Happy publication day to @VictoriaGoldma2 for #TheAssociate @3CPublishingUK @JoyKluver

Happy publication day to Victoria Goldman for the second instalment in her Shanna Regan series – The Associate. Thanks to Victoria and Three Crowns Publishing for an early read. Before I give you my thoughts, here’s the blurb.

The Blurb

When an architect vanishes in East London, her concerned fiancé asks journalist Shanna Regan to find her. The missing woman has been leading an interfaith Jewish-Muslim charity project that’s become the target of malicious damage and racist threats.

After Shanna witnesses a teenage girl fall to her death, she’s convinced the architect’s disappearance is also linked to a local youth outreach project. And then another woman is reported missing.

Amid rising local tensions, danger appears to be lurking around every corner. Even the safest sanctuaries seem to be hiding the darkest secrets. As Shanna uncovers a tangled web of lies, she puts her own life on the line. Will she find the missing architect before it’s too late?

The Associate is the compelling and thought-provoking sequel to The Redeemer.

My Review

I loved The Redeemer when it came out last year so I was thrilled to see journalist, Shanna Regan, back for another story. Last time, it was a much more personal story that Shanna was chasing. This time round, Shanna is working for a bigger news outlet, so she’s in London looking for a scoop when she’s asked to use her investigative skills in a different way. She’s reluctant to take a missing persons case but intrigued enough to find out more. And maybe bag a story at the same time.

Shanna has really grown as a character in The Associate and that’s testament to Victoria Goldman’s writing. In The Redeemer, Shanna was still finding her feet after being away for a long time but there’s a sturdiness to her now and I feel I’ve got to know her better as a result. Topical themes come into play in the story, mixed with mystery and suspense. I loved the idea of an inter-faith project between Jews and Muslims and Goldman uses this to inform and educate in an entertaining way. Tension steadily builds throughout the story until we reach the climatic moment. I really enjoyed The Associate and hope there’ll be another Shanna Regan story at some point.

You can buy The Associate here.

Book Review #AllOfUsAreBroken by @FionaAnnCummins @panmacmillan

I first published this in March but I’m resharing it now as it’s publication day for Fiona Cummins. A huge thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for an early review of All Of Us Are Broken by Fiona Cummins. Before I give you my thoughts, here’s the blurb.

The Blurb

It’s been a long time since the Hardwicke family has been on holiday. But thirteen-year-old Galen has wanted to see the wild dolphins at Scotland’s Chanonry Point for as long as she can remember, and her mother Christine – a lone parent since her beloved husband left – is determined she gets her wish. But their serene trip is about to be interrupted.

When DC Saul Anguish is called to investigate the shooting of an ex-police officer in Midtown-on-Sea, Essex, he quickly discovers that this is the first in a string of killings by Missy and Fox, a damaged young couple hell-bent on infamy, their love story etched in blood. In pursuit, Saul follows their trail north.

The paths of the Hardwickes’ and the deadly couple are about to collide. When Saul and his forensic linguist partner, Blue, arrive on the scene, they witness the unthinkable: a mother forced to make an impossible choice.

Saul must uncover the truth about the couple. But can he find the strength to lay the ghosts of his past to rest before they break him?

My Review

I’m not sure where to begin. This isn’t going to be a long review as I don’t want to say any more about the plot. This really is a book you need to discover for yourself.

I’ve read all of Fiona Cummins’ books and they’re all brilliant. With All Of Us Are Broken though, it’s as if all the fine tuning that Fiona has done over the last several years with her books, has come into play in this story. There are still the trademark unusual names (Galen), the time stamps, and brave children who face and endure trauma. But the emotional thread is stronger than I’ve seen it before in her novels. Grief and melancholy wrap themselves around you as you read, the pain ragged and raw. There were some things in there which meant so much to me, that Fiona wouldn’t even know about. It’s a story that’s going to sit in my head for a long time, mulling it over and dealing with the emotions that surface. If you aren’t already broken before reading All Of Us Are Broken, you will be by the end. Stunning.

All Of Us Are Broken is out on the 20th July and you can order here.

The Author

Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy, where she now teaches her own Writing Crime course. She is the bestselling author of five crime thriller novels, all of which have received widespread critical acclaim from household names including Val McDermid, Lee Child, David Baldacci, Martina Cole and Ian Rankin. Three of her novels have been optioned for television.

Rattle, her debut, has been translated into several languages and Marcel Berlins wrote in The Times: ‘Amid the outpouring of crime novels, Rattle is up there with the best of them.’ Fiona was selected for McDermid’s prestigious New Blood panel at the 2017 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, where her novel was nominated for a Dead Good Reader Award for Most Exceptional Debut. A sequel, The Collector, was published in February 2018 and David Baldacci described it as ‘A crime novel of the very first order’.

Her third novel – standalone thriller The Neighbour – was published in April 2019. Ian Rankin called it ‘creepy as hell’. Her fourth novel When I Was Ten, an Irish Times bestseller, was published in April 2021. Into The Dark, Fiona’s fifth novel, was published in April 2022 and was described by Sarah Vaughan, author of Netflix smash-hit Anatomy of A Scandal, as ‘Complex. Inventive. Twisty. Unsettling.’ The Daily Mail said it was ‘breathtakingly good’. Her sixth novel, All Of Us Are Broken, will be published in July 2023.

When Fiona is not writing, she can be found on Twitter, eating biscuits or walking her dogs. She lives in Essex with her family.

Happy publication day to @claremackint0sh @william1shaw! @BooksSphere @riverrunbooks @joykluver

The 20th July is a busy day for publications! Lots of books are out today on the first day of the Theakston Crime Writing Festival at Harrogate. There are two that I’ve had the chance to read early so thank you to Sphere for A Game Of Lies by Clare Mackinstosh, Riverrun for The Conspirators by G.W. Shaw, and NetGalley for providing the advance proofs. Happy publication day to Clare and William!

The Conspirators by G.W. Shaw

The Blurb

Jacob Meaney makes so little money as a translator that his girlfriend has given up on him. Then Eloise, an Australian digital marketer, appears out of the blue, offering him unheard of sums for a couple of weeks’ work.

A private plane and helicopter take him to a showcase villa in Carinthia and all the luxury he could ever want. Here he meets the owner of the house Bondarenko. Unwillingly Jacob has become part of an organised crime conspiracy, held captive there by armed guards.

His task is to interpret between Hindi, Russian and English during Zoom calls with Nazim, an Indian criminal whose gang have taken over the manufacture and distribution network of the wonder fertility drug that Bondarenko has been selling on the internet. It becomes clear to Jacob that his employer is in far deeper and more dangerously than he realises. The gang’s plan is to take over the entire operation by any means.

The villa has become a lethal gilded prison to Jacob and Vlada, the maid who’s a trafficked worker. When Nazim finally strikes which side will Jacob take to survive?

My Review

Following on from ‘Dead Rich’, GW Shaw has targeted the elite rich again in a rather different tale (although a small boat does feature). Jacob is a translator, not an interpreter. There is a difference. He focuses on literary translation, poems mostly and has a rather unique set of language skills, including Hindi and Russian. It’s this that brings him to the attention of Eloise, a forthright Australian who won’t take no for an answer when she offers him a job. As a poor translator, the money persuades him rather than Eloise. When he arrives, he quickly discovers that he’d rather stay poor.

The action takes place in a well-guarded and gated mansion in Austria. I started reading this when I was in Vienna and I was hoping for a bit more Austria in the book. In some ways, the mansion could have been anywhere, but knowing GW Shaw, there will be a reason as to why it’s Austria.

This is definitely a story where brain triumphs over brawn. Outgunned on all fronts, Jacob has to think quickly and wisely in order to get out of the situation he finds himself in. Although, it’s very much a case of two steps forward, three back. I felt his frustration at every knockback. He’s such an unlikely hero that you can’t help but warm to him. I’m not sure what GW Shaw will look at next but if you’re rich and corrupt – watch out!

To buy, click here.

A Game Of Lies by Clare Mackintosh

The Blurb

They say the camera never lies.
But on this show, you can’t trust anything you see.

Stranded in the Welsh mountains, seven reality show contestants have no idea what they’ve signed up for.

Each of these strangers has a secret. If another player can guess the truth, they won’t just be eliminated – they’ll be exposed live on air. The stakes are higher than they’d ever imagined, and they’re trapped.

The disappearance of a contestant wasn’t supposed to be part of the drama. Detective Ffion Morgan has to put aside what she’s watched on screen, and find out who these people really are – knowing she can’t trust any of them.

And when a murderer strikes, Ffion knows every one of her suspects has an alibi . . . and a secret worth killing for.

My Review

We’re back in Wales with DC Ffion Morgan, and this time, she seems a little subdued. Not surprising really after the events and trauma of The Last Party. There’s a shift in her relationship with Seren, she’s having to go into the office to work, and she didn’t reply to DS Leo Brady’s last text message. So she jumps at the chance to go and investigate when a bone is found at a campsite on a Welsh mountain. But this isn’t any old campsite, this is Exposure – a new live reality TV programme. However, Ffion and the contestants soon discover that ‘exposure’ has nothing to do with camping out in the elements but all to do with exposing the contestants’ secrets.

I think it’s fair to say that the first chapter of A Game Of Lies, is probably the best first chapter I’ve ever read. I’m not going to explain further – you’ll have to read it yourself! Once more, Clare Mackintosh cleverly weaves the different strands together as we hear from the contestants, the production team and the police. DS Leo Brady is back but appears to be getting on better with Ffion’s colleague, Georgina, than her. There is constant tension throughout with everyone on edge. I couldn’t work out who was responsible until the reveal. The book ends nicely set up for the next one in the series and I’m already intrigued as to what Clare Mackintosh has planned.

To buy, click here.