Nobody's Hero by M W Craven #NobodysHero @mwcravenuk @LittleBrownUK @BethWright26 #BenKoenig #BookReview

 

The man who can't feel fear is back, in a race against time to find the woman who knows a secret that could take down the world as we know it.

When a shocking murder and abduction on the streets of London leads investigators to him, Ben Koenig has no idea at first why the highest echelons of the CIA would need his help. But then he realises he knows the woman who carried out the killings. Ten years earlier, without being told why, he was tasked with helping her disappear.

Far from being a deranged killer, she is the gatekeeper of a secret that could take down the West, so for years she has been in hiding. Until now.

And if she has resurfaced, the danger may be closer and more terrifying than anyone can imagine.

So Ben Koenig has to find her before it's too late. But Ben suffers from a syndrome which means he can't feel fear. He doesn't always know when he should walk away, or when he's leading others into danger . . 

Nobody's Hero by M W Craven is published in hardback on 10 October 2024 by Constable. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

This is the second instalment in the Ben Koenig series. I read and reviewed the first; Fearless back in June last year and was so impressed.  Craven has been a favourite author of mine for a long time, and I can assure you that he can write US based crime fiction just as gripping as his well established Washington Poe series. 

Buckle up and be prepared for a tumultuous ride, this novel is relentless in its pace and the plotting and characterisation is perfectly done. Whilst I really enjoyed the first novel of the series, I was totally knocked out by this one. We learn more about Koenig, he seems a little more approachable, and the touches of humour are incredibly placed. 

The scene is set at the beginning of a book with a man being held by unknown people. He's strapped to a workbench in some sort of a factory. He is not a gangster, or a criminal, he's an ordinary bloke who happens to be a Professor. When he finds out what his captors want from him, he steadfastly refuses to say anything .... to his cost. 

Fast forward two years and we are at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. What seems an ordinary day turns into a bloodbath as two people are murdered and another is abducted. This is where Ben Koenig comes in; the events have set off a mysterious protocol and Koenig's name is one of those involved. He claims to know nothing about it, but he does know the woman accused of the murders and abduction. He knows her because many years ago it was his job to ensure that she disappeared. 

And so, we readers are taken on a journey, alongside Koenig, to try to discover just what the protocol is all about, and how it is going to affect the whole world. We meet people along the way who will induce nightmares. The father/daughter contract killers who seem to take pleasure in disposing of their targets in the most ingenious, yet violent of manner.  

There is violence, and lots of it. There are scenes that made me gasp and swear out loud. There are scenes that I will never be able to erase from my mind, yet all are perfectly done, adding to the depth of the story despite the flinching. 

Koenig travels the globe in pursuit of his goal, he seems to be able to think of the most insane ways to defeat those who are out to kill him, theres a scene on a staircase that is totally ingenious, frightening, yet hilarious too. 

When Koenig and the reader finally find out exactly what the protocol is all about, it is shocking. Craven expertly weaves detail of the toxicity of social media, fake news and how misinformation can make a bad thing seem even more terrible. It's clever without preaching and bang up to date. 

This is an action pack, rollercoaster of a read that is totally entertaining. Koenig is unique, like no other character I've ever come across, you are never quite sure just what he's going to do next. 

Oh, and that ending ...............  be prepared.  An amazing read, highly recommended by me. 

Multi-award-winning author 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. 

He is an instant Sunday Times bestseller and, for his Cumbria-set Washington Poe series, a recipient of the 2019 Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger, the 2022 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023. 

The series has now been translated into twenty-seven languages

Instagram: @m.w.craven

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Hear Him Calling by Carly Reagon #HearHimCalling @carlyreagon @BooksSphere @LittleBrownUK #BookReview

 

Kyle can barely remember his grandfather. So when they inherit his old house - a damp, secluded tower on the edge of a Welsh mountain village - Kyle and his wife, Lydia, feel they are moving into the home of a stranger.

From the start, Lydia hates the house: the disturbing paintings in the attic, the hostility of the locals, the peculiar light that pours through the kitchen window. Kyle thinks Lydia needs a break from London, from the nightmares and the panic attacks. But over the coming weeks, Lydia's sense of dread only becomes more insistent, whilst Kyle is drawn to the house in ways he cannot explain.

Yet as winter approaches, cutting them off, the house must become their refuge. For outside, on the mountain, something is calling to them.

Something that has waited decades, and wants to be let in.

Hear Him Calling by Carly Reagon is published in hardback on 17 October 2024 by Sphere. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

I read this astonishing debut novel in the intense heat of Cyprus last week. It is a skilled author who can make their reader feel chilled to the bone, with goosebumps when the temperatures are hitting the mid 30s. Carly Reagon did just this. I was totally and utterly transfixed by this story of an isolated cottage nestled amongst the wild hills of Wales, it is a psychological thriller mashed with a haunting ghost story, and a touch of horror that is totally beguiling. 

Kyle Stein has inherited a house located in a tower in Wales from his estranged grandfather. For a long time now, he and his wife Lydia have been tired of their London life. The constant noise, the pull of work and social events, the drinking, the traffic. Wales seems like their way out. However, Lydia hates the house, and the community in which it is set. She sees strange lights, she is not made to feel welcome by the neighbours. There are stains that keep appearing, it all feels eerie and she doesn't want to stay. 

Kyle, on the other hand, seems to become more and more invested in their new home. His behaviour seems to change a little, he is utterly convinced that Wales is the place for Lydia to heal. To recover from her panic attacks and the night terrors that have consumed her life. 

The reader hears from both Lydia and Kyle, in their own voices and we are also privy to the voice of Martha. Martha lived in the area many years ago and it is her retelling of her life that really invoke the shivers, and go some way to trying to explain the events that are happening in the present day. 

Reagon has created a story that is at time terrifying, yet is so compelling. Her characters are masterfully created, the landscape is evocative and plays a huge part in the whole narrative. There are times when my heart was in my throat, there are characters who really appear to be quite evil and there's a sense of foreboding about the Stein's relationship and how it is moving forward that proves to be shocking. 

Taking themes of dysfunctional families and cruelty and wrapping them in ghostly folklore, this is an excellent read and one I highly recommend. 

Carly Reagon is the author of The Toll House, which was a Waterstones Welsh Book of the Month. 

In 2019 she was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Prize for fiction. 

Her writing is inspired by her love of the Welsh countryside where she lives with her husband and three children. 

She works as a senior lecturer at Cardiff University, is a keen runner and singer, and has an interest in anything historic.

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The Silent Killer by Trevor Wood #TheSilentKiller @TrevorWoodWrite @QuercusBooks #DCIJackParker #BookReview

 

DCI Jack Parker has faced down hardened villains and raving, drug-addled lunatics. He's disarmed a machete-wielding psychopath and broken devastating news of a loved one's death more times than he can remember.

With a serial killer stalking the Newcastle streets and one of his closest colleagues lying in the mortuary following a hit and run he thinks things are about as tough as they've ever been. But he should know that trouble always comes in threes.

Jack is about to face the biggest challenge of his life, one that will end his career and destroy his family: Early Onset Dementia.

As he does everything he can to hide his deteriorating condition from his family and colleagues, Jack believes that the serial killer is haunted by his childhood while his own memories are built on increasingly shifting sands.

The race against time to save lives, including his own, has begun.

Whilst staying within the realms of the police procedural genre, this cracking thriller will explore character in depth and with sensitivity, as well as with the author's trademark dark humour.

The Silent Killer by Trevor Wood was published in hardback by Quercus on 18 July 2024. My thanks to the author who sent a fabulous signed copy to me. 

The Silent Killer is the first instalment in a new series from Trevor Wood and introduces the reader to DCI Jack Parker. Parker has been a police officer for many years, he's dealt with everything imaginable, but he now has to face up to what is probably going to be the biggest challenge of his life. 

Parker lets his female colleague drive as he just couldn't resist that last pint. This is his first regret of the story as a hit and run driver smashes into their car, leaving her dead. 

Parker and his team are then put in charge of investigating a series of grisly murders, the first finds a dead man with his head down a toilet. The scene of the crime is Parker's old school. When more bodies are discovered, it becomes clear to Parker that there is a link ...... but what is it?  Could this also have something to do with the original hit and run?

Parker doesn't only have a serial killer case to solve, he's also trying to cope with his own shock diagnosis of early onset dementia. He cannot see past how this dreadful disease affected his own childhood, when his father turned from a kind, loving man to a violent bully who put the fear of God into both Parker and his mother. He is determined that this is not going to happen to him and his loved ones and makes rash decisions about his future, yet refuses to tell anyone the truth. 

Not only is this a complex, cleverly plotted and intense crime thriller, it is also a deeply moving and evocative look at a devastating disease that can strike anyone and totally destroy lives. Wood is also skilled in adding a touch of dry, wry humour into his novel, creating a depth that only enhances the whole plot. 

His character building is sublime and his ability to throw in some red herrings is magnificent, this is a novel that twists and turns its way with ease, keeping the reader totally transfixed and delivering surprise after surprise

A crime novel with heart, with exquisite characters and a plot that never slows down. Highly recommended. 

Trevor Wood has lived in Newcastle for twenty-five years and considers himself an
adopted Geordie. 

He's a successful playwright who has also worked as a journalist and spin-doctor for the City Council. 

Prior to that he served in the Royal Navy for sixteen years. 

Trevor holds an MA in Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) from UEA. 

The Man on the Street, his first novel, was published to widespread critical acclaim and won the 2020 CWA New Blood Dagger. 

One Way Street was his second novel and Dead End Street concluded the trilogy.

www.trevorwoodauthor.co.uk

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Lights Out by Louise Swanson #LightsOut @LouiseWriter @HodderBooks #BookReview

 

A state of emergency has been declared in the UK. From now on, at 8pm every night, all electricity cuts out.

The Government promises it's a temporary measure. They promise they are always thinking of your safety.

But for Grace, the darkness is anything but safe.

Someone is coming into her house under its cover every night while she lies in bed upstairs, too terrified to sleep. Someone who knows her past, who knows why she has more reason to fear the dark than most...

And every morning she wakes to a new message from the intruder:

I have you in my sights. Love, The Night

But how can Grace escape, when there's nowhere safe left to hide?

Lights Out by Louise Swanson was published in hardback by Hodder on 5 September 2024. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

I originally read this one quite a few months ago. My review was published in The Mature Times, September 2024 edition. 

Louise Swanson’s Lights Out is her second novel published under this name. She’s previously written under the name Louise Beech, writing in various genre and style

Lights Out is a tension filled speculative thriller story that is both chilling and also incredibly emotional at times. 

The UK Government have declared a state of emergency and from 8pm every night, all electricity will be cut. The Government assure people that their safety is paramount, but ‘lights out’ has instilled such a sense of fear and foreboding into the country. It’s also the dead of winter, residents are cold, vulnerable people are getting sicker, the hospitals are overrun with patients who’ve had accidents. 

Grace has always been terrified of the dark and lights out has increased her fears to a whole new level. Not only does she have to deal with the blackness, she’s also being targeted by an intruder. Someone is entering her house, whilst she is in bed asleep. From the items they leave behind and the messages they write, it is clear that this person knows all about Grace. 

This is a complex and multi layered story that upon first glance seems to be about Government control. Yet dig deeper and we find exquisitely drawn characters who suffer guilt, regret and fear on a daily basis and who have let these define them. It’s far more than just a book, it’s a story of the power of understanding, and honesty and the courage that is needed to overcome fear.

Beautiful prose and elegantly created characters in a unique setting. 

Louise Swanson is the penname of bestselling author Louise Beech, who has published eight novels with Orenda Books, and a memoir, Eighteen Seconds, with Mardle. 

Her work has previously shortlisted for the Romantic Novel Award and the Polari Prize. 

She won Best's Book of the Year with her 2019 psychological thriller Call Me Star Girl. 

Louise blogs regularly on louisebeech.co.uk, and is on Twitter under the name @LouiseWriter.

Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin #EddieWinstonisLookingForLove @itsmcronin @DoubledayUK #BookReview

Eddie Winston is ninety years old. He has lived and he has loved, but he has never been kissed.

A true gentleman and incurable romantic, Eddie spends his days volunteering at a charity shop, where he sorts through the donations of the living and the dead, preserving letters and tokens of love along the way. It is here that he meets Bella, a troubled young woman who, aged twenty-four, has just lost the love of her life.

When Bella learns that Eddie is yet to have his first kiss, she resolves to help him finally find love, sparking an adventure that will take them to unexpected places and, they hope, bring Eddie to the moment he has waited for all his life.

As Bella helps Eddie and Eddie helps, well, everyone, a soul-stirring story of friendship and kindness unfolds as we see how those we love are never forgotten and it is never too late to try again. 

Eddie Winston is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin was published in hardback on 15 August 2024 by Doubleday. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

I originally read this one quite a few months ago, my review was published in The Mature Times, September 2024 edition. 

Marianne Cronin has delivered a wonderful follow up to her debut novel; The One Hundred Years of Lenni & Margot which was published a couple of years ago.

This author is incredibly skilled in creating intergenerational relationships. Her two main characters; ninety-year-old Eddie and twenty-four-year old Bella are a joy to discover. Their evolving friendship is powerful, funny and utterly feelgood. 

Eddie Winston was previously an academic but now spends his days volunteering in a charity shop, along with his quirky and quite eccentric boss Marjie. Eddie loves his job, he carefully sifts through the donations, keeping aside a few little things that may be rubbish to some, but seem special to him. 

Bella is grieving, her boyfriend Jake has recently died and she meets Eddie when she donates a box of his belongings to the shop. 

There’s an instant spark between this unlikely couple and their friendship begins. Bella discovers that Eddie has never been kissed, and it becomes their joint aim to change this. 

However, Eddie has been in love,  and he is really looking for ‘Birdie’, the woman who stole his heart back in the 1960s. The author cleverly and beautifully interweaves that early story of Eddie and Birdie into the present-day tale. It is subtly and compassionately done.

Packed with a cast of colourful and larger than life characters, this is a novel that is full of hope and love. There is humour and laughter, sadness and grief but there is always so optimistic. 

A truly beautiful book, one to treasure. 

Marianne Cronin is the author of 'The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot', which
was voted 'Most Uplifting Book of 2021' by The Independent, won the American Libraries Association Alex Award, and was shortlisted for a Goodreads Choice award for fiction. It has been translated into over 25 languages.

Marianne's second novel, 'Eddie Winston is Looking for Love' was released in 2024.

Marianne was born in 1990 and after gaining a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, worked in academia until becoming a writer. She lives in the Midlands of England with her family and her cat.

You can find Marianne on Instagram at: @itsmariannecronin

The Torments by Michael J Malone BLOG TOUR #TheTorments @michaelJmalone1 @OrendaBooks #AnnieJacksonMysteries #BookReview

 

Hiding from the world in her little white cottage on the shores of a loch, Annie Jackson is fighting to come to terms with the world of the murmurs, a curse that has haunted female members of her family for centuries.

 While she is within the ancient, heavy stone of the old dwelling, the voices merely buzz, but the moment she steps outside the door they clamour to torment her all over again, bringing with them shocking visions of imminent deaths.

 Into this oasis comes her adoptive mother, Mandy McEvoy, begging for Annie’s help. Mandy’s nephew Damien has gone missing, after dropping off his four-year old son at his mother’s home.

 Unable to refuse, but terrified to leave her sanctuary, Annie, with the help of her brother Lewis, is drawn in to a secretive, seductive world that will have her question everything she holds dear, while Lewis’ life may be changed forever…

 The second book in the critically acclaimed Annie Jackson Mysteries series, The Torments is both a contemporary gothic thriller and a spellbinding mystery that deeps deep into a past that should, perhaps, remain undisturbed…

The Torments by Michael J Malone was published on 12 September 2024 by Orenda Books and is the second in the Annie Jackson Mysteries. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour 

The Torments is an absolutely stunning read, it's a clever and intense mix of chilling terror, psychological tension, myths, legend and witchcraft. 

Malone introduced his readers to Annie Jackson in the first book of this series; The Murmurs. Annie has a gift, but to her, it is a curse. She experiences what are known as murmurs, that is, she can tell if someone that she meets is about to die. It doesn't happen when she meets everyone, but when it does, it's very disturbing. For Annie, these are the torments; they never let up and have changed her life. 

After being exposed to the public eye in a high profile case some time ago, Annie now lives in isolation, in a cottage away from everyone. She does work part time in a coffee shop, but hates being recognised. 

When Annie finds out that her cousin has gone missing, she knows that despite her misgivings, she has to help. Damien has had a chequered past, with spells in prison, but his mother is convinced that something is amiss. Since he became a father, Damien has turned over a new leaf, there's no way that he would just up and leave, and abandon his little son. 

Annie and her twin brother Lewis will do their best to search for Damien, they feel that they owe it to their adoptive Mother and her sister.  Annie's fears and anxieties quickly come true as they find themselves smack bang in the middle of eerie and murderous events, things that will explain to both of them more about their earlier life and just how Annie gained the curse that is the torments. 

Cleverly interwoven into the events of the present day is the story of Sylvia and Ben, dating back to the 1950s when they were school children. This is a dark story that does not hold back, with shocking details of cultish behaviour from people who are some of the most respected people in society. At first, it's difficult to understand how this fits in with Annie and Lewis' quest, but slowly and surely, the author beautifully exposes the truth. 

A chilling, beautifully written story that will haunt the reader, with characters who range from the most evil,  to those who have been ignored for years, but only want the truth to be exposed. It's an absolute triumph. I loved it. 

Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. 

He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. 

Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. 

His dark psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and is currently in production for the screen, and five powerful standalone thrillers followed suit. 

The Murmurs, first in the Annie Jackson Mysteries series, was published to critical acclaim in 2023. 

A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. 

Michael lives in Ayr, where he also works as a hypnotherapist.

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Five Fatal Flaws by Louise Mangos BLOG TOUR #FiveFatalFlaws @LouiseMangos @RandomTTours #BookReview

 

A missing baby. A dead politician. Five suspects

When psychotherapist Trudy’s baby disappears one afternoon, the individual motives of four members of her post-trauma therapy group are gradually revealed. But when the police begin investigating baby Benny’s disappearance, the seemingly unrelated death of a local politician brings each member of the group under firm suspicion, along with Trudy herself.

Five Fatal Flaws is a whodunnit psychological suspense with a #MeToo thread, for fans of Liane Moriarty and Lucy Foley.

Shortlisted for the Page Turner awards

Five Fatal Flaws by Louise Mangos was published on 24 July 2024. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour 

There is so much packed into this novel, I could write a review that goes on and on and on, but I won't! 

Not only is this a top class psychological thriller, it is also an intelligent look into human nature, about how trauma can affect a life, and how it can be dealt with. The title is extremely clever, we have five main characters, all very flawed and all potentially fatal. 

It is that potential that we see in each character that keeps the reader on their toes. When Trudy's small baby goes missing, we are introduced to the four people that make up her recently formed post-trauma group. Every single one of those four carry scars, some physically, but all mentally, from their experiences. The fifth quite flawed person is Trudy herself. 

The author tells this story from the various points of view of each character, how reliable these narrators are are for the reader to discover. She doesn't hold back with descriptions of awful things that every one of them have experienced, and whilst some of those are harrowing, they go a long way to explain their current behaviour and feelings. 

Throw in a dead councilman, a guy who has great influence in the area and you've a full blown mystery on your hands. 

I have not delved into the whole plot line here, it's complex and for new readers to discover and I certainly wouldn't want to spoil anything for anyone. However, do look out for the tiny bread crumbs along the way. The author is extremely skilled in casting doubt in the mind of the reader. 

It's an explosive conclusion, cleverly done. With characters who range from the abrupt and off hand, to those whose vulnerabilities make them easier to empathise with, this is a story that kept me reading far later than I should have!  Recommended by me. 

Louise Mangos writes psychological suspense, historical mystery and short fiction, which have won prizes, placed on shortlists and been narrated on BBC radio. 

Her novels are set mostly or partly in Switzerland where she lives at the foot of the Alps with her Kiwi husband and two sons, enjoying an active life in the mountains. 

The psychological whodunnit Five Fatal Flaws is her fifth novel.

www.louisemangos.com

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