#BlogTour Requiem in La Rossa by Tom Benjamin

 It’s my turn on the BlogTour Requiem in La Rossa by Tom Benjamin. ‘Requiem in La Rossa is the third in Tom Benjamin’s critically-acclaimed Bologna-set series featuring British private detective Daniel Leicester.’ 

About the Author

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

About the book

In the sweltering heat of a Bologna summer, a murderer plans their pièce de résistance…

Only in Bologna reads the headline in the Carlino after a professor of music is apparently murdered leaving the opera. But what looks like an open-and-shut case begins to fall apart when English detective Daniel Leicester is tasked with getting the accused man off, and a trail that begins among Bologna’s close-knit classical music community leads him to suspect there may be a serial killer at large in the oldest university in the world. 

Review

Leicester is asked to look into a peculiar case, a young musician who has caused the death of a professor. A clear case, but someone believes there are unanswered questions. Then again perhaps it is just about soothing a guilty conscience.

Daniel has this suave way about him, not at all like a foreigner far from home. The assimilation between himself and his country of choice helps him to blend in, and perhaps it also helps him to comprehend the truth of the matter.

I enjoyed the way the author used the imagery, sensations and reactions of the instability of the earth to parallel the same in the characters and the story. The earth moving, buildings shifting and the feeling of possible impending disaster runs smoothly alongside the revelations of Daniel’s investigations.

The author definitely makes the reader want to experience the surroundings for themselves. The moments of serenity whilst taking in the surroundings, the history and the people. You can absolutely understand how captivating it is, then add a little crime to the mix, and hey presto. It’s also another one I would love to see on the small screen.

It’s a story that comes alive through the eyes of the main character – a crime that starts off with one simple deed and evolves into something much more wicked.

Buy Requiem in La Rossa at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏:  Constable pub date 5 May 2022. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour The Hunting Season by Tom Benjamin

It’s my turn on the BlogTour The Hunting Season by Tom Benjamin.

About the Author

Tom Benjamin grew up in London and began his working life as a reporter before becoming a spokesman for Scotland Yard. He went on to work in international aid and public health, developing Britain’s first national programme against alcohol abuse and heading up drugs awareness campaign FRANK. He now lives in Bologna, Italy.

Find @tombenjaminsays on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook or visit tombenjamin.com

About the book

It’s truffle season and in the hills around Bologna the hunt is on for the legendary Boscuri White, the golden nugget of Italian gastronomy. But when an American truffle ‘supertaster’ goes missing, English detective Daniel Leicester discovers not all truffles are created equal. Did the missing supertaster bite off more than he could chew?

As he goes on the hunt for Ryan Lee, Daniel discovers the secrets behind ‘Food City’, from the immigrant kitchen staff to the full scale of a multi-million Euro business. After a key witness is found dead at the foot of one of Bologna’s famous towers, the stakes could not be higher. Daniel teams up with a glamorous TV reporter, but the deeper he goes into the disappearance of the supertaster the darker things become. Murder is once again on the menu, but this time Daniel himself stands accused. And the only way he can clear his name is by finding Ryan Lee…

Discover Bologna through the eyes of English detective Daniel Leicester as he walks the shadowy porticoes in search of the truth and, perhaps, even gets a little nearer to solving the mystery of Italy itself.

Review

I think it’s fair to say searching for a supertaster – yes that’s a thing – isn’t exactly a normal case for any detective. At first Daniel Leicester finds the whole thing peculiar, then interesting and eventually he realises he has stumbled into something quite dangerous.

As Daniel and his team get closer to finding the supertaster they also discover the nature of the truffle market is a very expensive and lucrative business, perhaps one even worth killing for. Will Daniel find the supertaster or is it already too late?

Although there were moments when I thought the beautiful descriptive prose was wasted on the plot that didn’t pull a punch that was hard enough, it’s exactly that element of the read that draws the reader in. Benjamin has a Dibdin like style and charm, especially when it comes to taking his readers by the hand and walking them through the landscape, history and culture.

Delving into the world and history of truffles, the hidden morsel that went from fungi to delicacy, from background singer to A list edible – it’s an eye opener. Probably one which will make readers want to try some, but perhaps not at the ridiculous prices they sell for.

I actually think this is a series that will grow in strength and popularity. I look forward to seeing where the author takes it.

Buy The Hunting Season at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Constable pub date 5 Nov. 2020.  Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Darke Matter by Rick Gekoski

 It really is a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Darke Matter by Rick Gekoski, which is an excellent read.

About the Author

Rick Gekoski came from his native America to do a PhD at Oxford, and went on to teach English at the University of Warwick. In 1982, sick of lecturing, he decided to become a full-time rare book dealer, specialising in important twentieth-century first editions and manuscripts. He lives in London and spends time each year in Paris and New Zealand. 

Follow @RGekoski on Twitter, Visit gekoski.com

About the book

James Darke is dreading the first family Christmas without his wife Suzy. Engulfed by grief, his grudging preparations are interrupted by a persistent knock at the door. Questions about the circumstances of his wife’s death force him to confront the outside world and what really happened to her.

Isolated, angry and diminished, James soon faces a crisis both legal and psychological. It will test his resolve and threaten his freedom. Darke Matter is a brilliant, mordant examination of the nature and obligations of love. Both immensely sad and extremely funny

Review

I absolutely adored this read. The style of writing, the voice, the premise and above all the main character. James Darke is true unto himself and others, as no other is. He is unwilling to sway even a little from his idea of what is right, and yet he will acquiesce now and again to the norm demanded by society.

The chapters with Rudy and his grandfather are a testament to the emotions Darke keeps close to his heart and never lets anyone see or experience. He is a man of many words and lets no one in. The death of his wife and his part in it, isn’t something he is willing to expose to the gossip hungry world. Moving on and through the grief are a private endeavour until he is confronted with the legal ramifications of his actions.

I loved the way Gekoski created the fabric of the story by sewing a patterned quilt of poetry within the story. The readers imbibe the poetic and literary nuances almost in a secondary matter, because Darke is the kind of character who demands attention throughout the entirety of the book.

As if the above wasn’t enough to intrigue, the premise itself is one I feel quite strongly about and think is one of the more important moral, ethical and medical issues of our time. Making the right to die a legal option for those who are suffering and want to end their existence on their own terms. Other countries have moved on from the dark ages, the majority of people in society support euthanasia, unfortunately the medical world still believes the individual is incapable of making such a definitive decision.

I can honestly say this author is one I will be returning to if this is an indication of the brilliance he is capable of. He walks that contentious line well, the line many authors are unable to balance successfully – the line between literary intellect and trying to outsmart readers with a sense of their own self importance and said intellect.

It’s a wonderfully smart, insightful, moving and simultaneously dry and factual read with the kind of main character you can’t help but adore just a tad – even when he is being a bit of an elitist snob and crotchety old man.

Buy Darke Matter at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : Constable pub date 14 May 2020 – hardback £16.99/eBook. Buy at Amazon com. At Hive.

#BlogTour Murder on the Downs by Julie Wassmer

It’s a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Murder on the Downs by Julie Wassmer.

About the Author

Julie Wassmer was born in the East End of London, studied at Kingston University and had a variety of different jobs before she finally settled down to become a professional television drama writer.

She worked on several TV series, including ITV’s London’s Burning, C5’s Family Affairs and the popular BBC soap, EastEnders, which she wrote for almost 20 years.

In 2010, her autobiography More Than Just Coincidence was published by Harper Collins/True. The book entered the Sunday Times Best Selling Non Fiction Top Twenty and went on to become Mumsnet Book of the Year.

In 2015, Julie’s debut crime novel, The Whitstable Pearl Mystery, was published by award-winning publisher, Little, Brown Book Group. Six other books have since followed in the series with more on the way, and the television rights to the series have been optioned by the TV production company, Buccaneer, the makers of Marcella, starring Anna Friel.

Julie moved to Whitstable twenty years ago where she shares a home with her husband, Kas, and three cats, Charlie, Lily and Maisie. She also spends a great deal of time campaigning on environmental issues.

Murder on the Downs is the seventh book in the Whitstable Pearl Mystery series.

Follow @juliewassmer on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit juliewassmer.com, Buy Murder on the Downs

About the book

A controversial new property development is planned in Whitstable which will encroach upon the green open space of the downs, to the dismay of Whitstable residents who view this as the thin end of the wedge with regard to local wildlife conservation.

A campaign springs into life, spearheaded by a friend of Pearl’s family, Martha Laker. A committed environmentalist, Martha is no stranger to controversy herself. She has also managed to divide opinion across town, with the locals viewing her as their fearless champion while establishment figures seeing only an interfering agitator.

Tensions escalate between the developers and Whitstable residents, straining Pearl’s close relationship with London-born police officer, DCI Mike McGuire, who harbours concerns that the local campaign will spiral out of control. Pearl’s loyalties are torn, but the protest duly goes ahead – and newspaper headlines claim a moral victory for the residents in this David and Goliath battle.

But the victory is short lived when Pearl discovers a dead body on the downs…

Review

Pearl is thrown into the middle of a fight between a property developer and the locals in Whitstable. She doesn’t really want to take sides, especially because she is trying to focus on her budding relationship between herself and DCI Mike McGuire. Her hand is forced, although perhaps more due to nostalgia as opposed to admitting the practicality of more people needing affordable housing. That twinge of nostalgia places her firmly on one side. It’s all fun and games, and a bit of rebellion, until somebody turns up dead.

Wassmer captures the essence of rural and coastal smalltown mentality and definitely hits the nail on the head when it comes to the gentrification of areas perceived as perfect by those with second homes. If you happen to live in one of those areas it’s easier to understand the more negative implications for the locals. DfL’s (down-from-London) don’t help the local economy because their holiday homes are empty for the majority of the year. They tend to be key figures and string-pullers when it comes to environmental and conservation protests. It makes them look good. Yes, I am a wee bit cynical.

Wassmer knows exactly how things roll between locals and second home holiday dwellers. The plot is built around the same kind of tension, disgruntled opinions and energy the two sides tend to evoke. Combined with a cosy mystery crime vibe and a blossoming romance this is the kind of read you need when you want distraction and a bit of smalltown quirkiness.

Buy Murder on the Downs ( Whitstable Pearl Mysteries) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Constable; pub date 7 May 2020 – £8.99 Paperback/eBook. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Black Summer by M.W. Craven

Today it’s an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour for Black Summer by M.W. Craven. This is the second book in the Washington Poe series -it’s a cracking read.

About the Author

A brand new voice in British crime fiction, M.W. Craven was born in Carlisle but grew up in Newcastle. He joined the army at sixteen, leaving ten years later to complete a social work degree. Seventeen years after taking up a probation officer role in Cumbria, at the rank of assistant chief officer, he became a full-time author. the first in the Washington Poe series, the Puppet Show, won the 2019 CWA Gold Dagger, has sold numerous foreign territories and has been optioned for TV by Studio Lambert.

M.W. Craven has been shortlisted for the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award, an Amazon Reader Award and a Cumbria Life Award. He is also the author of the Avison Fluke novels, Born in a Burial Ground (shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger) and Body Breaker. Black Summer is the second novel in the Washington Poe series.

Follow @MWCravenUK @LittleBrownUK on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Goodreads, Visit mwcraven.com, Buy Black Summer

About the book

After the Puppet Show, a new storm is coming…

Jared Keaton, chef to the stars. Charming. Charismatic. Psychopath… He’s currently serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of his daughter, Elizabeth. Her body was never found and Keaton was convicted largely on the testimony of Detective Sergeant Washington Poe.

So when a young woman staggers into a remote police station with irrefutable evidence that she is Elizabeth Keaton, Poe finds himself on the wrong end of an investigation, one that could cost him much more than his career.

Helped by the only person he trusts, the brilliant but socially awkward Tilly Bradshaw, Poe races to answer the only question that matters: how can someone be both dead and alive at the same time?

And then Elizabeth goes missing again – and all paths of investigation lead back to Poe.

Review

The first chapter will remain with me for a long time. It takes an excellent author to write something that is simultaneously innocent and the most menacing thing I have read in a long time. I just can’t get the birds out of my head – the description of the scene and the sound I think it must have made.

I’m sending curses to Craven, because I just can’t lose the imagery.

Washington Poe is called in to confirm the details of a gruesome past case. A celebrity chef killed his own daughter, and despite there being no body, he was convicted of her murder. But Elizabeth is back and she is very much alive and kicking, which means Poe made the kind of mistake that ends careers. It also means a psychopath will soon be walking the streets again.

Poe goes over every single step, especially the blood evidence, to find some kind of loophole that will explain how this was able to happen. He, and others, question his investigation and whether he neglected the truth in favour of a fast solution. Then Elizabeth goes missing once again and the shadow of suspicion falls on Poe.

It’s a psychological thriller, a police procedural with the vibe of the macabre, which is drawn from a deep well of darkness. The Puppet Show was good, but this second book in the Washington Poe series is even better. Craven is cementing his mark in the world of crime writers.

I really enjoyed the read and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. Craven has this knack for creating memorable characters that readers connect with – Tilly for instance – and writing his crime with a hint of horror, a dollop of suspense and a spoonful of noir. It’s a dark, riveting read – what can I say it’s Cravenesque.

Buy Black Summer (Washington Poe #2) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Constable – Little Brown Books UK pub date Paperback 12 Dec. 2019 – £7.99. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of The Puppet Show by M.W. Craven

#BlogTour A Clean Canvas by Elizabeth Mundy

Today it’s my turn on the BlogTour A Clean Canvas by Elizabeth Mundy. It’s a cosy crime mystery with a main character who has to navigate life as an immigrant.

About the Author

Elizabeth Mundy’s grandmother was a Hungarian immigrant to America who raised five children on a chicken farm in Indiana. An English Literature graduate from Edinburgh University, Elizabeth is a marketing director for an investment firm and lives in London with her messy husband and two young children. A Clean Canvas is the second book in the Lena Szarka mystery series about a Hungarian cleaner who turns detective.

Follow @ElizabethEMundy on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, Visit elizabethmundy.com

Buy A Clean Canvas

About the book

Crime always leaves a stain…

Lena Szarka, a Hungarian cleaner, dusts off her detective skills when a masterpiece is stolen from a gallery she cleans with her cousin Sarika. When Sarika goes missing too, accusations start to fly.

Convinced her cousin is innocent, Lena sweeps her way through the secrets of the London art scene. But with the evidence against Sarika mounting and the police on her trail, Lena needs to track down the missing painting if she is to clear her cousin.

Embroiling herself in the sketchy world of thwarted talents, unpaid debts and elegant fraudsters, Lena finds that there’s more to this gallery than meets the eye.

Review

This is the second book in the Lena Szarka series and can be read as a standalone novel. There are a few references made to the first book, but nothing that disturbs the flow of this read.

Lena isn’t exactly your standard sleuth, in fact she sort of accidentally falls into the role of detective again to clear the name of Sarika. It is also of utmost importance to ensure the survival of her cleaning company. She doesn’t need a bad reputation, especially not the kind of reputation that comes with the disappearance of an expensive piece of art.

It’s a cosy crime mystery with a main character who has to navigate life as an immigrant. A stranger in a country where she is judged for her origins and accent. Given the side-eye when employers misplace valuable items and in general is an undervalued individual. At the same time Lena isn’t someone to be underestimated. She is nothing less than fierce when she is fighting for someone she cares about.

I thought the theft plot was a little on the weak side and not on par with the attention Mundy pays to the characters. Each one of them is far more developed than the whole painting goes missing scenario, then again that’s maybe because I do like a good dead body and was it Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick story. It’s a pleasant uncomplicated read with a feisty main character.

Buy A Clean Canvas (Lena Szarka Mystery #2) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Constable; pub date 3 Jan. 2019. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Little Brown.

Buy the 2-book Lena Szarka Mystery series.

Enter the Giveaway to Win a Winsor & Newton pocket sized Watercolour set and a signed copy of A Clean Canvas. (UK Only)

Enter the Giveaway below:

Click here to Enter Rafflecopter giveaway *Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box above.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.*

#BlogTour The Puppet Show by M. W. Craven

It’s my turn on the BlogTour The Puppet Show by M. W. Craven. Poe is a character I would always return to, and Craven as a writer of course, because of the perfect balance of crime, injustice and jovial interaction between the characters.

About the Author

A brand new voice in British crime fiction, M. W. Craven was born in Carlisle but grew up in Newcastle. He joined the army at sixteen, leaving ten years later to complete a social work degree. Seventeen years after taking up a probation officer role in Cumbria, at the rank of assistant chief officer, he became a full-time author. The Puppet Show has sold in numerous foreign territories and has been optioned for TV by Studio Lambert.

Follow @MWCravenUK  @LittleBrownUK on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, Visit mwcraven.com

Buy The Puppet Show

About the book

He pulls their strings. He watches them burn. Welcome to the Puppet Show…

A serial killer is burning people alive in the Lake District’s prehistoric stone circles. He leaves no clues and the police are helpless.

When his name is found carved into the charred remains of the third victim, disgraced detective Washington Poe is brought back from suspension and into an investigation he wants no part of.

Reluctantly partnered with the brilliant but socially awkward civilian analyst, Tilly Bradshaw, the mismatched pair uncover a trail that only he is meant to see. The elusive killer has a plan and for some reason Poe is part of it.

As the body count rises, Poe discovers he has far more invested in the case than he could have possibly imagined. And in a shocking finale that will shatter everything he’s ever believed about himself, Poe will learn that there are things far worse than being burned alive…

Review

Washington Poe messed up big time on his last case. He made the kind of decision that cripples careers and brings them to a dead halt, much like his own at this point, and yet here is the force asking him to come right back into the fold. Apparently their latest psycho has made it a necessity for Poe to be on board.

The sideshow favourite has got to be Tilly Bradshaw, who needs her mother’s permission to stay away overnight or engage in anything dangerous, bearing in mind that she works as an analyst for the NCA. Her naivety and intelligence combined with Poe with his devil may care attitude put the funny in this brutal serial killer plot.

However not everything is as it seems in this story filled with hatred and violence. It almost seems ironic that in the end the motives of the killer aren’t dissimilar to something that might drive Poe to commit a crime.

Regardless of that, Craven keeps the ball rolling and the plot twists popping with this revenge driven crime story. The characters are strong and more importantly they are believable, especially Poe. He is the perfect example of the rule-bending, risk-taking and laughs in the face of authority kind of character readers warm to. You can always trust him to do the right thing. Not necessarily the legally right thing or the thing the upper echelon wants him to do, but always the morally right thing.

It’s crime with a funny bone, despite the vicious nature of the crimes, and indeed the horrifying reason for said crimes. Poe is a character I would always return to, and Craven as a writer of course, because of the perfect balance of crime, injustice and jovial interaction between the characters.

Buy The Puppet Show at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Constable – Little Brown Uk: pub date 24 Jan 2019