#Blogtour An Honest Living by Dwyer Murphy

 It’s my turn on the Blogtour An Honest Living by Dwyer Murphy.

About the Author

Dwyer Murphy is the editor-in-chief of Crime Reads, Literary Hub’s crime fiction vertical and the world’s most popular destination for thriller readers. He practised law at Debevoise and Plimpton in New York City, where he was alitigator, and served as editor of the Colombia Law Review. He was previously an Emerging Writer Fellow at the Centre for Fiction. Follow @DwyerMurphy on X.

About the book

Brooklyn, mid-2000s. After leaving behind the comforts of a prestigious law firm, a restless attorney attempts to make ends meet by picking up odd jobs from a colourful assortment of clients. When the mysterious Anna Reddick turns up at his apartment with ten thousand dollars in cash and asks him to track down her missing husband, he trusts it will be an easy case. 

That is until the real Anna Reddick shows up – a magnetic but unpredictable literary prodigy- and he finds himself out of his depth and drawn into a series of deceptions involving Joseph Conrad novels, unscrupulous booksellers and seedy real estate developers. Set against the tail end of the analogue era, An Honest Living is a gripping story of artistic ambition, obsession, and the small crimes we commit against one another every every day.

Review

It’s gentle knock at the door, a reminder of a New York only some may recognise – it awakens a kind of familiarity, perhaps a certain element of nostalgia. Memories of faded experiences, less restricted coming together and an inclination to engage without thought.

The noirish vibe wanders hand in hand with a sharp tang of literary fiction, but is sometimes hampered by the instinctual need to outwit the viewer, dazzle the reader with facts, knowledge and shiny intellect. The result is that here and there some readers will leave the train early or find themselves stuck at a specific station stuck on a minor detail or the lack of one that is important to them.

In between jobs, the main character – a man of law – picks up what appears to be an easy task and a way to make a lot of money, but it actually turns out to be the foot in the door for trouble coming straight in his direction. He finds himself drawn into a world he can barely swim in, let alone survive successfully.

It’s an interesting venture, possibly because it evokes a feeling of nostalgia for smoke filled rooms and crystal tumblers filled with booze that burns a hole in your throat. I enjoyed the oddly obsessive bookish element of the story – it’s simultaneously obsessive, creepy and smacks equally of greed and possessiveness. It also captures the strange nature of the species called collector, although I have the greatest understanding when it comes to the elusive works of the literary world. 

Buy An Honest Living at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: No Exit Press; pub date 01. January, 2024. Buy via Amazon com.

#BlogTour Psychopaths Anonymous by Will Carver

It’s an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Psychopaths Anonymous by Will Carver. It’s a dark read and a cracking one.

About the Author

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his  sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Will’s latest title published by Orenda Books,

The Beresford was published in July. His previous title Hinton Hollow Death Trip was longlisted for the Not the Booker Prize, while Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Telegraph and Daily Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts. Follow @will_carver on Twitter

About the book

When AA meetings make her want to drink more, alcoholic murderess Maeve sets up a group for psychopaths. Maeve has everything. A high-powered job, a beautiful home, a string of uncomplicated one-night encounters. She’s also an addict: a functioning alcoholic with a dependence on sex and an insatiable appetite for killing men.

When she can’t find a support group to share her obsession, she creates her own. And Psychopaths Anonymous is born. Friends of Maeve.

Now in a serious relationship, Maeve wants to keep the group a secret. But not everyone in the group adheres to the rules, and when a reckless member raises suspicions with the police, Maeve’s drinking spirals out of control. She needs to stop killing. She needs to close the group. But Maeve can’t seem to quit the things that are bad for her, including her new man…

Review

What’s not to enjoy about the refreshing honesty with which Maeve goes about her daily life. The automatic and expected boxes are ticked to keep up appearances, but what happens when the small moments of truth and pleasure threaten to interfere with the way she runs her life. Can she sustain any kind of long-term relationship or friendship without being swallowed up by the darkness she likes to cater to.

I think I enjoyed this book for all the wrong reasons. At the top of that list is the fact the author peels back the layers of the shallow exteriors and presents a very real reality. In fact I wonder what would or will happen if psychopathic or sociopathic traits become an acceptable part of society? 

Next on the list, and I have mentioned this in a review of a book written by a recovering alcoholic who swallowed the scheme whole and shouted it out to the world, is the way Carver takes AA to task. It doesn’t work, and the statistics are very interesting. It divides the addicted into categories, some of which are set-up to fail like some self-fulfilling prophecy. Not because of the addiction per se, but because of the way it is infused with a cult like dependency on a reverence to religion and God. 

Clearly only the door reading you must accept God and faith into your heart or fail automatically, means everyone who steps through another door is on a fast path to failure. It also means blame and guilt for loss of sobriety has an automatic perpetrator, as opposed to having personal accountability or looking at the cause and not the symptom.

And the third point is the logistical aspect of certain victimology, which should probably raise alarm bells about the writer, if I were so inclined, but I’m not. (My next FoM meeting is coming Wednesday at six pm – just saying.) 

If Friends of Maeve groups start to pop up everywhere we all know whose door to knock on, right? Talk about giving people ideas and some direction in their lives. Trust Carver to create the kind of book that people will probably either feel uncomfortable about or not admit to liking it for being a bit more than a crime read. I loved it. It’s deliciously dark. It lacks any kind of societal norm or boundary. Most importantly it speaks softly to the dark side – they might not acknowledge it, but they are listening. It’s a superb read.

Buy Psychopaths Anonymous at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Orenda Books pub date 25 Nov. 2021. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Orendabooks.

#BlogTour Violet by S.J.I. Holliday

Today it’s a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Violet by S.J.I. Holliday. It’s a noirish psychological thriller.About the Author

S.J.I. (Susi) Holliday is a scientist, writing coach and the bestselling author of five crime novels, including the Banktoun Trilogy (Black Wood, Willow Walk and The Damselfly), the festive chiller The Deaths of December and her creepy Gothic psychological thriller The Lingering. Her short story ‘Home From Home’ was published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and shortlisted for the CWA Margery Allingham Prize.

Encapsulating her love of travel and claustrophobic settings, her latest novel, Violet, explores toxic friendships and the perils of talking to strangers, as well as drawing on her own journey on the Trans-Siberian Express over 10 years ago. All of her novels have been UK ebook number-one bestsellers. Susi was born and raised in Scotland and now divides her time between Edinburgh, London and as many other exciting places that she can fit in.

Follow @SJIHolliday @OrendaBooks on Twitter, on Amazon, on Goodreads,  Visit sjiholliday.com, Buy Violet

About the book

Carrie’s best friend has an accident and can no longer make the round-the-world trip they’d planned together, so Carrie decides to go it alone.

Violet is also travelling alone, after splitting up with her boyfriend in Thailand. She is desperate for a ticket on the Trans-Siberian Express, but there is nothing available.When the two women meet in a Beijing Hotel, Carrie makes the impulsive decision to invite Violet to take her best friend’s place.

Thrown together in a strange country, and the cramped cabin of the train, the women soon form a bond. But as the journey continues, through Mongolia and into Russia, things start to unravel –because one of these women is not who she claims to be…

Review

This is going to sound strange, but it’s nice to see or read a story with a woman as the stone cold psychopath. She may not be as quick-witted and sassy as Villanelle, however she sure does try hard to be right up there with the worst of them. Okay, that’s a lie she doesn’t try very hard, because death and violence come quite easily to her.

Is this a story about trust? Or is it a story about someone who really just wants to love and be loved? A lonely soul in search of human contact, warmth and affection.She may get a wee bit testy when things don’t go her way or the object of her obsession doesn’t want to be obsessed over. Granted, she may leave her path littered with corpses, but hey her heart is in the right place.

Or is this a story about a criminal mind, someone who is very adept at finding the right mark, perhaps we should call them prey instead. Finding the right person at the right time. Someone to leech off of and yet simultaneously fill a gaping void with.

It’s noirish psychological thriller with a Mr Ripley vibe, but with less class and on a backpacking budget. Holliday steps it up a notch with this relentlessly dark and brutal read. There is no time or space for pity, fear or remorse. It just is.

It will probably make you look twice at the kind stranger you feel such an instant connection with, especially if you like escaping into the wilds of the world with just a backpack and a thirst for new experiences. Pay attention – are they friend or foe. Do they care if you live or die?

Buy Violet at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Orenda Books, Publication date: 14 November 2019 | Paperback Original | £8.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Orenda Books

Read my review of The Lingering by S.J.I. Holliday.

#BlogTour East of England by Eamonn Griffin

Today it’s my turn on the BlogTour East of England by Eamonn Griffin. It’s a clever tongue in cheek nod to the old gangster regimes, but with a small countryside flair to it.

About the Author

Eamonn Griffin was born and raised in Lincolnshire, though these days he lives in north-east Wales.

He’s worked as a stonemason, a strawberry picker, in plastics factories (everything from packing those little bags for loose change you get from banks to production planning via transport manager via fork-lift driving), in agricultural and industrial laboratories, in a computer games shop, and latterly in further and higher education.

He’s taught and lectured in subjects as diverse as leisure and tourism, uniformed public services, English Studies, creative writing, film studies, TV and film production, and media theory. He doesn’t do any of that anymore. Instead he writes fulltime, either as a freelancer, or else on fiction. Eamonn has a PhD in creative writing with the University of Lancaster, specialising in historical fiction, having previously completed both an MA in popular film and a BSc in sociology and politics via the Open University. He really likes biltong, and has recently returned to learning to play piano, something he abandoned when he was about seven and has regretted since.

Follow @eamonngriffin @Unbound_Digital, Visit campsite.bio/eamonngriffin or eamonngriffinwriting.com

Buy East of England

About the book

Dan Matlock is out of jail. He’s got a choice. Stay or leave. Go back to where it all went wrong, or just get out of the county. Disappear. Start again as someone else. But it’s not as simple as that.

There’s the matter of the man he killed. It wasn’t murder, but even so. You tell that to the family. Especially when that family is the Mintons, who own half of what’s profitable and two thirds of what’s crooked between the Wolds and the coast. Who could have got to Matlock as easy as you like in prison, but who haven’t touched him. Not yet.

Like Matlock found out in prison, there’s no getting away from yourself. So what’s the point in not facing up to other people? It’s time to go home.

Review

I had no idea it was this dangerous on the other side of the Humber. The next time I use the Humber bridge I will make sure to venture into the den of iniquity braced with my hardman persona and a cosh.

I’ll admit that the title in no way prepares the reader for the well written plot. It’s as if the author wants the reader to make assumptions based on the bland almost blasé words used to describe such an nondescript part of England. In comparison to other parts of the country it’s become a little bit like the forgotten land in between the hard-nosed North and the laid-back South. The first being not far from Scotland and the latter close to London, and keeper of the gates to the mainland.

I digress.

Dan Matlock has just been released from prison after being convicted for manslaughter. To be completely fair he wasn’t trying to kill anyone and even if he might have thought about it for a minute, well he ended up taking out the wrong man instead. He knows exactly what he is going do, as he heads straight back into the lions den to face the consequences for killing one of their lion cubs.

For some strange reason he never expected the Minton’s to have been planning their own version of the Hunger Games to get revenge. Well, perhaps more tea break than hunger and fight club rather than games, and uhh definitely a tad more English ruffy-tuffy- style. It’s up to Matlock to outsmart them, save his loved ones and somehow equal the score between the two families.

Griffin takes the London gangster feel of the 60s and infuses the Lincolnshire area with the old eye for an eye justice system. It’s my word is my bond, and you have to pay off your debt, kind of mentality in this crime thriller with a noirish feel to it.

I enjoyed it, in fact I think Griffin has a talent for spinning a yarn. It’s a clever tongue in cheek nod to the old gangster regimes, but with a small countryside flair to it.

Buy East of England at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Unbound Digital; pub date 24 Jan. 2019

Buy at Books Ect, at Foyles, Google Play, Hive, Waterstones,

#BlogTour Beton Rouge by Simone Buchholz

Today it’s my turn on the BlogTour Beton Rouge by Simone Buchholz. (Translated by Rachel Ward) It’s criminal noir with characters who are bigger than the plot, which makes them the story. This is the second book in the Chastity Riley series and hopefully not the last.

About the Author

Simone Buchholz was born in Hanau in 1972. At university, she studied Philosophy and Literature, worked as a waitress and a columnist, and trained to be a journalist at the prestigious Henri-Nannen-School in Hamburg. In 2016, Simone Buchholz was awarded the Crime Cologne Award, and second place in the German Crime Fiction Prize, for Blue Night, which was number one on the KrimiZEIT Best of Crime List for months. She lives in Sankt Pauli, in the heart of Hamburg, with her husband and son.

Follow @ohneKlippo @OrendaBooks on Twitter, Visit simonebuchholz.com

Buy Beton Rouge

About the book

The second book in the critically acclaimed Chastity Riley series.

On a warm September morning, a man is found unconscious and tortured in a cage at the entrance to the offices of one of Germany’s biggest magazines. He’s soon identified as a manager of the company. Three days later, another manager appears in a similar way.

The magazine staff were facing significant layoffs, so sympathy for the two men is in short supply. Chastity Riley and her new colleague Ivo Stepanovic are tasked with uncovering the truth behind the attacks, an investigation that goes far beyond the revenge they first suspect, to the dubious past shared by both victims. Travelling to the south of Germany, they step into the hothouse world of boarding schools, where secrets are currency, and monsters are bred…monsters who will stop at nothing to protect themselves.

Review

I think what I enjoy most about the particular style Buchholz brings to the table, is the ‘I don’t care what is going on around me – my grasp on reality and life in general is more important’ attitude of the main character. This is what gives the Chastity Riley series a distinctive noir touch, and of course the more brusque character interaction and dialogue.

She always seems, and interestingly enough she says it herself, completely distanced from everything and everyone, including the cases she works on. Imagine the universe of Chastity and all the other characters are fellow planets circling the sun.

When she is roped into an unusual case involving a man being found naked in a small cage in a public area, she is also introduced to the person in charge of the case, Stepanovic. The meeting of the two is one of the most fascinating elements of this book.

A shout-out to the author for Stepanovic and the anti-Delorean theory. Now I finally understand the no man’s land of the mind and consciousness. Combining his baggage and thought process with that of Chastity’s very own brand of dealing with life and her relationships was a stroke of genius.

The two of them try to understand the mind-set of a perpetrator, who wants to scare and humiliate their victim, and at the same time figure out why nobody has any empathy for the victim.

The phrase Schmidt’s Cat is used quite a few times in the book. Schmidt’s Cat (Schmidt’s Katze) is a phrase used in more recent eras to describe something or someone moving at an incredibly fast speed. Historically – Schmidt derives from the German word Schmied (blacksmith). The blacksmiths would often own a cat that was used to chase the mice away, and the cat would scarper as fast it could when the blacksmith banged his hammer, hence as fast as Schmidt’s Cat.

So as it relates to the boy in the story becomes Sebastian Schmidt’s cat. A well thought out sardonic twist that gets lost in translation somewhat. So, once again with the idiomatic expressions.

I have a feeling that Buchholz is just getting started, and not just where the Chastity Riley series is concerned. She has a fresh, brash voice and isn’t afraid to use it. It’s criminal noir with characters who are bigger than the plot, which makes them the story. Definitely an author to watch out for.

Buy Beton Rouge at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Orenda Books; Paperback pub date 21 Feb 2019, Kindle pub date 28 Dec 2018

Read my review of Blue Night (Chastity Riley #1) by Simone Buchholz

#BlogTour The Monsoon Ghost Image by Tom Vater

Today it’s my turn on the BlogTour The Monsoon Ghost Image by Tom Vater ( A Detective Maier Mystery). This story is a spy thriller come adventure mixed with the harsh reality of modern crime, fraud and betrayal, and topped off with a vicious and noirish vibe.

About the Author

Tom Vater has published four crime novels and is the co-owner of Crime Wave Press, a Hong Kong based crime fiction imprint. He writes for many publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Telegraph, CNN and The Nikkei Asian Review. He is a best-selling non-fiction writer and co-author of the highly acclaimed Sacred Skin (www.sacredskinthailand.com).

Follow @tomvater @crimewavepress on Twitter, on Facebook, on LinkedIn, on Clippings.me,

Visit tomvater.com

About the book

Dirty Pictures, Secret Wars And Human Beasts – Detective Maier Is Back To Investigate The Politics Of Murder

The third Detective Maier mystery is a taut and crazy spy thriller for our disturbing times.

When award-winning German conflict photographer Martin Ritter disappears in a boating accident in Thailand, the nation mourns the loss of a cultural icon. But a few weeks later, Detective Maier’s agency in Hamburg gets a call from Ritter’s wife. Her husband has been seen alive on the streets of Bangkok. Maier decides to travel to Thailand to find Ritter. But all he finds is trouble and a photograph.

As soon as Maier puts his hands on the Monsoon Ghost Image, the detective turns from hunter to hunted – the CIA, international business interests, a doctor with a penchant for mutilation and a woman who calls herself the Wicked Witch of the East all want to get their fingers on Martin Ritter’s most important piece of work – visual proof of a post 9/11 CIA rendition and the torture of a suspected Muslim terrorist on Thai soil. From the concrete canyons of the Thai capital to the savage jungles and hedonist party islands of southern Thailand, Maier and his sidekick Mikhail race against formidable foes to discover some of our darkest truths and to save their lives into the bargain.

Review

When Detective Maier stumbles onto the kind of evidence that can bring down men, companies and even governments to their knees – he finds himself a hunted man. The image that falls into his hands makes Maier and his colleague Mikhail instant targets. They don’t know who to trust or who is part of the extensive viper nest.

The Monsoon Ghost Image can be crass, violent and at times graphic, however it is done without a lot of detail. You get the gist without being confronted with overly explicit scenes per se, which means the author gives the reader the intended noirish and hardcore vibe, but in a way that is approachable for the majority of readers.

Vater has clear strengths when it comes to political and historical finesse, which is especially evident in the first few chapters of the story. He makes an excellent point about media reporting and how society argued about issues prior to and post 9/11. ‘The truth was becoming just another story.’ Never has a truer sentence been written, and it describes the factless based, propaganda driven reporting and passing on of information in our era perfectly.

Personally I would like to see a more literary side to his work, less adventure and more fact-based meanderings, as opposed to flashy and impulsive characters who like rolling in and with the dregs of humanity.

Unfortunately society does have monsters like this, who enjoy killing for the sake of it, and the pain of others does bring them pleasure. It’s perhaps best not to dwell on the monsters hidden by titles of power, walls of money and behind the facade of respectability.

This story is a a spy thriller come adventure mixed with the harsh reality of modern crime, fraud and betrayal, and topped off with a vicious and noirish vibe.

Buy The Monsoon Ghost Image on Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Buy The Monsoon Ghost Image on Amazon com

Publisher: Crime Wave Press; pub date 31 Oct. 2018

#BlogTour Bait, Grist and Security by Mike Hodges

Today it’s more than a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Bait, Grist and Security by Mike Hodges, the cult director of Get Carter and Flash Gordon. The stories have a gangster, old-school boys club vibe combined with shock-jock tactics. They shine a light on the corrupt cesspit of the world of influence and money.

About the Author

Mike Hodges was born in Bristol, UK. As a television producer in the 1960s, he was invited to join the investigative programme World in Action. This took him to the US, covering the 1964 presidential election, and that same year to the war in Vietnam. He produced and sometimes directed the arts programmes Tempo and New Tempo . He is perhaps best-known for his work in cinema and television, including: Get Carter, Suspect, Rumour, The Manipulators, Pulp, The Terminal Man, Flash Gordon, A Prayer for the Dying, Morons from Outer Space, Florida Straits, Black Rainbow, Croupier, and I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead. He lives in London. This is his first book.

Follow @unbounders (publisher) on Twitter

Buy Bait, Grist and Security

About the book

Three darkly comic noir novellas from the cult director of Get Carter

In ‘Bait’, a slippery PR man, Mark Miles, is unaware he’s being manipulated and dangled as bait by an investigative reporter until he’s swallowed by a sadistic mind-expanding cult from America.

In ‘Grist’, the bestselling writer, Maxwell Grist, ruthlessly uses real people as fodder for his crime novels before finding himself living up to his name and becoming grist for his ownmurder.

In ‘Security’, an American movie star, unhappy with the film he’s working on, refuses to leave his hotel for the studios, while in the corridor outside his luxury suite mayhem and murder take over.Review

Bait, Grist and Security are three novellas written by cult director Mike Hodges. It is fair to say that all three stories are an attempt to reveal the worst traits of humans and the failings of society. I think the noir is so dark and dirty that it might be considered crud, either that or sent straight from the depraved bowels of hell.

As a director, Mike Hodges has given us film classics, such as Get Carter and Flash Gordon. I am not sure his writing translates as well as his spectacular talent at envisioning what a film should look like to viewers. Then again perhaps it is just a matter of perspective.

The stories have a gangster, old-school boys club vibe combined with shock-jock tactics. They shine a light on the corrupt cesspit of the world of influence and money. Everything is pretty and polished on the surface, but beneath the shallow exterior lurks something uncomfortable and dark.

The stories are also crude, sexually explicit and often teetering on the border of politically incorrect and absolutely socially unacceptable. The scene with the woman in the field is like something out of the Linda Lovelace (also known as Deep Throat) autobiography, except in her case the bestiality was done unto her by a canine. Then there is the occasional lean towards paedophilia.

It’s most certainly going to be a bit of a marmite read, as in not everyone’s cup of tea. Hodges plays with the dregs of humanity in a sardonic way, then mixes this tone within the constructs of the individual stories, and then lets them take their course.

Buy Bait, Grist and Security at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Publisher: Unbound (29 Nov. 2018)

#BlogTour The Lonely Witness by William Boyle

It’s a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Lonely Witness by William Boyle. It’s a very character driven story. Noir and realism with a pinch of crime.

About the Author

William Boyle is from Brooklyn, New York. Boyle is also the author of Tout est Brisé, a novel recently released in France by Gallmeister, a book of short stories called Death Don’t Have No Mercy and the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger nominated Gravesend. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi. His third novel, A Friend is a Gift you Give Yourself, will be published by No Exit Press in 2019.

Follow @wmboyle4 @noexitpress on Twitter, Visit williammichaelboyle.com

Buy The Lonely Witness

About the book

Amy was once a party girl, but now she lives a lonely life. Helping the house-bound to receive communion in the Gravesend neighbourhood of Brooklyn, she knows the community well. When a local woman goes missing, Amy senses something isn’t right. Tailing the woman’s suspicious son, she winds her way through Brooklyn’s streets. But before she can act, he is dead. Captivated by the crime she’s witnessed and the murderer himself, Amy doesn’t call the cops. Instead, she collects the weapon from the sidewalk and soon finds herself on the trail of a killer.

Review

Amy is a multi-layered character and that makes for an interesting conundrum for herself and the reader. She starts out as the supposedly reformed character, has found religion and become a paragon of the community. All her vices have been folded up and locked into a box, which includes her sexuality. As part of her daily duties she delivers communion to parishioners who haven’t been able to attend church, during one of these visits she encounters an elderly woman who is very distressed.

A strange man keeps entering her home and searching through her belongings. At first Amy isn’t sure whether the woman is imagining things, so she decides to wait and find out for herself. This leads to her meeting a man with dodgy intentions, and whilst trying to figure out what he is up to she witnesses a brutal murder.

This event, and the re-appearance of her alcoholic deadbeat father, seem to send her into a tailspin of sorts. The reinvention of Amy deteriorates within the blink of an eye, as she falls back into old self-destructive patterns and the life of the silent witness.

At times it felt as if the story was drifting along without a real intent or purpose, however I think if you view the story as a noirish Polaroid moment, as opposed to a contemporary happy-go-lucky piece, the lack of intent is more understandable.

Not sure if it was the intention, but there is this pull to take off each individual layer to discover why Amy acts the way she does and felt the need to change. The biggest question being why she feels the need to hide her sexuality, and why she links that with what she considers to be less than stellar behaviour.

It’s a gritty crime novel with a noirish slant. It doesn’t offer up shiny hopeful characters, instead it features the stark reality of life. It’s a very character driven story. Noir and realism with a pinch of crime.

Buy The Lonely Witness at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: No Exit Press, Pub. date 25 October 2018

#BlogTour Palm Beach Finland by Antti Tuomainen

Today it’s my pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Palm Beach Finland by Antti Tuomainen. It’s a quirky venture into witty noir with a cheeky nod in the direction of an 80s cult crime series. Only Tuomainen could pull this off.

About the Author

Finnish Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. The critically acclaimed My Brother’s Keeper was published two years later. In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for ‘Best Finnish Crime Novel of 2011’ and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. Two years later, in 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published. With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards.

Follow @antti_tuomainen @OrendaBooks on Twitter, on Facebook: facebook.com/antti.tuomainen, Visit anttituomainen.com

Buy Palm Beach Finland

About the book

Jan Nyman, the ace detective of the covert operations unit of the National Central Police, is sent to a sleepy seaside town to investigate a mysterious death. Nyman arrives in the town dominated by a bizarre holiday village – the ‘hottest beach in Finland’. The suspect: Olivia Koski, who has only recently returned to her old hometown. The mission: find out what happened, by any means necessary.

With a nod to Fargo, and the darkest noir, Palm Beach, Finland is both a page-turning thriller and a wicked black comedy about lust for money, fleeing dreams and people struggling at turning points in their lives … from the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’.

Review

I shouldn’t really be surprised that Tuomainen has managed to write a crime novel, which takes place in Finland, that is an ode to the 80s and the very memorable cult police series Miami Vice. Think sun, palm trees, detectives dressed to the nines in bright suits and blazers, and streets lined with blinking neon signs. Now think cold breezy Finland, plastic palm trees, gaudy neon signs, uniforms a la Baywatch that barely cover body parts and a detective who dresses with a Woodstock vibe.

Olivia has returned to her hometown after the death of her father to find his house is smack-bang in the middle of a very ambitious beach resort. It puts her in a precarious situation and on top of that the house is falling apart around her. It’s an expensive money-pit and she has no money.

Jan Nyman is an undercover cop who is sent into the middle of a curious murder case, which also happens to take place in the middle of this peculiar ‘luxury’ beach resort. In fact everything and everyone is connected to the Palm Beach Finland.

‘Bookings are being taken for the summer season 2019 as we speak, don’t delay – rooms are going quicker than an Aldi cashier zapping items through on the cash desk conveyor belt.’ – Palm Beach Finland Resort.

In his own way the author shows how shallow, desperate and greedy the human race can be when it comes down to cold hard cash. Friends betray friends, honest people become criminals and the supposedly morally correct suddenly get selective memories.

It’s a quirky venture into witty noir with a cheeky nod in the direction of an 80s cult crime series. Only Tuomainen could pull this off.  He has a talent for creating bizarre storylines and making them not only enjoyable but also seem completely normal. Definitely an author to check out.

Buy Palm Beach Finland at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Orenda Books, Publication Date: October 2018

Read my review of The Man Who Died by Antti Tuomainen.

#BlogTour Trap by Lilja Sigurdardóttir

Today it is an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour for Trap by Lilja Sigurdardóttir. It’s the sequel to Snare, and as in the first book, the action doesn’t let up for a second. It’s Nordic Noir with a hefty pinch of reality.About the Author

Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written four crime novels, with Snare, the first in a new series, hitting bestseller lists worldwide. The film rights have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. She lives in Reykjavík with her partner.

Follow @lilja1972  @OrendaBooks on Twitter, Visit liljawriter.com

Buy Trap

About the book

Happily settled in Florida, Sonja believes she’s finally escaped the trap set by unscrupulous drug lords. But when her son Tomas is taken, she’s back to square one … and Iceland.

Her lover, Agla, is awaiting sentencing for financial misconduct after the banking crash, and Sonja refuses to see her. And that’s not all … Agla owes money to some extremely powerful men, and they’ll stop at nothing to get it back.

With her former nemesis, customs officer Bragi on her side, Sonja puts her own plan into motion, to bring down the drug barons and her scheming ex-husband, and get Tomas back safely. But things aren’t as straightforward as they seem, and Sonja finds herself caught in the centre of a trap that will put all of their lives at risk…

Set in a Reykjavík still covered in the dust of the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption, and with a dark, fast-paced and chilling plot and intriguing characters, Trap is an outstandingly original and sexy Nordic crime thriller, from one of the most exciting new names in crime fiction.

Review

Trap is the sequel to Snare, which is the story of a mother caught up in drug smuggling ring and desperately trying to save herself and her son. Trap begins with Sonja being brought back to her harsh reality, when she and Tomas are returned to Iceland against her will.

Sonja finds herself back in the same cycle of emotional blackmail and in the middle of a hive of criminals. Her focus however remains the same, to get her son away from his father. The only reason he wants Tomas is to keep Sonja in line and making a profit for him as a very good drug mule.

You can almost feel the change in Sonja in this book, as her feelings of helplessness turn into rage, which she channels to try and outsmart her ex and the hardcore criminals she is dealing with. Hopefully she hasn’t bitten off more than she can chew?

When I say good drug mule I have to mention how efficient Sonja is at transporting the drugs and evading detection at the airports and border control points. The author seems to have researched this smuggling malarkey intricately and has it down to a fine art. Just to clarify – I mean describing it in the story and not actually physically smuggling anything herself.

The stories by Sigurdardóttir are going from strength to strength, which is perhaps not discernible at a first glance, because the pace is fast and the noir is darker than a sooty cat. It’s easy to overlook the meticulous detail and research that has gone into the creation of the storyline, in regards to the drug smuggling and the fraudulent financial dealings by the bankers or banksters, as the author calls them.

It’s an action packed, fast-paced read filled with the brutal reality of the drug world, an abusive controlling ex and the dirty world of finance. It’s Nordic Noir with a hefty pinch of reality.

Buy Trap (Reykjavik Noir #2) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Buy Snare (Reykjavik Noir #1) at Amazon Uk

Read my review of Snare by Lilja Sigurdardóttir