with a tunnel leading off to an old bomb shelter, all of which the residents were denied access to. When the builders finally make their way into to shelter, they are faced with a grisly sight, a partly decomposed body of a young woman chained to a bed. After her success investigating the convent case and noting the similarities with this one, DCI Wayne Carter passes the job on to Jane. A decision he will come to regret.

When visiting the scene after the CSI officers have left, eagle-eyed Jane spots two concrete blocks strapped together in a dark corner. Her interest duly piqued, she has them removed and when the strap, which is in fact a monogrammed belt, is cut the remains of a baby are found. Forensics determine that the body of the baby was wrapped up whilst it was still alive, and its corpse has been there at least twenty years. This makes no matter to Jane; in her mind everyone deserves justice and the truth must be discovered.

Police progress is hampered because the property’s owner is a wealthy heiress, who is now living in a care home, suffering from dementia and uncommunicative. Her affairs have passed via a power of attorney to her nephew Jason, a brash young man who immediately raises Jane’s hackles.

Dark Rooms is the perfect title for a novel where there are dank basements, the dark rooms associated with photography and a subject matter that is both morbid and disturbing. Family life is central to both the cases, but it is not a case of happy families as Jane pursues the secrets of a painful past.

The modern case is resolved quickly and is a sad case of the desperate actions of somebody at their wits end. It is the older case that takes up the bulk of the story and what bleak story it turns out to be. Some secrets should not be revealed as Jane is to discover. It also proves to be painful to DCI Carter as his budget is blown to pieces by a request from Jane to go to Australia to conduct interviews.

Jane goes about things in her usual manner, upsetting those around her, acting on instinct and taking risks. She does come to realise that when her superiors say she is not enough of a team player, they may have a point, as she puts herself in real danger. That is when the steady, methodical storyline bursts into action. A tough and painful lesson learned, but will she act upon it in future.

Jane gets to work with a young DC called Timothy Taylor (a Pavlovian response from me here is ‘A pint of Landlord please’) which brings a different vibe to the interactions as she teaches him the way to get himself into trouble. At first, he appears to be a naive and ‘wet behind the ears’ lad living at home (think Private Pike) but as the story develops, we can see him grow, showing tenacity and adaptability. Most of all he is a loyal partner and that is exactly what Jane needs at this time.

It’s not all grim for Jane though as she finds a new love interest, one not connected with the force, and builders make a start on renovating her new house for her.

The trip to Australia is a great interlude, from the accommodation (in Kings Cross), the heat (Tim takes a tweed jacket) to the real ‘bonzer’ Aussies. Just one of those occasional fillips a long-running series needs to refresh it and spark new life. Jane certainly uncovers the story of a kind of life that people flee across the world to escape.

The final resolution comes back in the UK and it is not as Jane envisioned. There is a telling, heart pouring out, scene when she realises the pain and suffering that has resurfaced because of her relentless pursuit of the truth. She has a brilliant track record of crime solving but she also needs to develop empathy and accept that even her actions have consequences.

Jane Tennison finds shocking secrets are held within Dark Rooms.

Dark Rooms can be purchased from the Bookshop.org here.

The author

Lynda La Plante (born Lynda Titchmarsh) is a British author, screenwriter, and erstwhile actress (her performances in Rentaghost and other programmes were under her stage name of Lynda Marchal), best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series.

Her first TV series as a scriptwriter was the six part robbery series Widows, in 1983, in which the widows of four armed robbers carry out a heist planned by their deceased husbands.

In 1991 ITV released Prime Suspect which has now run to seven series and stars Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennison. (In the United States Prime Suspect airs on PBS as part of the anthology program Mystery!) In 1993 La Plante won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her work on the series. In 1992 she wrote at TV movie called Seekers, starring Brenda Fricker and Josette Simon, produced by Sarah Lawson.

She formed her own television production company, La Plante Productions, in 1994 and as La Plante Productions she wrote and produced the sequel to Widows, the equally gutsy She’s Out (ITV, 1995). The name “La Plante” comes from her marriage to writer Richard La Plante, author of the book Mantis and Hog Fever. La Plante divorced Lynda in the early 1990s.

Her output continued with The Governor (ITV 1995-96), a series focusing on the female governor of a high security prison, and was followed by a string of ratings pulling miniseries: the psycho killer nightmare events of Trial & Retribution (ITV 1997-), the widows’ revenge of the murders of their husbands & children Bella Mafia (1997) (starring Vanessa Redgrave), the undercover police unit operations of Supply and Demand (ITV 1998), videogame/internet murder mystery Killer Net (Channel 4 1998) and the female criminal profiler cases of Mind Games (ITV 2001).

Two additions to the Trial and Retribution miniseries were broadcast during 2006.

Source: Goodreads profile

Never Forgive You #HillyBarmby #NeverForgiveYou

By Hilly Barmby https://www.hillybarmbyauthor.com/ @Hilly_Barmby

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

317 pages ISBN 9781915817396

Publication date 26 March 2024

I was sent an electronic copy in exchange for a fair review.  I would like to thank Rebecca at Hobeck Books and the Author for the invitation to participate in the Blog Tour.

The Cover

A very attractive cover with a great strapline.

My review

The briefest of prologues, you killed him and we won’t forgive or forget…

Hetty has been Davey’s girlfriend for a year. They are from very different backgrounds, but they are good together. Now they are heading over to France, with his twin sisters Ailsa and Juliette, for the wedding of their cousin Isabelle to Jean-Jacques (JJ) a right leaning politician. The prospect of a glamorous country wedding at a house as big as a chateau should them buzzing with joy, but Hetty is already feeling out of her depth being a council estate girl whilst the others are wealthy and well educated. The vibes are not good either, she realises there are some unresolved family tensions.

Ailsa for one doesn’t want to return to the house, despite it being a place of many happy childhood memories. Something happened during their last visit eight years ago which almost split the family asunder. Still, they must go through with the wedding celebration and put the past aside for the sake of the family.

The day is running like clockwork until the groom becomes unwell. Initially thought to be down to nerves and then a mild stomach upset is suggested, but as the day goes on, he doesn’t show signs of recovery. No matter, the party must go on…

The setting is fabulous, a big house in the French countryside and the preparations for the wedding. The reader is given a glimpse of another life and the different traditions surrounding a familiar event. There is also the sense of another way of life for Archie and Romilly, Isabel’s parents, who behave like they are lord and lady of the manor, well he is a High Court judge. The locals may go the events and parties that they organise, but they will forever be English outsiders and the local gypsies are especially wary.

The story can be split into two sections the preparation for the big day and the events that follow. The preparation essentially sets the scene in France, fleshes out the relationships between the characters both current day and through the events of the past. The reader is left in no doubt that something serious happened eight years ago, that someone knows the truth and it is going to be told. This section I think will particularly appeal to younger readers as it centres on the young adults.

Whilst the first part might feel a little pedestrian, the big day onwards explodes into incident much like poor JJs digestive tract. Again, there is a thread from eight years ago which is played out along with the current day and there are regular switches between the two. What results is two reveals, as the momentous events are exposed, together with the implications for the current day. Here the plot is wonderfully constructed, with actions mirrored and moral conundrums faced as the truth is ‘bleached in the sunshine’ and revenge sought. Revenge is the driving force but ultimately love is the key. Readers who love the ‘golden age’ style of reveal will appreciate how this is all exposed.

The feeling of change is all pervading throughout the story. The past incidents of 2016 follow straight from the Brexit vote, with the characters realising change was inevitable, but at that time nobody knew just how much or in what way. Then there are the events which hasten the separation and change the relationships for good. Throughout the current scenes there is the sense that there will be some kind of resolution, though what exactly is unknown.

The story is told through multiple perspectives, mainly Hetty and Ailsa, so the flow is not always linear as occasional back steps are taken to see events through the eyes of another.

Hetty is the central character and is quiet and unassuming, mainly due to her background, so she tries to avoid the limelight. She does want to become accepted by the family though, if just for her relationship with Davey. She has something of an inferiority complex, coming from humble beginnings unlike the rest of the characters, but there is an honesty about her. All she needs to do is develop a little self confidence and brazen things out, she’s the equal of any and better than most around her. She’s also a crime fiction reader, which raises her to an elite status in my mind, and this reading preference ends up becoming useful. True crime aficionados will also be nodding in agreement as Hetty demonstrates her knowledge on one aspect of the crime, with actions that echo a notorious UK killer.

Ailsa appears to be the main antagonist, doing little to elicit the approval of the reader; she is a snobbish clotheshorse of a young woman with an acid tongue, referring to Hetty as ‘the ginger mouse’. A perfect character for just such a story and I found myself thinking please don’t change. She is the epitome of the attitudes of the family, where image, prestige and position trump all feelings, where ‘marrying well’ matters more than love.

Never Forgive You skewers the pretentions of wealth, class and status with a searing tale of revenge.

Never Forgive You can be purchased direct from the publisher here.

The author

Hilly attended Rochester College of Art to experience an excellent Foundation Course, which led to a degree course in Graphic Design at Central School of Art and Design in London. Here, she led a colourful life, which she has woven into many of her stories.

After her degree course, she went on a woodworking course to make furniture. Combining her art and woodworking skills, she got a stall at Covent Garden Craft Market to sell hand-made chess and backgammon sets.

She moved to Brighton, a fabulous city and this is where Best Served Cold is set. After teaching Design Technology for fifteen years, she gave it all up to relocate to Órgiva in southern Spain. She has been here for the last seven years, living happily in an old farmhouse on an organic fruit farm in the mountains, with her partner and two rescue dogs.

Hilly is also part of Artists’ Network Alpujarra (ANA), a community of artists who have exhibited extensively in the region of the Alpujarra. She also makes ceramics, jewellery, and up-cycles anything not nailed down.

Source: Publisher’s website

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

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City on Fire #GrahamBartlett #CityOnFire

By Graham Bartlett https://policeadvisor.co.uk/ @gbpoliceadvisor

Published by Allison & Busby https://www.allisonandbusby.com/ @AllisonandBusby

350 pages ISBN 9780749030513 (HB)

Publication date 21 March 2024

City on Fire is the third novel in the Chief Superintendent Jo Howe series. Click on the link to read my review of the second book in the series Force of Hate.

I was allowed access to a pdf review copy on Net Galley.  Thanks to Josie at Allison & Busby for the invitation to join the blog tour and of course the Author.

The cover

A curious but quite striking cover. A picture of the Brighton sea-front but the title font picked out in flames, for reasons which will become clear.

• 

My review

Chief Superintendent Jo Howe is determined to tackle the scourge of drugs on the streets of Brighton, a city that is turning into the drugs capital of England. Jo is only too aware that drug habits fuel crime, as addicts need easy cash to feed their addiction, and it destroys lives. This she knows from bitter experience as her sister Caroline succumbed to heroin, a life in dirty squats and on the streets, which led ultimately to her death. This death is still raw to Jo, she feels she let Caroline down, that she could have done more to help her. She now cannot atone for this sense of guilt to Caroline, but she is determined to help as many as she can who are in this predicament. She is the driving force behind Operation Eradicate, a two-pronged attack at the problem. Not only is there a concerted effort to reduce supply but also to get users into rehabilitation programs, and a new pharmaceutical heroin substitute being trialled is having a positive result. A somewhat controversial approach that needs time to mature, but not everyone is so positive.

The new drug is made by Respite Pharmaceuticals a company owned by Sir Ben Parsons, a formidable self-made millionaire with a vast web of useful contacts, people in high places. Respite has obviously invested millions is developing and patenting the drug, money that Sir Ben needs to earn back. However, in his eyes Operation Eradicate is proving to be too successful, curing addicts reduces his customer base which is bad for business. He wants complacent addicts hooked for the long term on the substitute. He needs to stop Howe and her scheme, and he thinks he knows how to do it.

Dark days ahead for Jo in a city about to explode.

One thing guaranteed from the author is authenticity, the policing, their actions and communications feel right, but without being dragged down by an obsession with procedure. The action is given every chance to develop and flow. Its not just the policing though, where he writes about the inter-agency work, the voluntary sector NGOs and prisons it comes over as though from experience rather than research. What a great asset when a writing a novel such as this.

If you have read the earlier novels in the series, you will know Jo is a strong and determined woman who is respected and admired by her peers. In this story she is really put through the wringer, dropped into heaps of jeopardy both personal and reputational, such that it almost brings about her complete mental destruction. A woman who is schemed against but also making poor judgement calls when under extreme pressure, which is both understandable and realistic. Stress effects people in different ways but we can all get to the point that Jo does where every step, every choice makes the situation worse.

It starts with a betrayal, from her loving and understanding journalist husband of all people. It is a professional one, forced to do it by editor, rather than a relationship betrayal with another woman. Once under the media microscope the pressure starts to mount, and Jo’s professionalism comes into doubt. That is merely the start as officers face threats and personal attacks causing support for Jo to dwindle and an increase of sick leave. When the supply of the synthetic drug dries up (thanks to carefully planning by Sir Ben) the streets boil over.

A fabulous description of a cold and calculating plan being executed step by step. Sir Ben has the contacts, the wealth and he also has the dirt on people and is not averse to a spot of blackmail to get his way. There is a suspicion amongst the public that some within the establishment can orchestrate cover ups, but here we can see such power wielded to destroy an individual. Something truly chilling to read.

It is the motivation of Sir Ben that interested me. Here we have a hugely successful businessman, one who enjoys the trappings of success, who is willing to destroy lives just to earn his drug development costs back. Apparently heartless, but then we learn of his poor mother, suffering from early onset dementia, whom he cares dearly for and lives at his house. There are some very touching scenes where he is comforting her which I am sure some carers will recognise. A real dichotomy of a man. I would have liked the relationship with his mother developed more, as we never discover how the dynamics were forged. Was she domineering, was he repressed, there is no mention of a love life for Sir Ben.

His obsession with finding a cure for his mother leads to a magnificently dramatic confrontation, one that has building up from the start. Action fans you are well catered for too, with bursts of aggression, bloodshed and personal jeopardy as momentum and tension are skilfully built up and released throughout, and at times you have to catch your breath.

At the core of the story is the notion that drugs companies just want to treat patients, to alleviate their symptoms rather than cure them. For them it’s a high stakes gamble to develop a drug, but being corporations, they want to earn profits and not just benefit mankind. What begins as an unlikely concept becomes a chilling possibility the more you think about it. There is a huge health and charity sector dedicated to developing and curing a vast array of diseases form cancer to Alzheimer’s, yet any success is a threat to their existence. A moral conundrum which we can only hope is addressed in an ethical way.

City on Fire is a convincing police procedural where a chilling businessman is determined to destroy the lives of those who get in his way.

City on Fire can be purchased via the publisher’s website here

The author

Graham Bartlett rose to become chief superintendent and the divisional commander of Brighton and Hove police. His first non-fiction book Death Comes Knocking was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, which he then followed with Babes in the Wood. He co-wrote these books with bestselling author, Peter James, and has since published Bad for Good and Force of Hate starring Chief Superintendent Jo Howe. Bartlett is also a police procedural and crime advisor helping scores of authors and TV writers inject authenticity into their work.

Source: Publisher’s website

Don’t forget to check out the other great reviews on this blog tour:

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Her Last Request #MariHannah #HerLastRequest

By Mari Hannah https://www.marihannah.com/ @mariwriter

Narrated by Colleen Prendergast @CMPrendergast_

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

416 pages (10 hours 48 minutes) ISBN 9781409192442 (HB)

Publication date 30 September 2021

Her Last Request is the eighth book in the Kate Daniels @DCIKateDaniels Mysteries series. Click on the links to read my reviews of the first seven books in the series, The Murder Wall, Settled Blood, Deadly Deceit, Monument to Murder, Killing for Keeps, Gallows Drop and Without a Trace.

My review is based upon the audiobook version purchased from Audible. I would like to thank Tracy @Tr4cyF3nt0n from Compulsive Readers #CompulsiveReaders for the opportunity to take part in the #TEAMDANIELS review project. My review of The Longest Goodbye the nineth novel in the series will be posted on this blog in April.

The Cover

A caravan park by the sea, on a blustery day, a scarf attached to the fence. Perfectly encompasses the novel. Good cover.

The narrator

Another excellent job by Colleen Prendergast.

My review

A woman is found murdered in a caravan at a small coastal holiday park. It is the way that she is murdered that is most disturbing to DCI Kate Daniels. Her throat has been cut, but she has been attacked with great savagery and has suffered defensive wounds, as she attempted to fight off her attacker. Truly a bad, visceral death.

The intensive forensic search of the site throws up an unexpected piece of evidence, a hidden note. This death note is a cry for help, her last request to those who find it, to find her son. Kate is deeply affected; she feels it almost on a personal level. As her partner the profiler Jo Soulsby points out, the scene is as if it were meant for Kate, the note could have been written just for her.

A haunted Kate is about to be consumed by this case. Not only must she find the killer but also find Aaron, the son, before the killer does. This is a vendetta and as the story progresses it become apparent that both the victim and killer are both communicating directly with Kate. One from beyond the grave, they other taunting like the most narcissistic of fictional serial killers.

A great set up for a two-strand storyline, effectively a dual man hunt encompassing a race against time. The pacing is wonderfully judged and is given a great sense of urgency when the search for Aaron is on.

The plotting is cleverly done, initially there is so little to go on, but bits of information and further clues are drip fed into the storyline as it progresses. In one very clever scene, the victim manages to connect with Kate from beyond the grave, thanks to keen observation and some lateral thinking. This is by no means the only clue, but certainly the most memorable. It’s not all Holmes and Watson though as there is plenty of incident, moments of breathtaking suspense and some excellent action with real jeopardy introduced as well.

Being a Daniels and Gormley story it would be amiss if they didn’t fall foul of the brass hats and this time it appears to be serious. Kate managed to use up much of DCS Bright’s goodwill during her search for Jo and this time she feels powerless. In a fabulously simple but effective piece of writing cross pollination, this allows her to introduce the reader to Stone and Oliver, the lead characters in her other Newcastle based detective series. I picked up a couple of their books up when the author came to speak at Hull Noir so once #TeamDaniels is finished I will be moving on to that series! Most authors who write more than one series set them far apart, but as they are in the same proximity it makes perfect sense that they cross over at some point.

Character development adds so much to a long running series and following the dramatic events of Without a Trace there is a sense that time has moved on. Kate and Jo’s reconciliation appears to be working, albeit with the odd factious moment and the sudden reappearance of one of Jo’s sons. The fall out from the death of DI Robson is only now being felt and there was a more subdued feel to the incident room. This provides an opportunity for DS Carmichael to move up and for some a self-confident character she is less sure footed but proves her worth in an interview late in the story. She’s proving to be a bit of a chip off the old block. The reader also gets a nice little look behind the scenes of Hank’s home life.

The killer is particularly nasty, but also demonstrates a teeth gnashing arrogance that is almost as bad, one villain who deserves his comeuppance. The central theme is one of coercive control, of a man trying to control a woman to the point where she must go on the run to escape his clutches. A painful situation that is captured convincingly but also with a sensitive touch. This becomes an extreme example of an only too common situation, where women become trapped through no fault of their own.

Reading Without a Trace I felt that changes were to come; Her Last Request brings fresh impetus to and invigorates this fantastic long running series.

Her Last Request can be purchased via the publisher’s website here

The author

Mari Hannah is a multi-award-winning author, whose authentic voice is no happy accident. A former probation officer, she lives in rural Northumberland with her partner, an ex-murder detective. Mari turned to script-writing when her career was cut short following an assault on duty. Her debut, The Murder Wall, (adapted from a script she developed with the BBC) won her the Polari First Book Prize. Its follow-up, Settled Blood, picked up a Northern Writers’ Award. Mari’s body of work won her the CWA Dagger in the Library 2017, an incredible honour to receive so early in her career. In 2019, she was voted DIVA Wordsmith of the Year. In 2020, she won Capital Crime International Crime Writing Festival’s Crime Book of the Year for Without a Trace. Her Kate Daniels series is in development with Stephen Fry’s production company, Sprout Pictures.

Source: Publisher’s website

A Death in Malta #PaulCaruanaGalizia #ADeathInMalta

By Paul Caruana Galizia @pcaruanagalizia

Narrated by Paul Caruana Galizia

Published by Riverhead Books, Penguin Books, Penguin Audio https://www.penguin.co.uk/ @PenguinUKBooks

336 pages (9 hours 52 minutes) ISBN‎ 9781529151558 (HB) 9781803282503 (A)

Publication date 7 November 2023

I reviewed an audiobook version purchased from Audible.

The cover

A lovely photograph of Daphne at the pool with her three boys. A powerful reminder that underneath everything in this story is a loving family orientated woman.

The narration

Narrated by the author, not something I usually like, but for a deeply personal story it is totally appropriate. He does a remarkable job, under similar personal circumstances I don’t think I could have done it. He does have an accent that takes a little time to attune to, is suitably solemn at the appropriate points, but most of all its the affection he holds for his mother and family shines through. Paul Caruana Galizia I doff my cap to you sir.

Pete’s ponderings

When I read about the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia in The Times I was dumbfounded. This wasn’t the Malta I knew and visited so many times over the last 30 years. I had read the Malta Times and Independent when over there so had some background knowledge of the island. I knew the politics was quite partizan and vociferous, but a political assassination seemed inconceivable, it was the twenty first century after all and they were part of the EU. I took an interest in the story which has been long-running, and this incisive book sets out what has happened.

My review

“There are crooks everywhere you look.”

From the final blog post of Daphne Caruana Galizia, 16 October 2017.

On the afternoon of 16 October 2017 Daphne Caruana Galizia was hurrying to a meeting with her solicitors, a meeting she had forgotten, but she never made it. Some 40 seconds down the country lane where she lived, Triq il-Bidnija, a car bomb that had been placed under her leased Peugeot 108 was detonated. She never stood a chance of surviving. An event that would resonate around the world, albeit briefly in some places, and would have wide reaching effects which are still being felt and yet to be resolved.

She was a remarkable woman, brave, determined, forthright but most of all she had a strong sense of morality, of determining right from wrong. Fellow blogger Manuel Delia, a former Nationalist Party official had this to say at the news of her death “…the only ethical voice left. She was the only one talking about right and wrong.”

In this book her youngest son sets out the background to the assassination (that effectively is what it was) and the family’s long and arduous path to justice, one that is still far from complete. The author has followed his mother into the profession of journalism and certainly the part of the book dedicated to the investigation has all the hallmarks of great investigative journalism, it is precise, cogent, analytical and dispassionate. It is much more than this though as within the first half of the book he paints a thoughtful and passionate biography of a formidable but deeply caring woman.

We start with a little history of the island, which is great background even for those who may be familiar with the island. Then we get down to the serious, dirty world of post-independence (from Britain) politics, with the Labour Party leaning quite far to the left and right/centre Nationalist Party. Were it not for the extreme bitterness involved it could have evoked thoughts of the immediate post WWII Italy of Giovannino Guareschi and his classic Don Camillo and Peppone stories. A communist mayor flexing his muscles to the disgust of the Catholic Church juxtapose with Dom Mintoff sideling up to Communist despots for the new Malta. It was no village, though at times it may seem so, but a fully independent country, where there is much more at stake, disputes sometime ended in violent clashes and even murder was not unknown. On 28 December 1977, fourteen-year-old Karin Maria Grech was killed opening a parcel bomb intended for her father.

Daphne was destined to become a writer from birth, being named by her mother who was reading a Daphne du Maurier novel at the beginning of her labour. In a typically Maltese scenario, she was informed by the nuns that Daphne was an unacceptable name being neither a saint or mentioned in the bible and so would not be registered. We see the struggles that Daphne went through to even start a career at a time when opportunities for women were restricted, especially so in a conservative and catholic country. Determination gets her there, not only did she become the first regular female columnist but the first of either sex to eschew anonymity and publish under a byline. This being a fine example of the fear and pressure journalists found themselves under, as she wrote ‘fear demoralises people’ and the courage of one woman to stand up and be counted, to press for truth and transparency. She was to come to be regarded as the Maltese Cassandra.

Not one to compromise she found more and more restrictions being placed on what she could write in print she resorted to blogging her more explosive exposes online. As indication of the impact of her writing and its reach, it can be noted that some posts had more that double the island’s population in hits. Her peak was to coincide with the leaking of the Panama Papers, just the sort of expose she would revel in, and it wouldn’t take long for her to uncover serious corruption in Malta. She had always written about corruption, the different here was more noughts could be added to the sums involved. This also set in motion a chain of events that would end in that car bomb.

The investigation section brings into stark contrast the ugliness behind the power in Malta. The nepotism that becomes almost incestuous, patronage, money laundering, the passports for cash all making Malta the dirty money capital of the EU. Look in any small-town local newspaper and you will see the familiar faces of the same dignitaries, week in week out and it was just the same in Malta, except it is a country and so the stakes are much higher. If the First Minister commits a crime how can justice be served by a senior investigating officer who is married to one of his ministers? Here the book is uncompromising, much in the style of his mother he leaves no doubt where he stands.

For the Caruana Galizia family the fight for justice continues and I wish them well. We in Britain should not be complacent though, as there are so many parallels here with what has happened in Malta, where they become more apparent in a microcosm. Our politics is becoming more divided and partizan, whilst the calibre of incumbents and parliamentary standards is declining. The police and judiciary fare little better and there is a growing sense of disquiet. The Covid enquiry appears to be opening eyes to potential large-scale fraud. The free press which should be bring people to account are lost in a world of celebrity and clickbait, such that when a piece of true investigative journalism is carried out it is met by shock. It really is time for people to wake up.   

A Death in Malta is a touching, heartfelt portrait of a remarkable woman, who was a determined and courageous journalist, but moreover one who was caring and loved her family.

A Death in Malta can be purchased via the publisher’s website here

Her journalist spirit lives on at The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation.

The author

Paul Caruana Galizia became a journalist after his mother was assassinated and since then has won an Orwell Prize special award, a British Journalism Award and other honours for his reporting. With his brothers, he has received a Magnitsky Human Rights Award and an Anderson-Lucas-Norman Award for campaigning to achieve justice for Daphne.

Source: Publisher’s website

Blood Ribbons #LinLeVersha #BloodRibbons

By Lin Le Versha @linleversha

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

288 pages ISBN 9781915817327

Publication date 6 February 2024

Blood Ribbons is book 4 in the Steph Grant Murder Mystery Series. Click on the links to see my review of Blood Ties book 3 in the series.

I was sent an electronic copy in exchange for a fair review.  I would like to thank Rebecca at Hobeck Books and the Author for the invitation to participate in the Blog Tour.

The Cover

A very atmospheric scene in misty woodland that harks back to the past as well as the current day. The fabric tied to the tree takes on a significance within the story. A great cover with a perfect strapline.

My review

The college where Steph Grant works are over in the Netherlands on an educational trip. They are visiting Arnhem with a group of veterans of Operation Market Garden, the audacious but ultimately fruitless plan to capture three bridges over the Rhine. An operation whose success might have shortened the war, but it ended up as one of those military disasters we British seem to fixate upon. Brave men let down in what was literally A Bridge Too Far. The project intends to expose the students to the events of 1944, though the visiting museums, the war graves, the drop zone and talking to the veterans on site. Then they are to collaborate and produce a book of their experiences ready for the 75^th Anniversary. What a fabulous idea to keep memories alive and final closure for the old soldiers.

For one student, Zoe, this is going to be an especially poignant visit. Her great grandfather private Duncan Shaw was part of the operation, and he recorded his thoughts, feelings and experiences as they battled for survival. His diary, written in a school exercise book, is going to be in part a guide for the students to follow. Sadly, Duncan did not return and as a result his family suffered greatly. His death changed their futures forever. Stepping into Duncan’s shoes through his diary is going to be an emotionally charged experience for Zoe, but it also proves to be a catalyst to uncovering uncomfortable family secrets.

Steph sees the visit as a chance for her and Chief Inspector Philip Hale to have a mini-break and hopefully get some quality time together, amongst the chaperoning of the students. However, when a body is found tangled in rushes in the river close by, it naturally turns into a bit of a ‘busman’s holiday’ as he lends a hand to the Dutch police.

A story set in the present day, but references back to the past, to dark days of 1944, through a diary and reminiscences of old soldiers. The structure is cleverly worked as Zoe reads from the diary in public and then the students and veterans discuss it in both public and private. This allows for Zoe to develop as a character and gain confidence, which is helpful as she takes an emotional battering thanks to the revelations over the course of the story.

The sections of the imagined diary are exceptional. The author has managed to capture the fear and desperation of a young man facing an enemy in battle, but also the boredom and inactivity that joins it. For many war is a series of short intense periods of fighting punctuating long periods of waiting, of killing time and building up a sense of dread of what is to come. It also introduces the mystery of what happened to Duncan as there is confusion and uncertainty of how he was killed. Much happens in the fog of war as the reader is about to discover along with the significance of the title. All this is beautifully written and sensitively handled.

The idea of mixing the veterans, who by this stage will be into their nineties, with the students is another winner. Much fiction is written along generational lines, so it is nice to read such a varied profile. Respect for our elders is seen as declining in the western world, projects like this would help to redress the balance. Certainly, in terms of this story it works so well and helps to unlock the mystery of what happened to Duncan. It was nice to see the veteran portrayed as a feisty as well as wise bunch.

The modern-day crime is well handled and of the sort that will happen every week. Whether the detectives would be given such a free reign falls under artistic licence for me, it sets the plot up nicely as the action moves from the Netherlands to the UK. It also keeps officers from both countries within the story.

Steph and Hales are a great fictional couple, albeit a very sensible one for modern crime fiction. Somewhat middle of the road, middle class and edging towards comfort of sitcom suburbia, but they provide a sense safety and security, which dovetails with the experiences of students. We are not chasing psychotic serial killers but dealing with crimes in a down to earth and logical manner where their ordinariness is a strength. With them on your side you feel that all will come good in the end, though you may end up with a bit of a lecture and a risk of detention. Derek only plays a small part this time, but as usual deserves an award for best supporting canine.

This series is never going to be gritty and urban, but that doesn’t mean that it is all comfortable and cosy, as there are dark elements within the story. The crimes they tackle are a real problem in Britain and the central characters are put in danger and jeopardy that fit with the theme. The section in Arnhem is nicely paced as the contents of Duncan’s diary are absorbed, then it moves up a gear back in Suffolk before it suddenly careers of to a frantic finale. The reveal is clever and surprising with some bluff and deception.

Blood Ribbons is a poignant marrying of a painful the past and present within a gripping murder mystery.

Blood Ribbons can be purchased direct from the publisher here

The author

Lin Le Versha has drawn on her extensive experience in London and Surrey schools and colleges as the inspiration for her debut crime novel which Hobeck were thrilled published in 2021. That novel, Blood Notes, introduces Steph Grant and her four-legged companion, Derek. Shortly after came Blood Lines and in 2023 Blood Ties. In addition to crime writing, she has written over twenty plays exploring the issues faced by secondary school and sixth form students. Commissioned to work with Anne Fine on The Granny Project, she created the English and drama lesson activities for students aged 11 to 14.

Creative writing courses at the Arvon Foundation and ‘Ways with Words’ in Italy, encouraged Lin to enrol at the UEA MA in Creative Writing (Crime) and her debut novel was submitted as the final assessment for this excellent course.

Lin is the Director of the Southwold Arts Festival, comprising over thirty events in an eight-day celebration of the Arts.

Don’t forget to check out the other great reviews on this blog tour:

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