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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Smoke Kings #JahmalMayfield #SmokeKings

By Jahmal Mayfield https://jahmalmayfield.com/ @jahmal_mayfield

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

390 pages ISBN 9781685891114

Publication date 8 February 2024

I was sent a paperback Advance Reader Copy in exchange for a fair review. I would like to thank Nikki at the publisher for arranging this.

The Cover

A young black man on a red background will promote thoughts of aggression in some, but the title almost completely covers his face. Perhaps this is to signify a novel to challenge attitude based upon snap judgements. It’s certainly an arresting cover.

My review

The story starts with the corpse of a talented young man, Darius, being identified by his family, brother Joshua and Cousin Nate. Darius was planning to go to Rutgers University, but of course that dream has died too. Another young black man cut down before his potential was given chance to flourish. The police are acting as if they are going to treat it as the death of just another black boy. Joshua is upset and reticent; Nate is furious and determined.

How Darious comes to be murdered is told as a series of interludes between chapters as the current day position is being set up. Its touching and poignant as much as it is senseless, an escalation of what for some one suspects is a regular if not daily occurrence. How the friends react to his death differs greatly.

Nate becomes a political activist for black rights. Not for him the role of keyboard warrior or the protest marches and candle lit vigils that seem to achieve nothing. He believes in direct positive action. Together with Cousin Joshua and friends Isiah and Rachel he sets up an action group seeking retribution. Their scheme is a simple one, to make the relatives of the unpunished perpetrators of hate crimes from the distant past pay for those deeds. This is achieved by way of kidnapping these modern relatives, then using physical threat and coercion, ‘persuade’ them to pay reparations. In other words, to tax them just like the Mafia and other criminal gangs, but this time it is in the name of justice.

Not all the kidnappings go to plan though and there is an escalating level of violence, as their actions begin to spiral out of control, which brings them to the notice of others. One is an ex-cop and now ex-private security officer who is taking on the interests of an old friend; the other is a group of white supremacists with survivalist/prepper tendencies.

I do love a story with mixed up morals. They seem to matter more now that there appears to be a determination to polarise opinions, whilst throwing out nonsense statements like ‘the right side of history’. In Smoke Kings we have an abundance of it. Here we have an intelligent novel with race at its core that creates a multitude of situations and opinions that pose questions to reader, rather than taking a blinkered approach favoured by groups like BLM. There is great subtlety to the writing, and it is left for the reader to pick up on them, which means that this will prove to be a great book club read, as there is so much to discuss.

Nate is driven by a need for justice that turns into rage, he may see himself as focussed but others see him as short-sighted. He clashes with Isiah over who they are seeking vengeance for. Isiah wants to widen the net, but Nate believes that only blacks are truly wronged, it is they that should be the focus, thereby creating a hierarchy of oppression. Isiah, who is of Korean descent and is the IT specialist and researcher of the group becomes increasingly uncomfortable as things escalate. Isiah’s fiancé Rachel is almost as fervent as Nate even though she is mainly of Italian descent with very little black blood in her lineage. Nate doesn’t even consider her as being black, but she is useful to him as she becomes the honeypot if there is to be that kind of trap. Exploitation of women is nothing new and neither is the violence directed towards them.

Over the period the story spans, several characters change significantly. The most interesting I found was the former cop, Mason. Having served with the police he has a dollop of institutional racism and outdated attitudes, made worse by the attack on his wife’s car by a gang of black youths. He goes on a journey that changes his perspective and attitude. Not quite a Damascene conversion but proof that even the most jaded with ingrained attitudes have a capacity for change.

There is violence, how could there not be with such a novel, some of it brutal but the reader is spared the worst of it. It does allow for the introduction of a truly magnificent over the top character, brutal, evil, perhaps edging towards insanity but one that has read philosophy and can quote poetry. A character to steal the show, if it were ever filmed, but also provides a counterpoint to Nate. A case of Nietzsche’s comment about staring into the abyss, as Nate begins to mirror others? Perhaps, there is a certainly a desensitisation to violence amongst some in society

The writing style is tight and compact but not stripped back, this is not a short novel, there is a lot of scope to fill, and characters are given space to breathe. There’re some great descriptive phrases (like the condensation on beer cans likened to sweat) as well as great put downs (Budweiser being beer flavoured water) but the attitude is kept low key, this is very much a serious novel with a message.

The pacing is great, after the original set up it moves along rapidly with plenty of action and danger to satisfy the thriller fan. The story is quite linear but is kept interesting in the second half as there are a series of intersections where the various factions collide. Much of the story feels like a literary tragedy with the sense that it is running to an almost inevitable conclusion, but the reader is uncertain whom the doomed one is. That said there is also the seeds of hope for the future, if Mason can change then so can we all.

Smoke Kings is a powerful and thought provoking story of modern attitudes to race. A scorching debut novel.

Smoke Kings can be purchased direct from the publisher here or the bookshop.org here

The author

Jahmal Mayfield was born in Virginia but currently resides in New Jersey. In addition to writing crime fiction, he serves as the director of a nonprofit program that provides employment support to people with disabilities. SMOKE KINGS was inspired by Kimberly Jones’ passionate viral video, “How can we win?”

Source: Publisher’s website

Gallows Drop #TEAMDANIELS #MariHannah #GallowsDrop

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

Narrated by Colleen Prendergast @CMPrendergast_

Published by Pan Macmillan https://www.panmacmillan.com/ @panmacmillan

512 pages (12 hours 15 minutes) ISBN 978-1447287339 (HB)

Publication date 5 October 2017

Gallows Drop is the sixth book in the Kate Daniels @DCIKateDaniels Mysteries series. Click on the links to read my reviews of the first five books in the series, The Murder Wall (1), Settled Blood (2), Deadly Deceit (3), Monument to Murder (4) and Killing for Keeps (5).

My review is based upon the audiobook version purchased from Audible. I would like to thank Tracy @Tr4cyF3nt0n from Compulsive Readers #CompulsiveReaders http://www.compulsivereaders.com/ for the opportunity to take part in the #TEAMDANIELS review project. My review of Without a Trace the seventh novel in the series will be posted on this blog later in February.

The Cover

Its atmospheric (the print version more so) but it is lacking one obvious element for me…

The narrator

There is continuity using Colleen Prendergrast and she does a fine job.

Pete’s ponderings

Landmarks often bring a work of fiction to life. For me one of the best at this would be Christopher Fowler and his Bryant and May series, where Arthur Bryant would go doddering off across London introducing readers to the parts that tourists miss. He also spent a lot of time visiting the libraries and museums of the capital, finding plenty of oddball characters along the way. Sadly, there will be no more. Edinburgh is another city packed with landmarks that features well in crime fiction, and a fabulous city to explore.

The Gallows Drop features real-life gallows known as Winter’s Gibbet near the village of Eldson. William Winter was hanged at the Westgate in Newcastle, then his body wall suspended from this gibbet in chains as a message. A grisly reminder of a dark past, but if you search for images online you will see some fabulous evocative photographs, a fitting setting for a great piece of crime fiction.

My review

The body of a young man is found hanging from Winters Gibbet at dawn, the morning after the local country show. DCI Kate Daniels realises that she recognises him, she saw him only yesterday at the show, in the Cumberland wrestling. Kate is due to leave on a much needed, extended holiday with Jo Soulsby, after the demands of her last case, which led to danger in Spain. Determined to leave this case in a good position for handover, she is stopped in her tracks by the early arrival of her cover DCI James Atkins. He makes his presence felt with all the subtlety of a bull in a China shop and is deliberately provocative. Atkins and Daniels have history, there is much bad blood between them. The attempts of Bright to avoid their presence overlapping was scuppered by Atkins cancelling his rostered days off. Here is a man looking for trouble, will he find it?

The plot is quite straightforward, after determining that it wasn’t suicide there is a search for the killer. The complexity comes from the search amongst a close-knit community with a small number of likely suspects and most alibis interlinking. The real tension starts when Kate discovers that Atkin’s daughter Beth was a witness to a fight involving the victim the night before. The truth will only come out after a lot of questioning of troubled young adults, exposing their problems and fears. Surprises are revealed along the way and this aspect is covered with real sensitivity.

The heart of the novel is a series of clashes, some vociferous and abrasive, others more angst ridden with disappointment and resignation. This is a very emotive and emotional story. Quite simply it’s the past versus the present, the ability to put the events of the past behind you and move on, sometimes requiring some bridge building to do so. But this is career driven Kate, and she never has the time for things like this.

The main dispute, that between Kate and Atkins goes back to when Kate first started in the force, and so has festered for around twenty years. Bright has nurtured Kate’s career and protected her, but one day confrontation was going to come. When it comes it is explosive, angry and abusive leading to soul searching and reflection; will Kate have the heart to carry on?

The stand off relationship Kate has with her father comes to a head at just the wrong time, but when do they ever come at the right time. The trigger comes as a surprise, they are both stubborn but need to compromise if ever there is to be anything like a reconciliation.

Then there is the on-off relationship with Jo. A chance to get things back as they were, with affection rekindled by a holiday in Scotland, but as Kate says she is a ‘crap lesbian’. Understanding, support, affection, bickering, cold shoulders and cross words are all there, it must be so emotionally tiring being a lesbian.

All of this is skilfully pulled together in the sort of novel that becomes a turning point in a series. It fills in a big chunk of back story in a way that fits perfectly and makes complete sense. There is a fabulously delivered shock added to the story, that has the reader thinking what, wait a minute and a cliffhanger tagged on at the very end. Finish this and you will be desperate to crack on with Without a Trace.

Gallows Drop adds explanations and meaning to the back story of the DCI Kate Daniels series and sets her up with a series of big questions to answer in her immediate future.

Gallows Drop can be purchased via the publisher’s website here

The author

When an injury on duty ended my career as Probation Officer, I began writing. I am the author of the Kate Daniels and Ryan & O’Neil series published by Pan Macmillan and the Stone & Oliver series published by Orion. My debut, The Murder Wall, was written as a TV pilot for a BBC Drama Development Scheme – before the adaption. The novel won the Polari First Book Prize. Before becoming an author, I fell in love with scriptwriting and submitted speculative original dramas to the BBC Writersroom. I’ve also written a romantic comedy feature film that I hope will find a producer one day. In 2010, I won the Northern Writers’ Award for my second novel, Settled Blood. And in 2017, I won the Dagger in the Library for my body of work. I’m represented by AM Heath literary agent, Oli Munson, and live in Northumberland with my partner, a former murder detective.

Source: Goodreads profile

The Dancer #ÓskarGuðmundsson #TheDancer

By Óskar Guðmundsson http://www.oskargudmundsson.is/ @oskargudmunds

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

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

233 pages ISBN 9781739298951

Publication date 1 February 2024 (Corylus Books paperback), originally published in 2023 as a Storytel Original Series

The Cover

Blood splattered white cloth… or on closer inspection are those white feathers?

Pete’s ponderings

Never Mind the Quality Feel the Width was a comedy series, that ran in the early 1970s, of the kind that would never get commissioned these days. It starred John Bluthal, perhaps best known as dotty Frank in The Vicar of Dibley, and Joe Lynch, a stalwart of British TV and film and who was the voice of Chorlton and the Wheelies, as a pair of tailors in business together. The situations for comedy arise from one being Jewish and the other an Irish Catholic. The title has become an expression for where quantity is valued greater than quality and can perhaps be applied to publishing. Debut novelists often write short novels of 250-300 pages and then when they gain confidence expand to longer ones. Now it seems as if the major publishers have a target of 450-550 pages and the output of many of the big hitters fall into this range. Perhaps its deemed value for money or the impact on the shelf, but surely this one size fits all approach doesn’t suit all fiction.

Luckily the independent publishers are brave enough to take on shorter novels and since I started writing this blog, I have been lucky to read some great ones, and the occasional astonishing one. These are not short stories or novellas, but fully formed novels with the ideas and concepts explored, in a format stripped of the unnecessary. At just 233 pages The Dancer certainly fits the bill, not only does the writing pack a punch, then just when you recover your senses, it follows up with a head butt and then the finale is delivered like a kick in the ribs when you are down. Dark, intense and quite disturbing, this is not a story you will forget in a hurry.  

My review

“Life was never going to be a bed of roses…”

Indeed, it’s not the case for Tony. He has been brought up by a disturbed alcoholic mother, his absent father being a US serviceman. She has given him little but the spirit to dance, she was once a dancer herself, though her methods to develop his ability are somewhat cruel and quite brutal. He finds solace with grandfather Jón who is teaching him carpentry skills in the hope he will take over his business when he finally retires.

A body is found under a tarpaulin, and it has been there for a while. The mystery is it appears to be the body of an American who was believed to have died in a plane crash on the island six months previous. The case is handled by veteran detective Valdimar, who is supported by rookie Ylfa.

Then a fresh body is found in the snow, killed in a unique and disturbing way. Life is going to get complex…

An interesting storyline that is direct and linear, that splits into two stands, dancing and investigation with the emphasis on the former. This is far from the regular police procedural.

There is impact from the very beginning, with a strange torture set piece and a dance to the death. Dancing and a sense of the macabre intertwine throughout but the feeling is not gothic but more a touch of overblown camp horror; Vincent Price would have been a great narrator. Perhaps this down to the ballet aspect, ballet dancers are tough, strong, athletic and determined but those tights raise a titter amongst the unenlightened. Tony is driven relentlessly by his mother and we get a sense of the pain and suffering he must go through, in both body and mind, in the name of art. She also makes him dance naked.

The story packed with themes and motivations that manage to tesselate together perfectly like a complex tiled floor pattern, all from simple cause and effect. The mother Gunnhildur is bitter as her hopes of a career as a dancer are dashed, but as we later discover that is not all that is taken from her. This manifests in transference to Tony with her relentless teaching and desire for success vicariously through him. Does she love him? It is hard to say, Tony certainly resents her and having to care for her (she is in a wheelchair). Jón may provide a modicum of stability for Tony, but he is estranged from Gunnhildur, wracked with guilt and haunted by the past. In the end it is the desire for revenge and final atonement that win out.

Considering the length, the amount of characterisation within is impressive. Naturally the police officers have problems Valdimar is approaching retirement and Ylfa is struggling with family life with a boyfriend and baby she doesn’t see enough of. These are sketched in enough for the reader to understand them without unnecessary embellishment. Tony is the key character, with his relationships and interactions with his mother and the dancers he befriends taking up much of the story. He finds making friends difficult, is confused about his own sexuality and struggles with rejection, wearing his shame like an invisibility cloak. It becomes apparent that Tony is anguished, and we see his mental health deteriorate alarmingly as reality and imagination merge.

There is violence, a bit of gore, elements of horror and moments of real insanity which are handled magnificently. One of the crime reader’s ‘golden rules’ is even broken but for once this can perhaps be overlooked due to the shock it brings to a bizarre scene. Entertaining without being overly gratuitous, perhaps not one for the timid, but the rest will read along thinking where did that come from. Fabulously imaginative and written with complete conviction, making for a gripping and all-consuming read. Once again Quentin Bates does an excellent translation job, keeping everything tight and compact. I don’t think I could have coped with another 100 pages of that!

The Dancer is a stunning piece of gory crime fiction, written in a tight and compact style, that manages to tell a disturbing story that is still quite touching.

The Dancer can be purchased via the publisher’s website here

The author

With a unique voice and a style that doesn’t shy away from a sometime graphic take on shocking subject matter, Óskar Guðmundsson is one of the rising stars of the Icelandic crime fiction scene. His debut Hilma was awarded the Icelandic Crime Syndicate’s Drop of Blood award for the best crime novel of 2015, and the TV rights have been acquired by Sagafilm. This was followed by a sequel Blood Angels in 2018. The first of his books published in an English translation, The Commandments, was a standalone novel which appeared in Iceland in 2019. All of Óskar’s books have been bestsellers and rewarded with outstanding reviews. The first in a new series of novels The Dancer was published in Icelandic simultaneously as an
eBook, audiobook, and paperback – accompanied by an original song in which Óskar’s words have been put to music featuring some of Iceland’s leading musicians – and was an immediate bestseller. Óskar’s talents don’t end there, as he is also an artist and has held a number of exhibitions of his work.

The translator

Quentin Bates has personal and professional roots in Iceland that go very deep. He is an author of series of nine crime novels and novellas featuring the Reykjavik detective Gunnhildur (Gunna) Gísladóttir. In addition to his own fiction, he has translated many works of Iceland’s coolest writers into English, including books by Lilja Sigurðardóttir, Guðlaugur Arason, Einar Kárason, Óskar Guðmundsson, Sólveig Pálsdóttir, Jónína Leosdottir and Ragnar Jónasson. Quentin was instrumental in launching Iceland Noir in 2013, the crime fiction festival in Reykjavik.

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

The Dentist #TimSullivan #TheDentist

By Tim Sullivan https://timsullivan.co.uk/ @TimJRSullivan

Narrated by John Heffernan

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/ @BloomsburyBooks, audio by W.F.Howes Ltd https://www.wfhowes.co.uk/ @WFHowes

384 pages (10 hours 12 minutes) ISBN 9781801107716 (PB) 9781803282503 (A)

Publication date 2 September 2021 (audio 1 October 2022)

The Dentist is the first book in the DS Cross Mysteries series.

I reviewed an audiobook version from Audible.

The cover

Pretty standard effort, man on a waterfront, in this case in sight of the Severn Bridge which sets the location nicely.

The narration

I was impressed with the work of the narrator overall, but especially his portrayal of George, at times deadpan but always sympathetic. Not an easy part to play but very well done.

Pete’s ponderings

For crime writers it must be difficult to come up with original ideas. Most plot ideas have been done so often that the seasoned reader can gauge where the story is heading, so it is always refreshing when this is flipped on its head like in Yule Island. Smaller publishers are trying to introduce readers to crime fiction from unexpected places, and last year I read some excellent novels from such unexpected places as Uruguay (The Hand That Feeds You) and Romania (Deadly Autumn Harvest) which had very different settings and writing styles.

It is the same with lead detectives. Authors tend to put them through hell for the readers delectation. So much so that a policeman who is well adjusted, with no addictions, a happy marriage and family life is so unusual that it comes as a breath of fresh air. Brian Price’s Mel Cotton is one such officer but from a quick read of Fatal Blow we can see Brian puts her through the wringer in the day job. In The Dentist we start a series with a rather unusual lead character in that he suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome. Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time did a lot to raise awareness about Asperger’s in a very original novel, but I can’t recall a crime novel with police officer that has it.

My review

DS George Cross is a very singularly individual man and one other people find difficult to work with. He takes an intensely detailed approach to investigations, unerringly relies upon logic and is determined to discover the truth. This results in him having the best conviction rate in the force but still he is lauded by so few. He is socially awkward, cannot read peoples expressions or any hidden meaning to their words and he has several peculiar habits such as having his breakfast separated onto a series of small plates. This is because George suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome and few of his work colleague understand how this affects him. His partner DS Josie Ottey wants their association to be temporary because she finds him infuriating, but to DCI Carson he is a secret weapon to assist him rising through the ranks, whilst George has such a stunning success rate, he is willing to accommodate him.

A body of a homeless man is found on Clifton Downs. Such tragic deaths and sadly not uncommon but this isn’t natural causes, he has been strangled. Initial thoughts are it is likely to be a falling out between members of the homeless community and a prime suspect is quickly identified, a troubled ex-solider. For most this is case closed, but for George there are too many unanswered questions, and George doesn’t like them. He can’t accept it was a meaningless murder and decides they need to know more about the victim, much to the annoyance of senior officers. This digging leads to an unsolved case from fifteen years ago which is now a cold case. A flaw in the investigative process leads to the past unravelling as George doggedly searches for answers.

George Cross is such a mundane name for a modern fictional detective I wondered if there was something I was missing, perhaps it was a metaphor for his Asperger’s being a cross they had to bear. As the story develops you realise that it is not though, George struggles to comprehend the world around him and can’t understand why others do not see it the way he does. It is akin to speaking to someone in a foreign language, once accommodations are made an understanding and rapport is built up. This journey is of understanding is the one Ottey undertakes through the story.

The portrayal of George is masterful, there are his foibles and frustrations but also how he uses his individuality to his advantage. He is usually underestimated by suspects and those he questions which can give him the upper hand. His use of logic and bloody-minded persistence is perfect for policing and skilfully woven into the story but it is his perceptions that struck me as the most telling. It is difficult to put ourselves in his shoes but without spoiling the flow we understand why order means so much to George, how logic becomes his coping mechanism in an illogical world such that unanswered questions affect him almost as much as physical pain. The relationship he has with father is equally as touching as it is bizarre. We also see he does have outside interests too, how he became a cricket scorer as a child (perfect) and his love of organ music.

The plot is straightforward even if the solution is not so much; it is very much the standard police procedural, with George’s careful step by step investigation and station bound interrogations. It is light on action and danger, but those are for other detectives, George would never chase a suspect or put himself in grave danger. Perhaps because of this the story develops at its own steady pace and never rushed.

Levity is brough by way of George’s habits and misunderstandings but never in a hurtful or malicious way, more a case that we can laugh at the absurdity of life and social norms. Why would you have a sleeve tattoo that will never change for the rest of your life? George doesn’t have an extensive wardrobe but likes to vary things around a bit, a simply perfect logical observation.

The Dentist is an impressive police procedural which manages to be both thoughtful and entertaining. This promises to be a fascinating series ahead.

The Dentist can be purchased direct from the publisher here

The author

Tim Sullivan is an acclaimed screenwriter. He originally read English and Law at university – the latter forced on him by his Dad – but instead he wriggled free of those parental ambitions and pursued his own, to make films. His writing credits include A HANDFUL OF DUST, starring Kristen Scott Thomas, WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD, starring Helen Mirren and Helena Bonham Carter, JACK AND SARAH (which he also directed) starring Richard E Grant, Judi Dench and Ian McKellen and LETTERS TO JULIET, with Amanda Seyfried. He is also a Television director whose credits include SHERLOCK HOLMES and COLD FEET and CORONATIONS STREET. He has written extensively in Hollywood in both live action and animation, working with Ron Howard, Scott Rudin and with Jeffrey Katzenberg on the fourth SHREK movie.

He has now embarked on a series of crime novels featuring the eccentric and socially-awkward, but brilliantly persistent DS George Cross.

He self-published the first two books and once they’d achieved over 200,000 downloads he came to the attention of Head of Zeus publishers. So thanks to all his readers for this success and their shared love of George.

The novels are set in Bristol in the south west of England, Cross’ methods often infuriate his colleagues and superiors “not so much a thorn in my side as a pain in my arse,” according to his boss DCI Carson. But his conviction rate, thanks to his dogged persistence and attention to detail, is the best in the force. Tim has now written the first four in the series with The Patient being published on March 3rd 2022.

Tim feels confident in his claim that he is the only crime writer around who has also co-produced and written a My Little Pony movie for Hasbro. MY LITTLE PONY – A NEW GENERATION is now available on Netflix.

Tim lives in North London with his wife Rachel, the Emmy award-winning producer of THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA and PIONEER WOMAN. Their daughters live near by.

Source: Goodreads profile

The Narrator

John Heffernan grew up in Connecticut and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Cornell. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Los Angeles where he worked at USC Film School for three years as a Production Coordinator for student films. After working as a development assistant for Davis Entertainment and Dreamworks-based Patchwork Productions, John sold his first script, A Chance for Both Barrels. This was followed by numerous writing jobs including a development deal with MTV Films and the New Line release Snakes on a Plane in 2006. Since then he has continued to write extensively for film and TV and has expanded into multiple forms of graphic literary media, including Driver For The Dead, his first comic book series.

Source: Goodreads profile

Catch as Catch Can #MalcolmHollingdrake #CatchAsCatchCan

By Malcolm Hollingdrake https://t.co/3FU8Z3YsGg @MHollingdrake

Narrated by Adrian Hobart @adrian_hobart

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

310 pages (7 hours 45 minutes) ISBN  9781913793272

Publication date 16 April 2021 (audio 31 January 2022)

Catch as Catch Can is the first book in the Merseyside Crime series.

I reviewed an audiobook version purchased from Audible.

The cover

Fits in with so many these days, a figure seen from behind at a waterfront, which presumably is part of the Mersey Estuary. Could it be one of Antony Gormley’s figures?

The narration

Excellent general narration that doesn’t try too many different voices, which is fine. Enjoyed the Merseyside accents which clearly of the region without becoming full blown Lily Savage.

On a couple of occasions there was a scene change during a chapter where a slight pause would have made it clearer, but this is a minor grumble.

Pete’s ponderings

Most crime readers when they pick up a novel are expecting a murder, usually the more the merrier, after all it is only fiction. The simple fact is it is murders that have impact, are usually shocking and have a perverse glamour in the eyes of some. In The Silence of the Lambs, it is Hannibal Lecter that grabs the attention not Clarice Starling, even though despite being cultured and educated he is still the baddest of the bad. Thankfully in the UK, even though crime always appears to be at an all-time high, murder is still relatively rare, with random killings and serial killings amongst the rarest.

Low level crime can still produce wonderful fiction if the author manages to capture the grimy and grittiness of real life in the deprived areas and sink estates. There are a couple of murders in this novel, but they arise through other crimes. It centres on the sort of crimes that plague many communities that if not acted upon can escalate out of control.

My review

April Decent is a fast-track graduate officer, already at the level of Detective Inspector, who has moved from her native Yorkshire to the other side (the wrong side) of the Pennines to Merseyside for her promotion. She faces a fresh start with new colleagues and settling into a new home, a coastal cottage with her brindle greyhound Tico*.

April starts has she means to go on, setting ground rules for her team to the annoyance of some, who perhaps are not fully behind the team. There is one person who she cannot immediately get a handle on, Skeeter Warlock. Skeeter is an intense, stocky woman with a piercing stare whose effect is enhanced by her having heterochromia, different coloured irises. These are two women who decide that they must earn each other’s respect and trust.

Metal detectorists (who are now starting to rival dog walkers in fiction) discover a washed-up mutilated corpse on a beach, along with a medal and a plastic disc. Not a great deal for April and her team to go on, but if he has been tortured then it is presumably for information, but what?

With any first novel in a series there is a balance between introducing a back story and keeping a flow of action and here I think the author has just about got it right. The series is presumably centred on April as the principal character, but Skeeter is so striking I can see it developing into a two-hander. Both characters are interesting and have complementary skills and personalities and it is going to be fascinating how their interaction develops further.

April is the more reserved of the two, happy with a degree of solitude, going for beach walks with Tico or working on her hobby of making stained glass windows. Skeeter may appear menacing, but she is more outward going. Her hobby is wrestling, not the ‘Sports Entertainment’ nonsense of WWE but proper grappling known as Catch or Catch as Catch Can, similar in style to Greco-Roman. She is never happier than when training youngsters in this martial art. I can’t remember the last time I read a novel featuring two characters with such leftfield interests, bravo Mr. Hollingdrake.

The story moves along at a cracking pace, there is a lot going on with a real sense of danger at times and violence not glossed over. The low-level crime is convincingly covered, with the scooter gangs and drug distribution using youngsters through county lines, working for a modern-day Bill Sykes. There is a whole stratum of people on the fringes our communities who drift or are dragged into crime and a separate sub-culture, where crime becomes a way of life. The lure of easy money, of getting rich quick, is like a drug, but all addictions eventually come at a cost. It clearly demonstrates that the escalation of these crimes leads to greater risks being taken and ultimately to danger.

The local environs are well used, the run down and deprived areas of Liverpool provide the stark grittiness, but then there are the more affluent areas and the Antony Gormley statues on the beach. These bold contrasts make for an atmospheric read.

Of course, Liverpudlians like to think that they are hilarious, so it is fitting that there are some good one-liners, put downs and nicknames. The gang taking names from Snow White’s Seven Dwarfs is the sort of silliness I can get behind; these are not sophisticated criminals. Then there is how Skeeter came to be so ludicrously named and her life of nicknames, that in the end makes perfect sense.

Catch as Catch Can is an engaging police procedural with plenty of action and a seam of gritty realism throughout. Looking forward to reading more about April and Skeeter.

* Tico a black greyhound famously won both the English and Irish Greyhound Derbies in 1986

Catch as Catch Can may published direct from the publisher here

The audiobook version that I listened to can be purchased from Audible/Amazon 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.

Catch as Catch Can and Syn published in 2021. The third book, Edge of the Land, will be out in 2024.

Source: Publisher’s website

The narrator

Hobeck Books is the brainchild of author and broadcaster Adrian Hobart and publisher Rebecca Collins, and is based in a big old barn in the Staffordshire countryside.

Adrian has been a broadcaster and journalist with the BBC for twenty-five years, and is an audiobook narrator, filmmaker and a writer. 

Source: publisher’s website

Yule Island #JohanaGustawsson #YuleIsland

By Johana Gustawsson https://www.johanagustawsson.com/ @JoGustawsson

Translated by David Warriner https://wtranslation.ca/en/ @givemeawave

Published by Orenda Books https://orendabooks.co.uk/ @OrendaBooks

Publishing date 1 December 2023

256 pages ISBN  9781914585975

I was sent an electronic 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

My initial thoughts were it’s a little dull, though I was curious about the scissors. Once I started reading, I realised how clever it is bringing out so many symbols from Norse lore and what happened in the novel.  

Pete’s ponderings

I guess genre is important because it enables publishers and booksellers to place a novel where potential readers may come across it, after all we all have a favourite genre. Some readers precise in what they read and everything must be just so, as they like it, whereas others like myself are much more flexible, promiscuous readers.

Some of the best books I read recently blur the edges or even cross genres entirely. Bold writing, sometimes a little messy, but wonderfully imaginative, creativity let loose rather than being boxed in. Yule Island is one such novel. When I started reading, I was thinking it was a crime story, admittedly a dark and a little outlandish one, then it morphs into a tense psychological thriller. The final third then summons the spirit of Edgar Allan Poe and turns full on gothic horror, the pieces were there, it just took me a while to realise and slot them together, WOW, what an exhilarating denouement.

My review

Emma Lindahl is an expert art appraiser who is give a career boosting opportunity, to appraise the antiques and artefacts at an infamous manor house owned by one of Sweden’s wealthiest dynasties. She is a little apprehensive though, and rightly so as the properties is on a small island, Storholmen, where nine years ago a young woman was murdered, and the case remains unsolved.

She is working for the Gussman family, who are not particularly friendly and impose tight restrictions on where and when she can work for them. By avoiding her are they trying to elude something from the past being exposed? The deeper Emma digs the more convinced she is that there is a dark secret hidden away.

Detective Karl Rosén’s failure to solve the case returns to haunt him when the body of another young woman is found. There are clear similarities between the two cases, which also indicate a ritualistic element to the killings. A shot at redemption for Karl, but he is a man weighed down by the disappearance of his own wife.

I’m sure the prose style will get some purist’s teeth grating but ignore them. It is written in multiple first-person present tense, but for reasons I won’t elaborate upon it works perfectly and wouldn’t have the same impact in any other form. The quality of the prose itself is superb and a doff my cap to the translator David Warriner for preserving this.

The plot is dark and gets a little darker with successive reveals. Its construction is an absolute Tour de Force, being crafted for impact. There are secrets revealed throughout and just when the reader gets comfortable things are upended. To say that the storyline twists and turns is an understatement, it’s like trying to ride one of those mechanical rodeo bulls, so hang on tight. The Norse Sagas and mythology figure heavily and add context and insight into the killings, but it’s the ritualistic element that grabs the reader’s attention. Like the end the much-loved cult movie ‘The Wicker Man’ there is a moment that left me lost for words, perfect example of timing and surprise.

The setting is well used, with distinctly Swedish elements, and we get a sense of the paradox of somewhere seemingly remote but that is just a short distance from Stockholm. Relying on ferries for transport always works in thrillers, but the remoteness and the lack of vehicles on the island gives a sense of almost going back in time. There is a current murder, but it leads back to the historic one; the manor is only a hundred years old, but descriptions make it seem older, along with a smell of damp and decay. Here is an island seemingly frozen in the past.

The characters are both interesting and engaging, though several have hidden depths and secrets. The central two, Emma and Karl, work well as a pairing even though there is little chemistry between them. They are two determined individuals who wear their believed guilt and personal sorrows like heavy burdens. They both want answers so naturally gravitate. Lucas Blix professor by day and gay drag act Lulu by evening brings colour and a needed lift from the darkness. Anneli provides the love interest and an almost spiritual healing.

This for me was a two-speed read; it started slowly almost leisurely then it picks up speed like and out of control express train and I found myself tearing through the second half. Once it has you gripped it will consume your entire attention, transfixed like a rabbit in the headlights. It is a relatively short novel and I would imagine most readers will get through it in one or two sittings, the writing is that good.

As a reader I don’t do my top ten reads of the year, partly down to laziness and partly down to being too fickle and indecisive to narrow them down and stick to them. That said, this is certainly one of my best reads of the year.

Don’t bother trying to pigeonhole Yule Island just sit back, enjoy its dark, creepiness and every shocking revelation. Simply a superb modern gothic horror thriller.  

Yule Island can be purchased direct from the publisher here

The author

Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series, including Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song, has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in nineteen countries. A TV adaptation is currently under way in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. The Bleeding was a number-one bestseller in France and received immense critical acclaim across the globe. Johana lives in Sweden with her Swedish husband and their three sons.

The translator

David Warriner translates from French and nurtures a healthy passion for Franco, Nordic and British crime fiction. Growing up in deepest Yorkshire, he developed incurable Francophilia at an early age. Emerging from Oxford with a Modern Languages degree he narrowly escaped the graduate rat race by hopping on a plane to Canada – and never looked back. More than a decade into a high-powered commercial translation career, he listened to his heart and turned his hand to the delicate art of literary translation. David has lived in France and Quebec, and now calls beautiful British Columbia home.

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

Monument to Murder #TEAMDANIELS #MariHannah #MonumentToMurder

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

Narrated by Colleen Prendergast @CMPrendergast_

Published by Pan Macmillan https://www.panmacmillan.com/ @panmacmillan

480 pages (11 hours 47 minutes) ISBN 9781447246046

Publication date 11 November 2014

Monument to Murder is the fourth book in the Kate Daniels Mysteries series. Click on the links to read my reviews of the first three books in the series, The Murder Wall (1), Settled Blood (2) and Deadly Deceit (3).

I reviewed an audiobook version purchased from Audible https://www.audible.co.uk/ @audibleuk. 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 Killing for Keeps the fifth novel in the series will be posted on this blog in late December.

The Cover

A Northeast coastal beauty spot but captured against grey ominous skies rather than bright sunshine. A fitting cover for a dark moody book.

The Narration

Great all-round performance with a nice range of voices and a good stab at my local accent.

Pete’s ponderings

As a species humans have been adaptable and developed survival skills. One of these is the ability to recognise danger that is now hard wired into our subconscious, which then promotes the fight or flight response. In the modern world this becomes difficult to assess as there are so many possible deceptions, but many people still believe that they can quickly and accurately judge a character on appearance and a brief meeting. We are all prone to making snap judgements, but how often do we get it wrong. The man drinking strong lager in the street at 8 am probably is an alcoholic, but there are also many high functioning alcoholics in work and often with responsible jobs. Similarly, not all mental health issues have obvious physical manifestations, something that will become apparent in this story.

My review

Skeletal remains are found at a beauty spot on the coast close to Bambrough Castle. With so little to go on DCI Kate Daniels enlists the help of a forensic anthropologist to help with the identification. It transpires that the bones are those of a young girl of around 10-year-old, which surprises Kate as the fragments of clothing remains seem to indicate someone much older. Further excavations reveal another skeleton, this one being a girl of around 15-year-old, likely as not the same killer, but these bodies have been buried years apart, making it an unusual deposition site. One connection appears to be a string of fake toy pearls included with the skeletons, which spark a memory in Kate’s past, she is familiar with these pearls.

Jo Soulsby has taken the research position at the local prison, HMP Northumberland, but it is far from reaching her level of expectations, leaving her frustrated. She is beginning to realise that the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere and misses her involvement with police investigations.

Meanwhile Jo’s old friend and prison psychologist Emily McCann is also having a tough time. She is recently widowed and her 19-year-old daughter is struggling to come to terms with their loss. After a period of compassionate leave, she is determined to return to work, but it is a baptism of fire. Convicted sex offender Walter Fearon has become obsessed with Emily and is determined to play sick mind games with her. He is due to be released soon, coinciding with an escalation in his behaviour, leading Emily to worry what he has in mind if he is released. Something she wants to prevent.

The plot has two distinct strands, the procedural investigation into the murdered girls and the psychological mind games being played out “within these walls” at the prison.

The procedural side manages to capture the difficulties and frustrations faced by officers, struggling to identify remains that are just skeletons, without becoming dull. We see the importance of being tenacious and chasing down any possible lead no matter how remote it at first appears. Of course, luck plays its part, we all need a bit of luck, but it is the skill and perception to identify the opportunities that this can present.

The psychological strand is quite disturbing as we see a confined man with little to do other than formulate foul plans in the hope of living out sick fantasies. Truly a case of the devil making work for idle hands. This provides a great counterpoint to the procedural side of the story, injecting action and jeopardy along with a big dollop of creepiness.

For a series that thrives on strong female roles, Emily is somewhat weak and vulnerable, which is a little surprising for a prison psychologist who deals with the disturbed and disturbing. It is however a great example of the cumulative effects on an individual’s psyche, where even the mentally strong can be stressed to breaking point. There is a lesson for us all here, coping mechanisms will become overwhelmed. Emily’s fears are only too real and faced by many women the world over, here she is fortunate to have the support of strong friends in Jo and Kate.

The team all have their parts to play, though in this story Hank takes more of a backseat. The investigation crosses constabulary borders and we meet a keen young officer who makes an immediate impact on Kate and Hank, so I think we will be hearing more from her. It is important to include new blood into any new series to keep it fresh.

Jo and Kate’s relationship continues to stutter, the friction between to two provides some great sexual tension, but as always with these situations realistically it must become resolved at some point. The big question is how much this resolution will impact the overall dynamic.

Monument to Murder is a great police procedural that examines the corrosive effects of excessive grief on people.      

Monument to Murder can be purchased via the publisher’s website here

The author

When an injury on duty ended my career as Probation Officer, I began writing. I am the author of the Kate Daniels and Ryan & O’Neil series published by Pan Macmillan and the Stone & Oliver series published by Orion. My debut, The Murder Wall, was written as a TV pilot for a BBC Drama Development Scheme – before the adaption. The novel won the Polari First Book Prize. Before becoming an author, I fell in love with scriptwriting and submitted speculative original dramas to the BBC Writersroom. I’ve also written a romantic comedy feature film that I hope will find a producer one day. In 2010, I won the Northern Writers’ Award for my second novel, Settled Blood. And in 2017, I won the Dagger in the Library for my body of work. I’m represented by AM Heath literary agent, Oli Munson, and live in Northumberland with my partner, a former murder detective.

Source: Goodreads profile