Blog Tour for #DeathInBlitzCity by @djy_writer @ZaffreBooks @Tr4cyF3nt0n

I have been a huge fan of David Young’s books and absolutely loved his Karin Müller series. I interviewed David back in May 2019 and he mentioned then that he would be starting a new series set in WW2 Hull. So I jumped at the chance of reading and reviewing. Before I give you my thoughts, here’s the blurb.

The Blurb

1942. Hull, East Yorkshire – It is the most heavily-bombed city outside of London – but for the sake of national morale the Hull Blitz is kept top secret. Only the politicians in Whitehall and Hull’s citizens themselves know of the true chaos.

Newly-posted Inspector Ambrose Swift cannot believe the devastation he finds. But for Swift and his two deputies – part-time bare-knuckle boxer Jim ‘Little’ Weighton and Dales farmer’s daughter Kathleen Carver – it’s murder, not the war, that’s at the forefront of their minds.

When a series of sadistic killings is wrongly blamed on locally-stationed black American GIs, Swift, a one-armed former WW1 cavalryman who tours the rubble-strewn city on a white horse, soon discovers these are no ordinary murders. The fetid stench of racism, corruption and perversion go to the very top. And for Swift, Weighton and Carver, finding the real killers means putting their own lives at risk – because powerful forces in the US and Britain cannot let the war effort be undermined. Not even by the truth.

My Review

I enjoy reading historical crime and love WW2 books. A lot of these deal with the actual war, particularly agents abroad. David Young has taken a different tack and given us a new police procedural series set in wartime Hull. Hull was bombed heavily during the war, a fact not mentioned very much. But this novel is less about the wartime effort and more about crime. The ruins of a bombed out house is the perfect place to hide a body.

It often takes a while to settle into a new series but David Young has set up the team beautifully. Detective Inspector Ambrose Swift is ably assisted by Detective Sergeant Jim Weighton, a Hull man whose bulk and local knowledge prove invaluable to his senior officer. In 1942, women in the police force had menial tasks such as typing, filing and making cups of tea. Swift though, appears to be a progressive man, as he can see the potential in Auxiliary Constable Kathleen Carver and encourages her to take a full part in the investigation. Swift is the most intriguing character of all. A former WW1 soldier who lost his arm in action, he’s keen to discover the truth, no matter what the consequences. There’s also a mysterious past from his time in London and I’m looking forward to seeing how that plays out in future stories.

As with his Karin Müller series, David Young has weaved in another historical thread. The full picture doesn’t become clear until near the end. I genuinely wasn’t sure how it was all going to work out. The subtle clues are there but I hadn’t spotted them all. It certainly made for a very interesting story and I’m looking forward to reading more about Detective Inspector Swift and his team.

You can buy Death in Blitz City here or check out your local bookshop.

The Author

East Yorkshire-born David Young began his East German-set crime series on a creative writing MA at London’s City University when Stasi Child – his debut – won the course prize. The novel went on to win the 2016 CWA Historical Dagger, and both it and the 2017 follow-up, Stasi Wolf, were longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. His novels have been sold in eleven territories round the world. Before becoming a full-time author, David was a senior journalist with the BBC’s international radio and TV newsrooms for more than 25 years. You can follow him on Twitter @djy_writer

The Redeemer by @VictoriaGoldma2 @3CPublishingUK

A very happy publication day to Victoria Goldman for The Redeemer. I’ve known about this book for quite a long time and it’s been a tough journey to publication. So I’m thrilled for Victoria that it’s now out to buy and read. Before I share an extract and a short review with you, here’s the blurb.

The Blurb

‘REPENT BEFORE YOU DIE … OR MAY YOU NEVER R.I.P.’

Threatening plaques, vigilante killings, a Jewish community in an English town – what’s the link? The clock is ticking to the next murder.

After witnessing a racist incident in a small Hertfordshire town, journalist Shanna Regan uncovers a series of threatening fake commemorative plaques. Each plaque highlights someone’s misdemeanour rather than a good deed.

Delving deeper, Shanna discovers these plaques are linked to vigilante killings spanning several decades, with ties to the local Jewish community.

As her search for the truth becomes personal, Shanna puts her own life in danger. Can she stop the next murder in time?

The Redeemer is a compelling, thought-provoking murder mystery debut, featuring themes of prejudice, identity and heritage, revenge and redemption, and secrets from the past.

The Extract

From the end of chapter three

Twenty-five Campton Avenue is also a bungalow, but it couldn’t be more different from Valerie and Harry’s well-manicured home.

This one looks like it’s been neglected for years, with its frontage exposed to the elements, battered by wind and rain, and a faded blue door with paint scraped off around its edges. The front garden is overgrown, with grass stems up to my knees and prickly weeds growing through the crazy-paving cracks. Remnants of yesterday’s downpour linger: small shimmering puddles in the stony earth of the bare flower beds.

I walk up the gravel path to the door, loose stones crunching under my feet. Inspecting every inch of the façade, I feel my heart sinking. Maybe Valerie’s wrong – I can’t see a plaque.

There’s a small faded wooden box on the door frame, two-thirds up and not much longer than a matchbox. Maybe it once housed the doorbell as I can’t see one of those either, just a large black metal cross beside the front door.

As I wander down the side of the house, a glint of red glaze catches my eye, hidden behind the foliage of a large overgrown bramble bush. I walk over and push the thorny branches away to reveal a black square plaque edged in red and smeared with mud.

I reach into my bag, pull out a white tissue and a bottle of mineral water.

Always be prepared. My grandad’s words ring in my ears.

I unscrew the bottle and pour water onto the thin paper. Wipe the plaque gently but firmly, not wanting to damage it but desperate to see what lies beneath the dirt and grime. It feels like rubbing a lottery scratch card with a coin, though I don’t expect to win any jackpot.

Gradually I reveal the plaque. Deep scratches run across it as if someone has tried to obliterate the red words in rage. Once I’ve read them, I turn away. Blink, then look back. Maybe my eyes have deceived me. But no, the words are still there.

Not much fazes me. Over the years I’ve seen things I wish I could unsee. Lifeless blood-smeared bodies on a Brussels street. Lost teddy bears swept away by Japanese tsunami floods.

But something about these words chills me to the bone.

Maybe I’ve won the jackpot after all.

My Review

The Redeemer is a story of murder and revenge in a quiet Jewish community. Shanna Regan, a journalist, sets out to find the truth about the murders but finds herself on a very personal journey. Can she piece everything together to stop another death? Entertaining and informative, this novel tackles antisemitism in a unique way. A must read.

If you like what you’ve read then you can order The Redeemer here.

The Author

Victoria Goldman MSc. is a freelance journalist and editor. She is a book & stationery addict, crochet novice and nature lover (especially the local wild parakeets). She lives in Hertfordshire and is married with two sons.

Victoria Goldman was given an honourable mention for The Redeemer in the Capital Crime/DHH Literary Agency New Voices Award 2019.

Twitter: @VictoriaGoldma2

Readers’ Club: https://vgoldmanbooks.com/join-my-readers-club/

And the nominees are… @Bookouture @DeadGoodBooks

I think we all like a good awards ceremony – I know I do. Whether it’s the BAFTAs or the Oscars or the NTAs, I love seeing who’s been singled out for their brilliant performance. Of course, with the BRITs, I spend most of my time thinking I don’t know who any of the nominees are and suddenly feel very old.

The publishing industry has its own awards with the Nibbies, and then, there are the book awards. The Booker and Costa (sadly ending) are probably the most well known ones but different genres have their own too. Being a crime novelist, these are the ones I know the best. Last week, the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) gave out their Dagger awards to authors such as Janice Hallett, M.W. Craven and C.J. Sansom. Shortly, six authors will be battling it out to win the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year up at Harrogate. The very worthy nominees are Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Elly Griffiths, Mick Herron, Joseph Knox, Vaseem Khan and Will Dean. I think this will be very close this year as all are worthy winners. You can vote here.

So, why am I telling you this? Well, I have news… some very unexpected news! There’s another awards ceremony at Harrogate called the Dead Good Reader Awards and I’ve been nominated! I’m still in shock, and you’ll see why when I tell you the other nominees. I’m up for the Best New Kid on the Block for Best New Series with my DI Bernadette (Bernie) Noel books. As the awards suggest, the books are all nominated by readers and somehow, I’ve ended up in the top six along with Neil Lancaster, C.K. McDonnell, Glenda Young, Val McDermid and Richard Osman. Yes, you have just read those last two names correctly! Hence the shock! I think it’s fair to say I’m the underdog here. If you’d like to see the other award nominees and maybe vote then go to Dead Good Books . I’d love it if you voted for me but obviously, vote for the authors you want to win. Voting closes on Monday 18th July and the winners will be announced on Friday 22nd July at Harrogate. I’ll be there, doing my best ‘I haven’t won but I’ll smile anyway’ face and applauding the winner. 

 

 

Book Review – #NoSafePlace by Bekhal Mahmod @AdLibPublishers

Happy publication day to Bekhal Mahmod for No Safe Place, although in some ways, it feels a bit strange to say happy. This is a traumatic story but one that has to be told. Thank you to Mel for giving me the opportunity to read an early version. Before I give you my thoughts, here’s the blurb.

The Blurb

“My life will always be in danger. My beautiful sister Banaz Mahmod was murdered in an ‘honour killing’ ordered by our father and uncle. If those evil men find me, they will kill me too.”

Bekhal Mahmod was one of six siblings from a Sunni Muslim family in Iraqi Kurdistan who sought a new life as asylum seekers and arrived in London in 1998.

When Bekhal’s father tried to force her into an arranged marriage at 15, she ran away. This caused her father to ‘lose respect’ within the Kurdish community and Bekhal became the target of an honour killing and her younger sisters Banaz and Payzee were quickly married off to restore the family’s reputation.

When Banaz left her husband, claiming he’d beaten and raped her, Mahmod decided this ‘shame’ to the family meant Banaz must die. Within weeks, she had vanished.

Her body was finally discovered, crammed into a suitcase and buried in a garden in Birmingham. Banaz, age 20, had been raped and killed in a sickening plot orchestrated by her father and uncle.

Still fearing for her own life, Bekhal bravely faced her father and uncle in court – making her the first female in British legal history to give evidence against family members in an honour killing trial – and won justice for her beloved sister Banaz.

Bekhal now has a new identity after entering the police witness protection programme. She lives in terror of her father’s release from jail.

This is her story.

My Review

We already know the end of this story – the horrific rape and murder of Banaz Mahmod. Her older sister, Bekhal, tells us the beginning. Bekhal was just six years old the first time she was beaten. It was the start of a violent childhood which only ended when Bekhal finally left her parents’ house.

The family came to the UK when Bekhal was a teenager. Her early years were spent in Iraq and then Iran. The chapters focusing on those times really gave me a sense of what it was like to live in poverty in Iraq in their mud house, and then with her grandparents in a ‘proper’ home in Iran. What comes across so clearly is how much Bekhal loved her parents as a child, especially her father. By the time she left home, the love had been beaten out of her.

I don’t often give trigger warnings for books but it’s fair to say that Bekhal does not shy away from the truth. The attacks are clearly described. There were a couple of times that I had to put the book down, take a breath, steady my heart and my rage, before reading again. But don’t let that put you off from reading. This is a story that must be told.

I don’t want to tell you much more as this is Bekhal’s story. But what I will say is this – I was incredibly moved by this book. It’s heart-breaking but compelling reading. I even dreamt about some of the things described – it’s that immersive. I wept. I raged. I cried out for justice for Banaz.  It’s so easy to feel utter despair over what happened to her. However, there is a justice of sorts. A new law, banning marriage under 18, is coming into force in the UK. Another sister, Payzee, who was also forced into a child marriage, has campaigned for this law. You can see her remarkable TEDx Talk here.

These two incredible sisters have lifted the veil on violence and coercion on girls and young women in their community and I applaud their bravery. No Safe Place is going to stay with me for a long time and has definitely earned its slot in my top ten reads of 2022.

About the authors

Bekhal Mahmod is admired for giving prosecution evidence against her father, uncle and male cousins for the honour killing of her sister, Banaz Mahmod. Her relatives were all convicted of murder or related crimes. She is the first female sibling in the UK to do so. Bekhal also faced threats and attempts to kill her after she left home as a teenager due to abuse and pressures to have a child marriage. She is now on a witness protection scheme, but still in fear of her life. Bekhal has given numerous media interviews, including in an Emmy award-winning documentary, Banaz, A Love Story. She was also depicted in the popular ITV drama Honour, which starred Keeley Hawes. Bekhal is campaigning to introduce a Banaz’s Law to prevent cultural excuses for murder or honour violence. In 2011, Bekhal was nominated for the True Honour Award for her courage in court and campaigning.

Dr Hannana Siddiqui is an award-winning author, expert and activist on violence against black and ethnic minority women and girls. She has been a leading member of the renowned black feminist organisation Southall Black Sisters, for thirty-six years. Hannana has supported over 10,000 women and girls facing domestic and sexual abuse, forced marriage, honour violence, immigration, poverty and destitution, and suicide and self-harm problems. She has successfully campaigned to make major legal and policy reform as well as change conservative cultural and religious attitudes and practices which discriminate against women and girls within minority communities. Hannana has supported Bekhal Mahmod since 2006 to achieve justice for her sister, Banaz, and to end honour violence. She formulated Banaz’s Law and is currently campaigning with Bekhal to introduce this new law to re-frame cultural defences to honour crimes as aggravating offences and acts of dishonour.